Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Romania

Bucharest vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Bucharest is 32.6% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 51.2% more in Bucharest
Groceries: pay 20.3% less in Bucharest
Transportation: pay 15.9% more in Bucharest
Housing: pay 62.9% less in Bucharest
Childcare: pay 12.3% less in Bucharest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.5% less in Bucharest
Clothing: pay 10.0% less in Bucharest

The cost of restaurants and transportation in Bucharest are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, childcare, and clothing are lower in Bucharest.

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Bucharest vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bucharest instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 51.2% more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Bucharest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$14.64 RON69.25	+79.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$7.32 RON34.63	-23.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$2.42 RON11.44	+109.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$2.25 RON10.65	+441.4%
Average			+51.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bucharest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.3% less for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Bucharest
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$1.32 RON6.24	-18.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$4.36 RON20.63	-25.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$6.22 RON29.40	-15.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$3.67 RON17.35	+5.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$3.05 RON14.45	-30.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$0.57 RON2.70	-49.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.72 RON3.43	-23.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$0.69 RON3.25	-18.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$1.15 RON5.42	+61.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.36 RON1.73	-33.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.34 RON1.62	-35.8%
Average			-20.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bucharest - Cost of groceries

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pay 15.9% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Bucharest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$7.45 RON35.25	+105.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$20.91 RON98.93	-21.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$28,531.98 RON135K	-4.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$5.65 RON26.71	-25.9%
Average			+15.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bucharest - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.9% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Bucharest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$9.27 RON43.83	-89.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$677.15 RON3,203.34	-65.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$451.32 RON2,135.02	-67.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$147.83 RON699.33	-0.1%
Average			-62.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bucharest - Cost of housing

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pay 12.3% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Bucharest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$627.11 RON2,966.59	-20.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$14,371.87 RON67,987.54	-3.0%
Average			-12.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bucharest - Cost of childcare

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pay 47.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Bucharest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$3.76 RON17.81	-67.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$3.51 RON16.59	-41.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$6.43 RON30.42	-3.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$49.22 RON232.83	-48.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$8.37 RON39.57	-44.1%
Average			-47.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bucharest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.0% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Bucharest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$88.76 RON419.90	+44.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$38.43 RON181.80	-21.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$77.83 RON368.20	-30.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$91.69 RON433.74	-16.8%
Average			-10.0%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bucharest - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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