Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arklow and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,619 a month against $2,624 in Arklow, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Arklow
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Arklow Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Arklow

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,624

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Arklow and in Budapest

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Arklow and in Budapest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,624 per month in Arklow vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Arklow $2,624
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $3,680 per month in Arklow vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Arklow $3,680
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $4,737 per month in Arklow vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Arklow $4,737
Budapest $3,429

Arklow costs about 62% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Arklow and Budapest sit above the global median – Arklow by 94%, Budapest by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.34 €19.87

$13.94 Ft 4,503

60.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.5 €79.6

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

46.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.25 €10.01

$10.19 Ft 3,291

10.40%

Cappuccino

$4.12 €3.67

$3.26 Ft 1,055

26.38%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 €2.60

$2.14 Ft 690

36.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.78 Ft 577

26.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.47 €4.86

$3.71 Ft 1,198

47.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 €4.58

$3.77 Ft 1,217

36.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 €1.50

$1.15 Ft 371

46.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 €1.99

$1.79 Ft 578

24.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$2.49 Ft 804

-23.69%

Eggs

$4.64 €4.12

$3.90 Ft 1,261

18.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.19 €12.62

$11.10 Ft 3,587

27.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.17 €11.71

$6.62 Ft 2,139

98.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.67 €14.83

$14.69 Ft 4,745

13.48%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 €2.90

$1.83 Ft 591

78.14%

Banana (1kg)

$2.90 €2.58

$2.05 Ft 661

41.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.42 €3.04

$2.37 Ft 765

44.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.70 €4.18

$3.90 Ft 1,260

20.51%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 €2.10

$0.99 Ft 320

138.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.00 Ft 322

83.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.58 Ft 511

-8.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.15 €1.91

$0.67 Ft 216

220.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.31 €18.07

$7.96 Ft 2,572

155.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.59 €12.09

$6.22 Ft 2,009

118.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.08 €3.63

$1.27 Ft 411

221.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.61 €3.21

$2.03 Ft 654

77.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.40 €2.14

$1.52 Ft 490

57.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.18 €4.61

$3.31 Ft 1,070

56.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.37 Ft 442

12.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.30 €29.62

$19.83 Ft 6,406

67.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.82 Ft 589

16.48%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$38.8K €34.5K

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

30.17%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$37.3K €33.2K

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

10.33%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$240 €213

$171 Ft 55.3K

40.19%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$22.10 €19.65

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-6.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.2 €49.08

$23.29 Ft 7,526

136.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.5 €51.2

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-14.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$13.58 €12.08

$9.30 Ft 3,004

46.02%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,066 €948

$533 Ft 172.3K

99.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,404 €4,807

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-67.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.9 €83.5

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-5.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.32 €38.53

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

-0.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.6

$110 Ft 35.7K

-3.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$119 Ft 38.4K

-0.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,566 €1,393

$830 Ft 268.3K

88.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,325 €1,178

$622 Ft 200.9K

113.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,857 €2,541

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

79.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,819 €1,618

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

55.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,863 €4,325

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

194.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.14

6.45

-35.81%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Arklow: October 11, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Arklow

$1.3K 50.5%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 53.1% $703

Groceries & Markets

Arklow

$392 14.9%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 34.2% $134

Eating Out

Arklow

$320 12.2%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 30.4% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arklow

$317 12.1%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 31.3% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Arklow

$163 6.2%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 3% $4.9

Sport & Entertainment

Arklow

$85 3.2%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 1.7% $1.5

Getting Around

Arklow

$23 * 0.9%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 96.4% $22

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,566 in Arklow versus $830 in Budapest. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 195% higher in Arklow, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $89.0 in Arklow versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $392 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Arklow

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

07:43 7:43 AM

08:43 8:43 AM

1 h ahead of Arklow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,399

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 364 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Arklow Budapest 1,880 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Arklow
Budapest

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Arklow vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,624 in Arklow, $1,619 in Budapest – roughly 62% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,936 per month in Arklow and $2,428 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Budapest, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $89.0 in Arklow and $61.0 in Budapest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 52% more in Arklow, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Budapest, where all-in costs run around $1,619, than in Arklow at $2,624. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Arklow it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Budapest has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,619 in Budapest to $2,624 in Arklow. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Budapest. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Arklow makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.