Convert CHF to RON Swiss franc ↔ Romanian leu Free Online Secure
Type an amount in Swiss franc and read it in Romanian leu at once. The page uses the European Central Bank's reference rate, and tells you which day that rate is from.
Nothing uploaded
Common amounts — Convert CHF to RON (Swiss franc ↔ Romanian leu)
| CHF | RON |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 5 | |
| 10 | |
| 20 | |
| 50 | |
| 100 | |
| 250 | |
| 500 | |
| 1000 | |
| 5000 |
The last thirty days
Where these codes and rates come from
The three letters in EUR, USD or JPY are not an abbreviation someone invented for a website: they are ISO 4217, a standard in which the first two letters are the country's own code and the third is usually the initial of the currency. The figures on this page come from the European Central Bank, which publishes one set of reference rates each working day, around 16:00 Central European time, agreed between the central banks of the Eurosystem. They are a daily snapshot meant for statistics and accounting, not a live trading feed — which is exactly why they are the same number for everyone, rather than whatever one bank happened to quote at one moment.
Where you meet an exchange rate
You meet an exchange rate four or five times a year without thinking about it: booking a trip, paying an invoice issued abroad, buying from a foreign shop, reading a salary offer in another currency, or checking what a card charge really cost. In all of these the reference rate is the honest middle, and the price you actually pay sits a little to one side of it. Knowing the middle is what lets you see how wide that margin is.
Questions people ask
Is this the rate my bank will give me?
No, and no page can promise one. This is the European Central Bank's reference rate: the midpoint published once a day for statistics. A bank, a card scheme or an exchange office adds its own margin on top — usually between half a percent and three percent, sometimes more at an airport counter. Use this figure to judge the offer you are given, not to predict it.
How often does the figure change, and what happens at weekends?
The European Central Bank publishes once each working day, in the afternoon, Central European time. There is no publication on Saturdays, Sundays or TARGET holidays, so on those days the page shows the last working day's rate and says which day it belongs to. The chart alongside is one year of the same daily series.
Is the answer exact?
Where both units are defined in terms of one another by whole numbers, yes — the page says so above the figure, and the only rounding is in how many digits are shown. Where the ratio has no finite decimal, the page shows twelve significant digits and says the relation is approximate rather than pretending otherwise.
Does anything I type leave my device?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no server to upload it to. Load the page once and it keeps working with the network switched off.
What Swiss money has built in Romania: from village clinics to cement works
When Romania joined the European Union in 2007, Switzerland, which is not a member, nevertheless decided to contribute to the enlargement, setting aside a sum in francs for projects in the new member states. Romania received around 181 million francs through the Swiss–Romanian Cooperation Programme, spent on hospitals, schools, farms, small businesses and environmental projects. Alongside this public effort, Swiss companies, banks and travellers have put private money into the country for more than thirty years. Whoever follows the money from Zurich or Geneva to Cluj or Constanța has to move between two currencies: the Swiss franc and the Romanian leu. This page makes the conversion simple. It takes the European Central Bank's reference rates, in which the franc and the leu are each quoted against the euro, combines them into a franc-to-leu rate, shows the result with the date and keeps your amount in your browser. The text below traces where Swiss money has gone in Romania, and each stop is a reason to Convert CHF to RON and to understand what the figure means.
Using the converter
Francs in, lei out
Even a single coffee can be priced in a second: Convert CHF to RON, read the date beneath the result and move on.
Type an amount in Swiss francs and the page returns its value in Romanian lei, with the date of the rate shown below. At weekends it uses Friday's figure and says so. A table of round amounts and a thirty-day line complete the page. For lei into francs, use Convert RON to CHF.
The mid-market figure
The rate on this page is published once on each working day and represents the middle of the market, with no bank margin. In practice you will meet a slightly worse rate, and the difference is what the service costs. Use the page as a yardstick: under one per cent is excellent, two or three per cent is typical for banks, and four or more is a reason to compare. Every time you Convert CHF to RON here, you obtain that yardstick.
Stop one: the Swiss Contribution in the villages
What the programme did
The Swiss–Romanian Cooperation Programme, running between 2007 and about 2019, financed more than a hundred projects. Hospitals and emergency services received equipment, rural roads and water systems were repaired, vocational schools were modernised, and small farmers learned about quality and marketing. A Swiss grant often covered 85 per cent of a project, with Romanian authorities supplying the rest. The money was paid in francs, then spent in lei, so the exchange rate shaped how far each grant went.
The currency effect in a single project
A project manager who budgets in francs but pays in lei should Convert CHF to RON at several rates to see the range of outcomes.
Imagine a grant of one million francs for the rehabilitation of a rural clinic. When the grant is approved, it is worth a certain number of lei. By the time the work is paid for, a year later, the franc may have strengthened, so the project has more lei to spend, or weakened, leaving less. Managers learn to plan with a margin. A donor or a recipient who wants to see the effect should Convert CHF to RON for the grant at the beginning and at the end.
Visiting the results
Some projects have visitors' programmes, such as renovated museums, restored churches and rural guesthouses. Entry is often free or costs a few lei. The Swiss embassy in Bucharest publishes lists of sites on its website.
Stop two: Swiss companies and their Romanian employees
Industry, insurance and building materials
Swiss companies were among the earliest foreign investors in post-communist Romania. A Swiss cement and building-materials group operates plants and quarries; food, pharmaceutical and engineering firms have factories and offices; Swiss banks and insurers serve corporate and private customers. They employ tens of thousands of people and pay taxes in lei, while reporting profits in francs. A weak leu reduces their profit in francs, a strong one raises it.
What a Swiss manager sees
Before accepting a posting, Convert CHF to RON for the allowance and for the local costs, and compare the net sum with what remains at home.
A Swiss manager posted to Romania may be paid a salary in francs with an allowance for the move, and spend it in lei. The cost of living is far lower than at home, so the allowance stretches. Rent for a modern flat in Bucharest costs 600 to 1,000 euros a month, and international schools cost 6,000 to 15,000 euros a year. To plan, the manager will Convert CHF to RON for the housing, schooling and daily costs.
Stop three: the Swiss tourist in the Carpathians
Why Romania appeals
Swiss visitors come to Romania for its wild landscapes, its medieval towns and its relatively low prices. They hike in the Făgăraș and Retezat Mountains, visit the painted monasteries of Bukovina, take a boat into the Danube Delta and stay in guesthouses in Transylvanian villages. The country offers experiences that are hard to find in Western Europe: shepherds, haystacks, horse carts and village festivals.
What a Swiss traveller pays
For a week in Transylvania, Convert CHF to RON for each category of cost and note how far a few hundred francs goes.
A night in a good guesthouse costs 200 to 400 lei with breakfast, a full dinner with wine 80 to 150, and a day with a guide 300 to 500. A Swiss traveller will find these prices very low in francs. To check, Convert CHF to RON for a week's budget, and you will see that you can afford more than at home. A tip of ten per cent is customary.
Travelling with a car
Many Swiss visitors drive to Romania, a journey of about 1,500 kilometres through Austria and Hungary. A Romanian road vignette, the rovinieta, must be bought online, and a Hungarian vignette is required for motorways. Fuel is sold by the litre. Distances are in kilometres, and Convert km to mi translates them for British and American readers.
Stop four: the franc loans
A legacy that still matters
Between 2005 and 2009, tens of thousands of Romanians borrowed in francs, attracted by low interest rates. When the franc strengthened and the leu weakened, instalments rose sharply, and the matter reached the courts and Parliament. In 2016, a law allowed some borrowers to hand back their property in exchange for the debt. The episode is a reminder that currency risk falls on the person who earns in one currency and owes in another.
The lesson for ordinary people
The risk is not confined to loans. A Romanian who rents a flat in euros while earning lei, or a Swiss pensioner who owns a house in Romania while living on francs, is exposed to the same type of movement. Thinking about the exposure, and measuring it with a conversion at several hypothetical rates, helps plan.
Stop five: Romanians in Switzerland, Swiss in Romania
Workers and residents
Tens of thousands of Romanians work in Switzerland, in hospitals, hotels, construction and technology. They earn in francs and often send money home. A few thousand Swiss people live in Romania, working for firms, running guesthouses or retiring. For the Romanian worker in Switzerland, the key question is how many lei arrive for each franc sent; for the Swiss retiree in Romania, how many lei a pension buys.
Sending money
A worker sending savings home might Convert CHF to RON on a fixed day each month and compare the quote with the amount actually received.
Transfers from Switzerland to Romania typically go through the euro, with a conversion at each end. Specialist services may convert directly. Compare the amount received with the reference figure on this page. A difference under one per cent is excellent, and every extra percentage point costs 10 francs on a transfer of 1,000.
Swiss pensions in Romania
A pensioner should Convert CHF to RON for the monthly payment, set a spending ceiling in lei and review it each quarter.
Swiss state pensions can be paid abroad, to Romania as well. The pension is in francs, but recipients living in Romania spend lei. A retiree with 2,500 francs a month can live comfortably, particularly outside Bucharest. The strength of the franc is therefore a benefit. A tax adviser who knows both countries can explain how the pension is taxed.
A Swiss retiree's budget in a Romanian town
Why some pensioners choose Romania
A growing number of Swiss pensioners, and a larger number from Germany and Austria, spend part or all of the year in Romania. They are drawn by the low cost of living, the friendly manner of villagers, the open landscape and the slow rhythm of life. A Swiss state pension and a pension fund payment of 3,000 francs a month is a very comfortable income in a Romanian town. The Swiss health insurance, however, does not follow them automatically, and old age brings costs that cannot be guessed in advance.
The monthly sums
List each cost in lei, Convert CHF to RON for the total and see how comfortably the pension covers it.
A realistic month in a mid-sized town such as Sibiu or Brașov might look like this: rent for a modern two-room flat 450 to 700 euros, utilities 100 to 150, food 300 to 450, local transport and fuel 100, health insurance 100 to 250, leisure and travel 200 to 400. The total is 1,250 to 2,000 euros, about what a Swiss pensioner would pay for rent alone in Zurich. Convert CHF to RON for the sum of each item you pay in lei, and compare it with the franc pension.
Health care and insurance
A foreign resident in Romania can join the public health system by paying contributions, or take out private insurance, which gives quicker access to specialists and private hospitals. Premiums depend on age and cover, from a few hundred to a couple of thousand euros a year. Pre-existing conditions are often excluded. Before moving, discuss your plans with your doctor and your insurer, and check what happens if you need to return for treatment.
Property, land and the legal framework
Foreigners from the European Union may buy buildings and, with some conditions, land in Romania. Citizens of Switzerland, though outside the Union, are subject to special rules under agreements with Romania. A notary handles the sale, and a lawyer should check the title, the cadastral registration and any claims. Buying a flat in a city is straightforward; buying a village house with land can be tricky. Prices are quoted in euros, and conversions are needed in both directions.
Education, research and culture: smaller sums, long ties
Universities and exchange
For a stipend or a grant, Convert CHF to RON on the payment date, not the award date, to see what it will buy.
Romanian and Swiss universities cooperate through exchange programmes, joint research and doctoral co-supervision. Swiss research funding supports collaborations in physics, medicine, and the humanities. A Romanian researcher visiting Zurich or Lausanne receives a stipend in francs, which is large in Romanian terms, and must budget for high local costs. A Swiss student in Romania lives well on a modest grant. For a stipend of 2,000 francs a month, Convert CHF to RON to see the equivalent.
Cultural exchange
Swiss and Romanian musicians, writers and filmmakers meet at festivals in Bucharest, Cluj and Sibiu, and Swiss cultural institutions support exhibitions and translations. The Pro Helvetia foundation has funded projects in Romania, and the Romanian Cultural Institute in Switzerland organises events. Tickets to cultural events in Romania are inexpensive: a concert costs 50 to 150 lei, a theatre ticket 40 to 100.
Food and wine in both directions
Swiss cheeses and chocolates are sold in Romanian supermarkets, and Romanian wines, honey and plum brandy are appreciated in Switzerland. Swiss shoppers who visit Romania bring back local products, within customs limits. A bottle of Romanian wine costs 30 to 100 lei in a shop, and a jar of honey 25 to 40.
Trade and investment in numbers
Swiss exports to Romania
An importer comparing offers in francs and euros should Convert CHF to RON for each and add the cost of transport and customs.
Switzerland exports pharmaceuticals, machinery, watches, chemicals and precision instruments to Romania. Prices are set in francs or euros, and importers in Romania buy with lei. A strong franc raises the cost of Swiss goods in Romania, which can reduce demand. Importers use forward contracts to protect themselves from sharp moves, a practice that costs money but removes uncertainty.
Romanian exports to Switzerland
Romania sells Switzerland furniture, textiles, machinery parts, vehicles components and agricultural products. Contracts are often in euros. A Romanian exporter that bills in francs bears the risk of a weaker franc, while one that bills in euros transfers it to the buyer. Neither choice is wrong, but each has consequences for margins.
Small business tips
In a first contract with a foreign client, state the currency, and Convert CHF to RON for the price to see what you will actually receive.
A small Romanian firm that sells to a Swiss customer should state the currency in the contract, specify the date for the exchange rate, and ask for payment in advance for the first order. A Swiss firm buying from Romania should check the supplier's credentials, the quality control process and the delivery terms. Both sides gain from a clear agreement on who bears currency risk.
Practical advice for moving money between the franc and the leu
Cards and cash
Cards are accepted widely in Romanian towns, but small shops, markets and rural guesthouses may prefer cash. Withdraw lei from cash machines in bank branches. When a machine offers to convert into francs, decline. A card without foreign-transaction fees is the best companion.
Exchange offices
Take the counter's quote, divide it by the figure you get when you Convert CHF to RON here, and you see the spread at once.
Licensed exchange offices post their buy and sell rates. Those in city centres and airports have wider spreads than small ones a few streets away. Count the lei before you leave the counter, and keep the receipt. Avoid street traders.
Planning big payments
For large payments, such as property purchases or tuition, split the conversion and note the rate of each part. The thirty-day line on this page shows how restless the pair has been. A quote from a specialist service before you commit can save hundreds of francs.
Related conversions
Other currencies for Romania-bound travellers
For the euro, Convert CHF to EUR. For the pound and the dollar, Convert CHF to GBP and Convert CHF to USD. For the neighbours, Convert CHF to HUF and Convert CHF to PLN. Romania is one hour ahead of Switzerland; Convert CET to EET confirms it. Summer temperatures can reach 35 degrees Celsius, and Convert °C to °F gives the Fahrenheit figure.
Mistakes to avoid
Counting in euros by habit
Prices in Romania are in lei, even when the landlord or dealer speaks in euros. Clarify which currency applies, and at what rate it will be converted.
The terminal's offer
If a card machine offers to charge you in francs, say no. Pay in lei and let your bank convert.
An old rate
A rate noted last month may be a percentage point or more away from today's. The date beside the result protects you.
Francs well spent
The page downloads only the table of daily reference rates. The amount you type never leaves your device, and no account is needed. From a village clinic to a guesthouse breakfast, the habit is the same: Convert CHF to RON, read the date, compare any offer against the figure and keep a note.