Cost of living comparison

Bosnia and Herzegovina

compared to

Romania

Bucharest vs. Sarajevo Cost of Living Summary

Bucharest is 17.4% more expensive than Sarajevo.

Restaurants: pay 26.9% more in Bucharest
Groceries: pay 2.0% less in Bucharest
Transportation: pay 13.6% less in Bucharest
Housing: pay 26.6% more in Bucharest
Childcare: pay 3.4 times more in Bucharest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.6% more in Bucharest
Clothing: pay 5.2% less in Bucharest

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

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Bucharest vs. Sarajevo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 26.9% more for restaurants

	Sarajevo	Bucharest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.58 BAM14.93	$14.64 RON69.25	+70.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.58 BAM14.93	$7.32 RON34.63	-14.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.20 BAM3.82	$2.42 RON11.44	+10.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.45 BAM2.52	$2.25 RON10.65	+55.7%
Average			+26.9%

Sarajevo vs. Bucharest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.0% less for groceries

	Sarajevo	Bucharest
Bread 1 loaf	$1.19 BAM2.08	$1.32 RON6.24	+10.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 BAM8.96	$4.36 RON20.63	-15.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.50 BAM7.83	$6.22 RON29.40	+38.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.04 BAM5.29	$3.67 RON17.35	+20.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.43 BAM5.97	$3.05 RON14.45	-11.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.66 BAM1.15	$0.57 RON2.70	-13.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 BAM1.31	$0.72 RON3.43	-4.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.70 BAM1.21	$0.69 RON3.25	-1.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.92 BAM1.60	$1.15 RON5.42	+24.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 BAM0.76	$0.36 RON1.73	-16.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 BAM0.89	$0.34 RON1.62	-33.3%
Average			-2.0%

Sarajevo vs. Bucharest - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.6% less for transportation

	Sarajevo	Bucharest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.41 BAM11.15	$7.45 RON35.25	+16.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.33 BAM59.73	$20.91 RON98.93	-39.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,737.21 BAM51,736.89	$28,531.98 RON135K	-4.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.58 BAM18.42	$5.65 RON26.71	-46.7%
Average			-13.6%

Sarajevo vs. Bucharest - Cost of transportation

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pay 26.6% more for housing

	Sarajevo	Bucharest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.86 BAM48.47	$9.27 RON43.83	-66.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$454.54 BAM790.80	$677.15 RON3,203.34	+49.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$310.33 BAM539.92	$451.32 RON2,135.02	+45.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$167.00 BAM290.54	$147.83 RON699.33	-11.5%
Average			+26.6%

Sarajevo vs. Bucharest - Cost of housing

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pay 3.4 times more for childcare

	Sarajevo	Bucharest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$206.61 BAM359.46	$627.11 RON2,966.59	+203.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,870.15 BAM6,733.30	$14,371.87 RON67,987.54	+271.4%
Average			+235.7%

Sarajevo vs. Bucharest - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Sarajevo	Bucharest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.86 BAM4.98	$3.76 RON17.81	+31.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.29 BAM3.99	$3.51 RON16.59	+52.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.95 BAM6.87	$6.43 RON30.42	+62.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.01 BAM69.61	$49.22 RON232.83	+23.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.87 BAM11.95	$8.37 RON39.57	+21.8%
Average			+33.6%

Sarajevo vs. Bucharest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.2% less for clothing

	Sarajevo	Bucharest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$87.64 BAM152.48	$88.76 RON419.90	+1.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.97 BAM66.06	$38.43 RON181.80	+1.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.59 BAM157.61	$77.83 RON368.20	-14.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.13 BAM174.20	$91.69 RON433.74	-8.4%
Average			-5.2%

Sarajevo 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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