Cost of Living Guide

City comparison

Cost of living in Bucharest vs Valencia

One person needs about €1,095 a month in Bucharest and €1,489 in Valencia, rent included — Bucharest is 36% cheaper overall.

🇷🇴
Bucharest
Romania · 1.8M pop
vs
🇪🇸
Valencia
Spain · 800K pop
Monthly rent (1BR)
€650€950
46% pricier
Groceries / mo
€230€265
15% pricier
Eating out (meal)
€10€12
20% pricier
Internet (100mbps)
€10€30
200% pricier
Avg salary (tech)
€2,600€2,200
15% lower
Coworking / mo
€110€140
27% pricier
BucharestValencia
Rent€650€950
Groceries€230€265
Transport€15€50
Utilities€110€98

Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle

Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.

To live in Valencia the way you live in Bucharest on €3,000, you need

€4,079/ month net

36% more than today (+€1,079)

Bucharest today
Basket €1,095 · left over €1,905 (64%)
Valencia at the matched salary
Basket €1,489 · left over €2,590 (63%)

Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 148% over in Valencia (adequate) vs 237% in Bucharest. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this

🇷🇴 Bucharest

Europe's fastest internet and lowest utility bills, with a booming IT sector.

Monthly budget: €1,095

Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports

🇪🇸 Valencia

Flat, cyclable and cheap for a coastal capital-grade city with real infrastructure.

Monthly budget: €1,489

Sources: INE Spain + Eurostat, HICP & provincial rent index (2025) · 198 community reports

Should you move to Bucharest or Valencia?

On salary, Bucharest pays more for tech roles (€2,600 versus €2,200 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,505 in Bucharest at the top end.

Rent drives most of the gap: €650 in Bucharest against €950 in Valencia. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.

For remote workers, the nomad index scores Bucharest at 77 and Valencia at 79 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.

More Bucharest comparisons

More Valencia comparisons