Cost of living comparison

Turkmenistan

compared to

Romania

Bucharest vs. Ashgabat Cost of Living Summary

Bucharest is 40.3% cheaper than Ashgabat.

Restaurants: pay 33.1% less in Bucharest
Groceries: pay 63.9% less in Bucharest
Transportation: pay 70.6% more in Bucharest
Housing: pay 59.2% less in Bucharest
Childcare: pay 4.0 times more in Bucharest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.6% less in Bucharest
Clothing: pay 51.7% less in Bucharest

The cost of childcare and transportation in Bucharest are more expensive than in Ashgabat. Expenses including groceries, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Bucharest. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Bucharest.

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Bucharest vs. Ashgabat Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bucharest instead of Ashgabat, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 33.1% less for restaurants

	Ashgabat	Bucharest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.43 TMT110.31	$14.64 RON69.25	-53.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.86 TMT45.13	$7.32 RON34.63	-43.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 TMT5.52	$2.42 RON11.44	+53.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 TMT3.01	$2.25 RON10.65	+162.7%
Average			-33.1%

Ashgabat vs. Bucharest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 63.9% less for groceries

	Ashgabat	Bucharest
Bread 1 loaf	$2.04 TMT7.15	$1.32 RON6.24	-35.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$18.82 TMT66.06	$4.36 RON20.63	-76.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$17.09 TMT59.98	$6.22 RON29.40	-63.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.00 TMT21.06	$3.67 RON17.35	-38.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.07 TMT31.84	$3.05 RON14.45	-66.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.30 TMT8.07	$0.57 RON2.70	-75.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$3.84 TMT13.49	$0.72 RON3.43	-81.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.40 TMT11.94	$0.69 RON3.25	-79.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 TMT5.87	$1.15 RON5.42	-31.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 TMT3.64	$0.36 RON1.73	-64.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 TMT2.27	$0.34 RON1.62	-47.2%
Average			-63.9%

Ashgabat vs. Bucharest - Cost of groceries

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pay 70.6% more for transportation

	Ashgabat	Bucharest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.62 TMT5.69	$7.45 RON35.25	+359.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 TMT35.10	$20.91 RON98.93	+109.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,928.57 TMT154K	$28,531.98 RON135K	-35.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.71 TMT34.10	$5.65 RON26.71	-41.9%
Average			+70.6%

Ashgabat vs. Bucharest - Cost of transportation

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pay 59.2% less for housing

	Ashgabat	Bucharest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$102.86 TMT361.03	$9.27 RON43.83	-91.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,414.29 TMT4,964.14	$677.15 RON3,203.34	-52.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,000.00 TMT3,510.00	$451.32 RON2,135.02	-54.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$436.97 TMT1,533.78	$147.83 RON699.33	-66.2%
Average			-59.2%

Ashgabat vs. Bucharest - Cost of housing

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pay 4.0 times more for childcare

	Ashgabat	Bucharest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$22.86 TMT80.23	$627.11 RON2,966.59	+2643.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,807.14 TMT87,073.07	$14,371.87 RON67,987.54	-42.1%
Average			+298.7%

Ashgabat vs. Bucharest - Cost of childcare

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pay 50.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Ashgabat	Bucharest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.71 TMT20.06	$3.76 RON17.81	-34.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.79 TMT23.82	$3.51 RON16.59	-48.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.71 TMT90.26	$6.43 RON30.42	-75.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$195.24 TMT685.29	$49.22 RON232.83	-74.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.57 TMT30.09	$8.37 RON39.57	-2.4%
Average			-50.6%

Ashgabat vs. Bucharest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 51.7% less for clothing

	Ashgabat	Bucharest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.71 TMT195.56	$88.76 RON419.90	+59.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$114.29 TMT401.14	$38.43 RON181.80	-66.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$364.29 TMT1,278.64	$77.83 RON368.20	-78.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$192.86 TMT676.93	$91.69 RON433.74	-52.5%
Average			-51.7%

Ashgabat 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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