Convert GBP to RON Pound sterling ↔ Romanian leu Free Online Secure
Type an amount in Pound sterling 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.
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Common amounts — Convert GBP to RON (Pound sterling ↔ Romanian leu)
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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.
Twelve months in Romania: a calendar for anyone who pays in pounds and spends in lei
The Romanian leu, whose name means lion, is the currency of a country that has grown fast in popularity with British visitors, investors and workers. Brits go there for the Carpathians and the painted monasteries, for festivals, for ski weekends and for property that looks inexpensive to eyes used to London prices. Romanians go the other way in great numbers, working in Britain and sending part of their pay home. Both groups face the same arithmetic: what are pounds worth in lei today? This page answers it with the European Central Bank's reference rates, in which the pound and the leu are each quoted against the euro, combined into a pound-to-leu rate and shown with the date. Your amount stays in your browser. The text below follows the Romanian year, month by month, and each month is a reason to Convert GBP to RON and to pay attention to a particular kind of cost.
Using the converter
Enter pounds, read lei
Once you know how to Convert GBP to RON on this page, the same two steps work for any amount, from a coffee to a car.
Type an amount in pounds sterling and the page returns lei. The date of the rate sits beneath the result, and on weekends it states that the rate is Friday's. A table of round amounts and a chart of the past thirty days are underneath. If you need the reverse, from lei into pounds, visit Convert RON to GBP.
The reference rate is a measuring stick
The rate is published once a working day by the European Central Bank. This page combines the pound and the leu through the euro. The result is the mid-market figure, with no margin. Banks, card networks and exchange offices charge more, and the gap is the price of their service. Each time you Convert GBP to RON on this page, you obtain the figure against which to judge their offers.
January: snow, ski slopes and the cost of a lift pass
Poiana Brașov, Sinaia and Predeal
Add up the lift pass, the lessons and the lunch, and then Convert GBP to RON for the whole day, not item by item.
Romania's main ski resorts lie in the Carpathians, a couple of hours from Bucharest. Lift passes cost far less than in the Alps, and a day on the slopes with lunch is within the reach of a modest budget. Equipment hire, lessons and a cabin ride all have prices in lei. A family of four might spend a few thousand lei for a long weekend, and a quick Convert GBP to RON on the total tells you whether it compares with a day on a Scottish piste.
Cold-weather costs
Heating in winter is a large item for anyone who rents or owns a home. Gas and electricity are billed in lei, and the bills in the coldest months can be several times those of summer. British expats should budget for the peak, not the average. The temperature falls well below zero in the mountains, and Convert °C to °F helps a visitor from North America read the forecast.
February and March: Dragobete and Mărțișor
The Romanian spring festivals
Dragobete, on 24 February, is the traditional day of love, and Mărțișor, on 1 March, is the day on which Romanians give each other small red-and-white charms to welcome spring. The charms cost a few lei at street stalls, and they make a pleasant souvenir. Cash is accepted at nearly every stall, though larger shops take cards.
Small change and big smiles
Romanian banknotes run from 5 to 500 lei, while the small change comes in coins called bani, a hundred to the leu. A cup of coffee in a Bucharest café costs between ten and twenty lei, a metro ticket a few lei and a decent dinner between sixty and a hundred and fifty. Convert GBP to RON for the whole grocery list and you will find that daily life is cheaper than in Britain, though the gap has narrowed over the years.
April: Orthodox Easter
The most important holiday
Easter in Romania follows the Orthodox calendar, so it often falls a week or more after the Western date. The Resurrection service at midnight, with candles carried home in the dark, is one of the most moving events of the year. Shops close on the holiday, and prices of lamb, eggs and the traditional sweet bread called cozonac rise in the week before.
Travel before the holiday
The days before Easter are the busiest of the year on Romanian roads and trains, since millions of people go home to their villages. Book tickets early. Train fares are modest, a few tens of pounds for the longest domestic routes, and the price is set in lei.
A word about trains and roads
Distances in Romania are given in kilometres and speeds in kilometres an hour. A British driver used to miles can translate with Convert km to mi. The motorway network is still being completed, so journeys that look short on the map can take longer than expected.
May and June: Sibiu, Transylvania and the long evenings
The Saxon towns
Sibiu, Brașov and Sighișoara are among the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe, built by German settlers called Saxons and still full of fortified churches. In June, Sibiu hosts one of the largest theatre festivals on the continent. Accommodation in the old town costs between two hundred and four hundred lei a night, rising at festival time. Plan ahead and pay close attention to cancellation terms.
Painted monasteries and village stays
Ask the guesthouse for the full price with meals and Convert GBP to RON before you confirm, as prices are often given per person.
In the north, the monasteries of Bucovina are famous for their painted exteriors. Staying in a guesthouse in a village, with breakfast and a home-cooked dinner, costs less than a mid-range hotel in London. Prices for half board of around two hundred to three hundred lei a person are typical. If you Convert GBP to RON for the guesthouse, you will often find the price a pleasant surprise.
July and August: festivals and the Black Sea
Cluj, Bonțida and the music season
If a festival sells tickets in euros, Convert GBP to RON for the lei price too, and pick whichever is cheaper on the day.
Romania has become a summer festival destination, with major events in Cluj-Napoca and at the castle of Bonțida. Tickets are priced in lei, and some are sold in euros to foreign visitors. A multi-day pass can cost several hundred lei, and camping is cheap. Make your first conversion early, because tickets sell out.
Mamaia, Vama Veche and the coast
The Black Sea coast from Constanța southward is the main seaside area, and the season runs from mid-June to September. Hotels in Mamaia charge high-season rates, while the bohemian village of Vama Veche is cheaper and livelier. For a week on the coast, estimate hotel, food and beach services together, then Convert GBP to RON to find the sterling cost.
September and October: harvest, wine and the Enescu festival
Vineyards and cellars
A case of wine from the cellar is easy to price if you Convert GBP to RON once and carry the figure in your head.
Romania is one of Europe's largest wine producers, and its harvest festivals in autumn include tastings in cellars across Moldavia, Muntenia and Transylvania. A bottle of good local wine costs between thirty and eighty lei in a shop, and in a restaurant about twice that. A tasting at a winery can cost a modest fee, which is often credited against bottle purchases.
Music in Bucharest
Every second year, in odd-numbered years, Bucharest hosts the George Enescu Festival, a major classical music event with orchestras from around the world. Tickets range from a few lei to several hundred, and the Romanian Athenaeum, the city's domed concert hall, is a sight in itself.
November and December: markets, snow and traditions
Christmas markets
Mulled wine at a stall is a small purchase, but a quick Convert GBP to RON for a round of four helps you keep a sense of scale.
The markets in Sibiu, Brașov and Bucharest open at the end of November. Mulled wine, grilled sausages and sweet pastries cost a few lei each. Handmade gifts such as wool socks and carved wooden toys cost a little more. The pace is calm, and the atmosphere is genuinely local.
Winter songs and village customs
In the days before Christmas, groups of children and adults go from house to house singing carols, a tradition called colindat. In the north, masked processions mark the New Year. It is a charming moment to visit, though accommodation in the mountains is at its priciest around 31 December.
Living and working between the two countries
Romanians in Britain
Those who send money regularly Convert GBP to RON on the same day each month, then compare the figure with the transfer quote.
Hundreds of thousands of Romanians live in the United Kingdom, in work from construction to healthcare to technology. Many send money home to parents, children or a mortgage in lei. For them, the question is not what a holiday costs but how much of a pound arrives in the Romanian account. The best approach is to compare two or three services on the same day, using the figure on this page as the benchmark.
Buying property in Romania
British buyers of a Romanian property face a few rules: foreigners from the EU and from certain other countries can own apartments, while land purchases are subject to separate conditions. A notary is involved in every sale, and fees are quoted in lei. The price is usually advertised in euros, so you may Convert GBP to RON and then separately the euro price, to be sure the two agree.
Doing business with Romania
A supplier who quotes in lei should expect the client to Convert GBP to RON at the rate of the invoice date.
Britain's technology and outsourcing firms often use Romanian developers, and the contracts are in euros, pounds or dollars. A developer invoicing in pounds receives a different sum in lei every month. Many choose to hold the pounds for some days before converting, in the hope of a better rate; others convert immediately to avoid the risk. Both approaches are legitimate, so long as they are applied consistently.
Sending pounds home: a guide for the monthly transfer
Choosing the route
A Romanian worker in Leeds who sends three hundred pounds a month to a parent in Iași has several routes. A bank transfer is safe but often slow and carries a fixed fee plus a margin. A specialist transfer service shows the rate and fee in advance and usually delivers within a day. A cash pick-up network delivers to a counter in a village, which matters when the recipient has no bank account, but it is the most expensive. Each month the sender can Convert GBP to RON here, subtract the fee, and see which route leaves the most lei with the family.
The effective rate
Divide the lei the recipient gets by the pounds you pay, fees included. That number is the effective rate. Compare it with the reference rate on this page for the same date. A difference of up to one per cent is a good outcome; two to three per cent is normal for banks; beyond four per cent, look elsewhere. Over a year of three hundred pounds a month, the gap between one and four per cent is more than a hundred pounds.
A habit that pays
Choose a fixed day, such as the second working day after payday, and stick to it. A standing arrangement removes the temptation to time the market, and it gives the family a predictable date. Record the effective rate in a notebook or a spreadsheet and review it twice a year.
Receiving in lei or in euros
The recipient may hold a leu account or a euro account. A transfer into a leu account involves one conversion; into a euro account, the pound is converted to euros first, and the family may convert to lei later, adding a second margin. If the money is for daily spending in Romania, a leu account is usually the simpler option.
Prices in Romania in a pound's worth of goods
Food and drink
A loaf of bread costs a few lei, a litre of milk about eight to ten, a kilo of potatoes three or four. A restaurant meal for two, with drinks, comes to between one hundred and fifty and three hundred lei. Local specialities such as sarmale, cabbage rolls stuffed with meat and rice, or mămăligă, a polenta served with cheese and sour cream, are cheap and filling. Tipping of ten per cent is customary in restaurants.
Housing
Rent for a one-bedroom flat in Bucharest typically ranges from three hundred to six hundred euros a month, depending on location, and the price is often quoted in euros. In smaller cities it can be half that. To compare with a British rent, first convert the euro price into pounds with Convert EUR to GBP, then to lei with the converter above if you need the local figure.
Transport and fuel
Public transport in Bucharest costs a few lei per journey, and a monthly pass is a modest sum. Fuel is sold in litres and priced in lei; for a British driver used to paying per litre, the main difference is in the level of prices, not in the unit. Cars with foreign plates should check the rules for road tax, the rovinieta, which is paid online and is cheap for visitors.
Telephone and internet
Romania has some of the fastest and cheapest home internet in Europe, and mobile data plans are generous. A prepaid SIM costs a few lei, and a monthly plan with large data allowance between twenty and fifty. Roaming from a British number may still be charged, so check with your operator before you travel.
The leu against the pound over time
Why the leu is stable
The National Bank of Romania manages the leu in a managed float against the euro, and the leu has moved within a fairly narrow band against the euro for years. That makes the pound-leu pair largely a reflection of the pound-euro pair. When the pound strengthens against the euro, it tends to strengthen against the leu as well, and vice versa. A traveller who understands the first pair understands most of the second.
What would change the picture
Large budget deficits, rising inflation, a change in the central bank's stance or a political shock could move the leu more sharply. None of these can be predicted, and for most people they do not need to be. A monthly routine, a clear record and a sensible margin are protection enough.
Reading the thirty-day line
The chart on this page covers the most recent thirty days. If the line is nearly flat, a conversion made today or next week will give almost the same result. If the line zigzags, think about splitting a large conversion into two parts. The chart is a measure of recent calm, not a forecast.
Related conversions
Other currencies along the way
The Romanian leu is linked to the euro by the central bank's policy, and a trip to the region often includes other currencies. Convert GBP to EUR covers the continent, Convert GBP to PLN the neighbour to the north, and Convert GBP to HUF the one to the west.
Time and distance
Romania is two hours ahead of Britain for most of the year. For calls, Convert GMT to EET gives the offset. Road signs show distances in kilometres, and drivers coming from the British Isles will find Convert mi to km useful for the journey in the opposite direction.
Mistakes to avoid
The terminal's helpful offer
Whenever the screen offers pounds, remember the habit: Convert GBP to RON beforehand and see how far the offer is from the figure.
When a card machine in Romania asks whether you want to pay in pounds or lei, choose lei. The conversion at the terminal is almost always worse than your bank's.
Cash exchange in the street
Unlicensed money changers exist in some tourist areas, and they are best avoided. Use banks, licensed exchange offices with clear rates displayed, or cash machines.
An old rate
A rate from last month can be wrong by several per cent. The date beside the result guards against it.
End of the year
The page fetches only the table of daily reference rates. The amount you type never leaves your device, and no account is needed. Twelve months on, the lesson is the same as in January: Convert GBP to RON, check the date, compare any offer against the figure and keep a note of what you did.