Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athlone and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,619 a month against $2,542 in Athlone, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

124

Cost of Living Index in Athlone
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Athlone Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Athlone

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,542

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athlone 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 Athlone and in Budapest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,542 in Athlone versus $1,619 in Budapest.

Athlone $2,542
Budapest $1,619

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,749 in Athlone versus $2,524 in Budapest.

Athlone $3,749
Budapest $2,524

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,956 in Athlone versus $3,429 in Budapest.

Athlone $4,956
Budapest $3,429

Living in Athlone is roughly 57% more expensive than in Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Athlone 88% above, Budapest 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.37 €19.90

$13.94 Ft 4,503

60.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.0 €80.9

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

48.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.63 €11.23

$10.19 Ft 3,291

23.95%

Cappuccino

$4.32 €3.84

$3.26 Ft 1,055

32.52%

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

$2.92 €2.60

$2.14 Ft 690

36.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 €1.64

$1.78 Ft 577

3.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.41 €6.59

$3.71 Ft 1,198

99.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.55 €5.82

$3.77 Ft 1,217

73.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.15 Ft 371

26.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.79 Ft 578

-29.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.66 €1.48

$2.49 Ft 804

-33.33%

Eggs

$3.91 €3.48

$3.90 Ft 1,261

0.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.73 €9.55

$11.10 Ft 3,587

-3.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.27 €10.02

$6.62 Ft 2,139

70.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.85 €10.53

$14.69 Ft 4,745

-19.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 €2.27

$1.83 Ft 591

39.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 €1.39

$2.05 Ft 661

-23.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.41 €2.14

$2.37 Ft 765

1.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.85 €2.53

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-26.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.29 €2.03

$0.99 Ft 320

131.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 €1.61

$1.00 Ft 322

81.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.58 Ft 511

-8.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$0.67 Ft 216

183.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.88 €15.90

$7.96 Ft 2,572

124.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.10 €9.87

$6.22 Ft 2,009

78.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.44 €3.06

$1.27 Ft 411

170.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 €3.18

$2.03 Ft 654

76.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.52 Ft 490

35.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.08 €4.52

$3.31 Ft 1,070

53.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.32

$1.37 Ft 442

8.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.77 €24.70

$19.83 Ft 6,406

40.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.82 Ft 589

11.54%

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

$39.6K €35.2K

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

32.86%

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

$36.8K €32.7K

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

8.85%

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

$241 €214

$171 Ft 55.3K

40.74%

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

$21.86 €19.45

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-7.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.22 €43.78

$23.29 Ft 7,526

111.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.5 €52.1

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-13.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.69 €30.85

$18.89 Ft 6,104

83.64%

Cinema Ticket

$10.95 €9.74

$9.30 Ft 3,004

17.74%

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

$1,001 €891

$533 Ft 172.3K

87.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,365 €4,772

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-67.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.9 €82.6

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-6.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.88 €36.36

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

-6.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.6 €74.4

$110 Ft 35.7K

-24.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.7 €69.1

$119 Ft 38.4K

-34.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,468 €1,306

$830 Ft 268.3K

76.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,353 €1,203

$622 Ft 200.9K

117.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 €2,249

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

58.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,254 €2,005

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

92.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,294 €2,930

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-43.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,340 €2,971

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

-14.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,153 €2,804

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

90.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.73

6.45

-42.17%

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

Last update for Athlone: 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

Athlone

$1.4K 53.2%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 54% $731

Eating Out

Athlone

$338 13.3%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 34% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athlone

$312 12.3%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 30.1% $94

Groceries & Markets

Athlone

$305 12%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 15.5% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Athlone

$133 5.2%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 26.2% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Athlone

$80 3.2%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 7.1% $5.7

Getting Around

Athlone

$21 * 0.8%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 113% $23

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,468 in Athlone and $830 in Budapest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athlone pays 91% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $91.0 in Athlone vs $61.0 in Budapest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $305 vs $258 per month, with Budapest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Athlone

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

12:28 12:28 PM

13:28 1:28 PM

1 h ahead of Athlone

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,000

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 = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Athlone Budapest 2,010 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Athlone
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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

Athlone vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Budapest wins on cost – living expenses run 57% lower than in Athlone. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Budapest the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 91% higher in Athlone, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,468 in Athlone versus $830 in Budapest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Athlone. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,542 per month in Athlone versus $1,619 in Budapest – a 57% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,619 in Budapest versus $2,542 in Athlone, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Budapest but tight or insufficient in Athlone. The gap between the two cities makes Budapest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Budapest delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,619 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Budapest hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athlone and Budapest are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Budapest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 57% less than in Athlone. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.