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Bucharest vs Kraków cost of living 2026
Which is cheaper, what exactly is cheaper, and how it feels on your money · Updated October 2026
🇷🇴 Bucharest
🇵🇱 Kraków
At a glance
- Where Kraków is clearly cheaper: Street food (21%↓), Restaurant dinner (19%↓)
- Where Bucharest is clearly cheaper: Transit (58%↓), Scooter rental (58%↓), Studio rent (month) (42%↓)
By category
Salary equivalence
Travel difficulty
Both cities are about equally easy to travel. Biggest gap: payments — Bucharest 2 vs Kraków 1. Closer to 1 is easier. Difficulty ranking ›
Item by item
| Item | Bucharest | Kraków | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local mealper person | lei 50$10.8 | zł 42$10.8 | similar |
| Street food1 item | lei 30$6.45 | zł 20$5.13 | Kraków −21% |
| Restaurant dinnerper person | lei 125$26.9 | zł 85$21.8 | Kraków −19% |
| Coffeeone cup | lei 17$3.66 | zł 17$4.36 | Bucharest −16% |
| Beerone bottle | lei 15$3.23 | zł 19$4.87 | Bucharest −34% |
| Cocktail & wineone cup | lei 35$7.53 | zł 30$7.69 | similar |
| Bottled water | lei 3.5$0.75 | zł 3.5$0.9 | Bucharest −16% |
| Convenience store1 snack or drink | lei 6$1.29 | zł 6$1.54 | Bucharest −16% |
| Taxi5 km in town | lei 30$6.45 | zł 22$5.64 | Kraków −13% |
| Tuk-tuk / moto taxishort hop | lei 12$2.58 | zł 14$3.59 | Bucharest −28% |
| Transitone ride | lei 3$0.65 | zł 6$1.54 | Bucharest −58% |
| Scooter rentalper day | lei 25$5.38 | zł 50$12.8 | Bucharest −58% |
| Hotel night3-star | lei 290$62.4 | zł 340$87.2 | Bucharest −28% |
| Studio rent (month) | lei 2,200$473 | zł 3,200$821 | Bucharest −42% |
| Laundry | lei 35$7.53 | zł 25$6.41 | Kraków −15% |
| SIM card1 week data | lei 25$5.38 | zł 25$6.41 | Bucharest −16% |
| Haircutcut | lei 50$10.8 | zł 55$14.1 | Bucharest −24% |
| Massage1 hour | lei 200$43 | zł 150$38.5 | Kraków −11% |
| Half-day tourper person | lei 150$32.3 | zł 180$46.2 | Bucharest −30% |
| Entry ticketTourist town | lei 40$8.6 | zł 40$10.3 | Bucharest −16% |
Reference prices start as estimates from published price levels; items with 3+ traveler reports use the median of real reports. Hostels and local eateries cut both by 30%+.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Bucharest or Kraków?
Bucharest is 18% cheaper than Kraków. Daily budget $148 vs $166; a month $2,349 vs $3,117.
Which is easier to travel, Bucharest or Kraków?
About the same: Bucharest 2.0/5, Kraków 1.8/5 (average of rip-offs, language, transport, payments and safety).
How do monthly costs compare between Bucharest and Kraków?
With a short-term studio and living costs, Bucharest is about $2,349 and Kraków about $3,117 per month.
Where do the numbers come from?
They start as estimates informed by published price levels; any item with 3+ traveler reports switches to the median of real reports. Live reports are in the app.