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Five Romanian stories that cross the Atlantic, and the money that follows them

The distance between Bucharest and New York is about eight thousand kilometres, yet Romanians and Americans have been crossing it for more than a century. A swimmer from the Banat became Tarzan in Hollywood, a gymnast from Onești scored the first perfect ten in Olympic history, a sculptor from Hobița put an American customs office on trial, and today thousands of Romanian engineers write software for American companies from desks in Bucharest and Cluj. Each journey involved money, and the money involved two currencies: the Romanian leu, plural lei, and the United States dollar. This page lets you move between them. It takes the European Central Bank's reference rates, in which the leu and the dollar are each quoted against the euro, combines them into a leu-to-dollar rate, shows the result with its date and keeps your amount in your browser. The text below tells five stories, and each is a reason to Convert RON to USD and to understand what the figure means.

Using the converter

Lei in, dollars out

However small the sum, it takes one step to Convert RON to USD, and the date under the result tells you how fresh it is.

Type an amount in lei and the page returns the equivalent in US dollars, with the date of the rate underneath. At weekends it shows Friday's rate and says so. A table of round amounts and a thirty-day line complete the page. For dollars into lei, use Convert USD to RON.

A yardstick, not a quote

The reference rate is the middle of the market, published once a day. It carries no profit for a bank or card network. The rate you are offered will be somewhat worse, and the difference is the price of the service. Each time you Convert RON to USD here, you obtain the figure against which every offer should be judged. Under one per cent is excellent, two or three per cent is normal for banks, and more than four is a reason to look for an alternative.

Story one: Johnny Weissmuller, from Freidorf to the jungle

A Romanian-born Tarzan

Peter John Weissmuller was born in 1904 in Freidorf, now a district of Timișoara, and his family emigrated to the United States when he was a baby. He grew up in Chicago and became the finest swimmer of his age, winning five Olympic gold medals. In the 1930s he starred as Tarzan in Hollywood, a role he played in a dozen films. His yell is still one of the best-known sounds in cinema. Though he left Romania as an infant, he is remembered in Timișoara with a plaque.

What his world cost

For any ticket to a famous place, Convert RON to USD and decide whether the visit belongs in the budget.

The dollar of the 1930s bought far more than today's, and the sums that Weissmuller earned seem modest now. Yet the film industry of that time paid its top stars thousands of dollars a week. Today a Romanian visiting Los Angeles can take a studio tour for around 70 to 130 dollars. Convert RON to USD for the ticket, and you will see what a trip to the home of Tarzan costs in the money you earn.

Visiting the United States

Romanian citizens have been able to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program since 2025, subject to authorisation online before departure and to the usual conditions. The authorisation carries a fee paid in dollars. Check the official website for the current rules, because they change and fraudulent copies of the site exist.

Story two: Nadia Comăneci and the scoreboard that could not show a ten

Montreal, 1976

At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, a fourteen-year-old Romanian gymnast, Nadia Comăneci, performed on the uneven bars and earned the first perfect score of 10.0 in the history of Olympic gymnastics. The scoreboard, built to show only three digits, displayed 1.00, because nobody had expected a ten. She went on to win three gold medals at the Games. She later lived in the United States, where she married the American gymnast Bart Conner and became an ambassador for the sport.

Gymnastics and travel costs

Before choosing a club abroad, Convert RON to USD for the fees, the equipment and the travel, and add them up for a year.

A gymnastics club in Romania charges modest monthly fees, a few hundred lei, while an American club may charge a hundred to two hundred dollars. Parents who compare the two must Convert RON to USD and consider other costs, such as equipment, travel to competitions and coaches' fees. Many young Romanian gymnasts train abroad as they grow older, which adds the cost of living in dollars.

Story three: Brâncuși versus the United States

The sculpture that was taxed as scrap metal

Constantin Brâncuși, born in Hobița, Gorj, in 1876, became one of the great sculptors of the twentieth century. In 1926, when his polished bronze Bird in Space was shipped from Paris to New York for an exhibition, American customs officers decided it was not art but an industrial object and charged duty of forty per cent. The sculptor's friend Edward Steichen, who owned the work, challenged the decision. At the 1928 trial in New York, the judge ruled that the sculpture was indeed art, and the duty was refunded. The case changed American customs law.

Customs duties and online shopping

Today a Romanian who buys goods from American websites may pay import duties and VAT at the border. For shipments from outside the European Union, VAT applies in Romania from the first euro, and customs duties above a certain threshold. A purchase priced at 100 dollars may cost considerably more on arrival. Convert RON to USD for the price, then add shipping, duty and VAT. Ask the seller whether the price includes these charges.

Seeing Brâncuși in America

A museum ticket in dollars is easy to price once you Convert RON to USD, and the cost compares favourably with a night at the theatre.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has a large collection of his work, as does the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Admission costs about 25 to 30 dollars for adults, and many museums offer free evenings. In Romania, his sculpture ensemble at Târgu Jiu, including the Endless Column, is free to see. A comparison of the two experiences shows how different the costs of culture can be.

Story four: Dracula and the American visitor

Bran Castle and the legend

Bram Stoker's 1897 novel gave the world Count Dracula, loosely inspired by the fifteenth-century prince Vlad the Impaler, who ruled Wallachia. Americans who come to Romania often visit Bran Castle, near Brașov, which is linked in the public mind to the story, though historians doubt any real connection. Entry costs about 60 lei for adults. The visit takes an hour, and the surrounding market sells souvenirs.

Transylvania on an American budget

For a day trip from Brașov, Convert RON to USD for the tour and the lunch, then add a tip in cash.

For an American visitor, Romania is good value. A meal in a restaurant costs 40 to 100 lei, a hotel room in a Transylvanian town 250 to 500, and a guided day tour 200 to 350. A visitor should Convert RON to USD for each and see how far a dollar goes. Tipping of ten per cent is customary and is left in cash.

Distances, height and heat

Romanian distances are in kilometres, and Convert km to mi turns them into miles. Temperatures are in Celsius, and Convert °C to °F turns the forecast into Fahrenheit. The Carpathian peak of Moldoveanu rises to 2,544 metres, and Convert m to ft gives about 8,350 feet.

Story five: the programmers of Bucharest and Cluj

An outsourcing powerhouse

Romania has developed one of the largest information-technology sectors in Central and Eastern Europe. Companies from the United States, including large software firms, run development centres in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara and Iași. Freelancers also work directly for American clients and invoice in dollars. The sector offers some of the best salaries in the country, and a skilled programmer can earn several times the average wage.

Getting paid in dollars

A freelancer who invoices in dollars should Convert RON to USD for monthly costs, so as to know how many dollars must come in.

A Romanian developer paid in dollars by an American client must manage currency risk. If the leu strengthens against the dollar, the same dollar payment buys fewer lei. Some freelancers invoice in euros instead, because the leu is closer to the euro. Others hold a dollar account and convert as needed. A specialist transfer service usually costs less than a bank's standard conversion, and the saving on a monthly payment is worth having.

Time zones and meetings

Bucharest is seven hours ahead of New York and ten ahead of California. Stand-up meetings with an American team fall in the afternoon in Romania. Convert EST to EET shows the gap. Developers often work a shifted schedule, starting late and ending in the evening.

Money and the dollar in Romania

A currency with a past

In the 1980s and 1990s the dollar was a status symbol in Romania, used on the black market and prized as a store of value. Today, the euro has taken on that role, while the dollar appears mainly in international trade and in some financial products. The leu floats against both, with the National Bank of Romania intervening to smooth sharp moves.

The pair today

The simplest test of the pair is to Convert RON to USD today and again in a week, and see how much the number has moved.

The leu-dollar rate is derived from the leu-euro rate and the euro-dollar rate, so it moves with both. When the dollar strengthens against the euro, it tends to strengthen against the leu as well. For a Romanian with dollar income or expenses, a few per cent over a quarter is normal, and ten per cent over a year is not unusual. Check the thirty-day line on this page before making a large conversion.

Cards and cash abroad

Estimate the week's spending, Convert RON to USD, and decide how much to carry in cash and how much to leave on the card.

American shops accept foreign cards almost everywhere. Choose to pay in dollars, never in lei, if the terminal asks. Cash machines dispense dollars at a rate close to the reference one, and your own bank may add a fee. Tipping is expected: fifteen to twenty per cent in restaurants and a dollar or two for services.

Moving money across the Atlantic: the practical routes

Bank wires and their fees

A wire from a Romanian bank to an American bank travels through correspondent banks, each of which may deduct a small fee on the way. The sender pays a fixed fee, often between 20 and 80 lei, plus a spread in the exchange rate. The recipient may also pay a fee for incoming international wires, typically 10 to 20 dollars. A wire takes one to three working days. For large amounts, such as a house deposit or tuition, it is the traditional route, and the bank's client service can quote the rate in advance if you ask.

Specialist transfer services

Compare quotes by taking the amount the recipient gets and checking it against the result when you Convert RON to USD.

Online transfer services show the exchange rate and fee before you confirm, and many deliver the same day. They are licensed in the United States and in the European Union, and the licences can be checked on public registers. They tend to be cheaper than banks for amounts of a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Make sure the service lists the amount the recipient will receive. When you Convert RON to USD here and compare it with the quote, the gap should be small.

How to read a quote

A quote has three parts: the rate, the fee and the final amount. A service that advertises a zero fee may be hiding its margin in the rate. A service with a small fee and a rate close to the reference may be cheaper in the end. The only fair comparison is the final amount received for the same sum sent.

Cards and cash machines

For travel, a debit or credit card that charges no foreign-transaction fee is the cheapest way to spend. Cash machines in the United States charge their own fee, usually 3 to 5 dollars, on top of your bank's. Withdraw larger amounts less often. Decline conversion offered by the machine, which uses a worse rate than your bank.

Mobile wallets and peer-to-peer apps

Apps used for payments between friends in the United States need an American bank account. Visitors cannot normally use them. If a friend wants to repay you through such an app, a transfer service is a better option. Check that the sender and the recipient use the same legal name, to avoid delays.

A Romanian family in Chicago

The monthly budget

For a family moving to the United States, Convert RON to USD for each line of the old Romanian budget to see which costs rise most.

Chicago has one of the largest Romanian communities in the United States. A family there might spend 2,000 dollars a month on rent for a two-bedroom flat, 800 on groceries, 500 on transport and insurance for a car, and 600 on health insurance premiums, with a share of the cost paid by the employer. Add utilities, a phone and entertainment, and the monthly budget approaches 5,000 dollars. When they compare that with life in Romania, they Convert RON to USD for each line and see the difference in lei.

Sending money home

The family sends 300 dollars a month to relatives in Romania. They choose a service that shows the lei the recipient will get. They record the effective rate, which is the lei received divided by the dollars sent, and compare it with the reference rate. Over a year, a difference of two per cent on 3,600 dollars is 72 dollars, enough to pay for a dinner out.

Holidays and flights

A flight between the United States and Romania costs 800 to 1,500 dollars a person, depending on the season. Families usually go every second year, during the summer or at Christmas. They also bring gifts in both directions, from coffee and chocolate to Romanian plum brandy, which is subject to customs limits. The flight is bought in dollars, and any extra expenses on arrival are in lei.

Reading the leu-dollar pair over time

Three forces

The leu-dollar rate is shaped by three forces: the National Bank of Romania's policy, the Federal Reserve's policy and the euro-dollar rate. When American rates rise faster than European ones, the dollar tends to strengthen, and the leu weakens against it. When Romanian inflation climbs, the leu loses ground unless the central bank responds. The effects overlap, so the pair can move in surprising ways.

The thirty-day line

The chart under the converter shows the last thirty days. A flat line means calm, and you can convert at any time without worrying. A steep line means volatility, and you may want to split your conversion into two or three parts. The chart does not predict, but it shows how restless the market has been.

Planning around events

Central bank meetings, employment reports and elections all cause jumps. You cannot avoid them, but you can avoid having a large payment due on the day after a major announcement. Check the calendar when you plan.

Related conversions

Other currencies for a longer trip

A journey to America often starts or ends in Europe, and Convert RON to EUR and Convert RON to GBP cover the common stopovers. For Canada, there is Convert RON to CAD, and for Australia, Convert RON to AUD.

Mistakes to avoid

Confusing the dollars

The United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand all have dollars. Check that the code is USD before you compare prices.

The terminal's offer

If a card machine offers to charge you in lei, say no. Pay in dollars and let your bank convert.

An old rate

A rate noted last month may be several per cent away from today's. The date beside the result protects you.

Back across the ocean

The page downloads only the table of daily reference rates. The amount you type never leaves your device, and no account is needed. From Tarzan to the programmer's invoice, the habit is the same: Convert RON to USD, read the date, compare any offer against the figure and keep a note.