Cost of living comparison
compared to
Bucharest vs. Riga Cost of Living Summary
Bucharest is 7.3% cheaper than Riga.
- Restaurants
-
pay 14.3% more in Bucharest
- Groceries
-
pay 9.1% less in Bucharest
- Transportation
-
pay 22.2% less in Bucharest
- Housing
-
pay 20.8% less in Bucharest
- Childcare
-
pay 4.5% more in Bucharest
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.9% less in Bucharest
- Clothing
-
pay 4.2% less in Bucharest
The cost of restaurants and childcare in Bucharest are more expensive than in Riga. Expenses including transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing are lower in Bucharest.
Bucharest vs. Riga Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Bucharest instead of Riga, you would:
pay 14.3% more for restaurants
|
Riga
|
Bucharest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.52
€14.93
|
$13.80
RON59.83
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.76
€7.46
|
$8.05
RON34.90
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.87
€1.59
|
$2.27
RON9.86
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.30
€1.11
|
$2.15
RON9.31
|
|
Riga vs. Bucharest - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.1% less for groceries
|
Riga
|
Bucharest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.73
€1.48
|
$1.44
RON6.26
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.21
€5.29
|
$4.98
RON21.61
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.05
€4.30
|
$6.67
RON28.91
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.17
€2.70
|
$3.62
RON15.69
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.57
€3.04
|
$3.38
RON14.66
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.83
€0.71
|
$0.64
RON2.79
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.86
€0.73
|
$0.79
RON3.41
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.17
€1.00
|
$0.80
RON3.48
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.56
€1.33
|
$1.18
RON5.14
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.49
€0.41
|
$0.46
RON2.02
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.55
€0.47
|
$0.47
RON2.04
|
|
Riga vs. Bucharest - Cost of groceries
pay 22.2% less for transportation
|
Riga
|
Bucharest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.97
€5.94
|
$6.36
RON27.56
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$35.04
€29.85
|
$23.00
RON99.71
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,747.33
€26,196.91
|
$28,745.54
RON124,637.81
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.16
€8.66
|
$6.21
RON26.92
|
|
Riga vs. Bucharest - Cost of transportation
pay 20.8% less for housing
|
Riga
|
Bucharest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$20.30
€17.30
|
$11.39
RON49.38
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$611.66
€521.14
|
$647.24
RON2,806.39
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$425.09
€362.18
|
$432.85
RON1,876.81
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$263.02
€224.09
|
$139.60
RON605.29
|
|
Riga vs. Bucharest - Cost of housing
pay 4.5% more for childcare
|
Riga
|
Bucharest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$541.40
€461.27
|
$664.86
RON2,882.78
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,927.67
€14,422.48
|
$14,582.52
RON63,228.34
|
|
Riga vs. Bucharest - Cost of childcare
pay 13.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Riga
|
Bucharest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
€4.98
|
$3.45
RON14.96
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.56
€3.03
|
$3.28
RON14.23
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$5.84
€4.98
|
$6.67
RON28.92
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.50
€44.73
|
$52.49
RON227.60
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€9.95
|
$9.20
RON39.88
|
|
Riga vs. Bucharest - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.2% less for clothing
|
Riga
|
Bucharest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.14
€73.39
|
$80.54
RON349.21
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$45.66
€38.90
|
$45.47
RON197.17
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$85.70
€73.02
|
$93.98
RON407.47
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$136.33
€116.16
|
$109.75
RON475.87
|
|
Riga vs. Bucharest - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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