Cost of living comparison

Romania

compared to

Eritrea

Asmara vs. Bucharest Cost of Living Summary

Asmara is 34.6% cheaper than Bucharest.

Restaurants: pay 7.4% less in Asmara
Groceries: pay 35.5% more in Asmara
Transportation: pay 11.5% more in Asmara
Housing: pay 58.4% less in Asmara
Childcare: pay 91.5% less in Asmara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 76.4% less in Asmara
Clothing: pay 2.1 times more in Asmara

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

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Asmara vs. Bucharest Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 7.4% less for restaurants

	Bucharest	Asmara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.64 RON69.25	$21.00 ERN315.00	+43.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.32 RON34.63	$5.99 ERN89.85	-18.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.42 RON11.44	$1.00 ERN15.00	-58.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.25 RON10.65	$1.00 ERN15.00	-55.6%
Average			-7.4%

Bucharest vs. Asmara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 35.5% more for groceries

	Bucharest	Asmara
Bread 1 loaf	$1.32 RON6.24	??
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.36 RON20.63	$1.50 ERN22.50	-65.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.22 RON29.40	$6.06 ERN90.85	-2.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.67 RON17.35	$4.38 ERN65.70	+19.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.05 RON14.45	$12.17 ERN182.57	+298.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.57 RON2.70	$5.54 ERN83.16	+870.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 RON3.43	$0.58 ERN8.69	-20.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RON3.25	$0.91 ERN13.61	+31.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.15 RON5.42	$0.53 ERN7.94	-53.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 RON1.73	$0.82 ERN12.25	+123.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RON1.62	$0.42 ERN6.35	+23.7%
Average			+35.5%

Bucharest vs. Asmara - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.5% more for transportation

	Bucharest	Asmara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.45 RON35.25	$9.46 ERN141.95	+27.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.91 RON98.93	$8.00 ERN120.00	-61.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,531.98 RON135K	$66,666.00 ERN1000K	+133.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.65 RON26.71	??
Average			+11.5%

Bucharest vs. Asmara - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.4% less for housing

	Bucharest	Asmara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$9.27 RON43.83	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+2058.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$677.15 RON3,203.34	$250.00 ERN3,750.00	-63.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$451.32 RON2,135.02	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	-55.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$147.83 RON699.33	$19.12 ERN286.76	-87.1%
Average			-58.4%

Bucharest vs. Asmara - Cost of housing

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pay 91.5% less for childcare

	Bucharest	Asmara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$627.11 RON2,966.59	$25.00 ERN375.00	-96.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,371.87 RON67,987.54	$2,600.00 ERN39,000.00	-81.9%
Average			-91.5%

Bucharest vs. Asmara - Cost of childcare

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pay 76.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Bucharest	Asmara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.76 RON17.81	$0.60 ERN9.00	-84.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.51 RON16.59	$0.80 ERN12.00	-77.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.43 RON30.42	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.22 RON232.83	$27.00 ERN405.00	-45.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.37 RON39.57	$1.20 ERN18.00	-85.7%
Average			-76.4%

Bucharest vs. Asmara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.1 times more for clothing

	Bucharest	Asmara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$88.76 RON419.90	$135.00 ERN2,025.00	+52.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.43 RON181.80	$120.00 ERN1,800.00	+212.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.83 RON368.20	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+157.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$91.69 RON433.74	$150.00 ERN2,250.00	+63.6%
Average			+111.4%

Bucharest vs. Asmara - 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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See the cost of living in Romania vs. Eritrea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Romania and Eritrea.

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