Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Birmingham and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,621 a month against $2,500 in Birmingham, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Birmingham
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Birmingham Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Birmingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,500

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,500 per month in Birmingham vs $1,621 in Budapest, rent included.

Birmingham $2,500
Budapest $1,621

A couple spends around $3,627 per month in Birmingham vs $2,555 in Budapest, rent included.

Birmingham $3,627
Budapest $2,555

A family of three spends $4,753 per month in Birmingham vs $3,489 in Budapest, rent included.

Birmingham $4,753
Budapest $3,489

Birmingham costs about 54% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Birmingham and Budapest sit above the global median – Birmingham by 87%, Budapest by 21%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.14 £15.22

$13.99 Ft 4,551

43.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 £76.2

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

67.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.44 £7.14

$9.96 Ft 3,241

-5.22%

Cappuccino

$5.06 £3.82

$3.38 Ft 1,100

49.70%

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

$2.54 £1.92

$2.13 Ft 692

19.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.87 Ft 608

4.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.11 £5.38

$3.75 Ft 1,221

89.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.68 £5.05

$3.57 Ft 1,162

87.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 £1.43

$1.13 Ft 368

67.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 £1.40

$1.84 Ft 599

0.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.50 £1.89

$2.39 Ft 777

4.60%

Eggs

$3.91 £2.96

$3.83 Ft 1,245

2.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 £6.85

$11.33 Ft 3,686

-20.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.71 £6.58

$6.74 Ft 2,192

29.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.03 £11.36

$14.69 Ft 4,780

2.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 £1.95

$1.84 Ft 597

40.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 £1.33

$2.01 Ft 653

-12.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.44 £1.84

$2.36 Ft 767

3.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.70 £2.79

$3.77 Ft 1,226

-1.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 £1.19

$0.96 Ft 313

63.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 £1.33

$1.03 Ft 334

70.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 £1.00

$1.56 Ft 509

-15.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.19

$0.66 Ft 216

139.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.86 £16.52

$7.96 Ft 2,591

174.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.09 £9.14

$6.01 Ft 1,954

101.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.67 £2.77

$1.30 Ft 421

182.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 £2.53

$2.08 Ft 676

60.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.94 £2.98

$1.50 Ft 489

162.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.2 £71.2

$27.61 Ft 8,982

241.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 £3.76

$3.30 Ft 1,074

50.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.39 £1.81

$1.30 Ft 424

83.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.23 £18.31

$19.78 Ft 6,436

22.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.81 Ft 591

14.36%

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

$37.5K £28.3K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

27.79%

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

$41.1K £31.1K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

20.56%

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

$316 £239

$170 Ft 55.3K

85.83%

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

$21.37 £16.15

$23.98 Ft 7,802

-10.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.44 £35.85

$23.42 Ft 7,621

102.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.70 £29.24

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-41.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.29 £22.89

$19.18 Ft 6,239

57.92%

Cinema Ticket

$15.89 £12.01

$9.52 Ft 3,098

66.91%

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

$1,601 £1,210

$537 Ft 174.6K

198.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.5K £17.8K

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

41.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 £80.5

$101 Ft 33.0K

5.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.76 £37.61

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

15.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 £89.0

$113 Ft 36.7K

4.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$149 £112

$119 Ft 38.6K

25.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,395 £1,054

$805 Ft 262.0K

73.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 £834

$629 Ft 204.7K

75.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,128 £1,608

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

37.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,719 £1,299

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

47.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,354 £4,046

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-4.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,174 £3,154

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

5.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,523 £3,418

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

178.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

6.43

-20.84%

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

Last update for Birmingham: October 4, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Birmingham

$1.1K 44.1%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 43% $475

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Birmingham

$385 15.4%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 43.5% $167

Eating Out

Birmingham

$317 12.7%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 29.3% $93

Groceries & Markets

Birmingham

$312 12.5%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 17.5% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Birmingham

$190 7.6%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 11.1% $21

Getting Around

Birmingham

$127 5.1%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 65.8% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Birmingham

$70 2.8%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 21% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,395 in Birmingham versus $805 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 178% higher in Birmingham, 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 $101 in Birmingham versus $60.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $312 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Birmingham

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

04:58 4:58 AM

05:58 5:58 AM

1 h ahead of Birmingham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,036,878

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Birmingham Budapest 1,590 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Birmingham
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

Birmingham vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,500 in Birmingham, $1,621 in Budapest – roughly 54% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,750 per month in Birmingham and $2,432 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.

Kindergarten costs $1,601 per month in Birmingham and $537 in Budapest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 21% more in Birmingham, 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 $1,621, than in Birmingham at $2,500. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Birmingham 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 $1,621 in Budapest to $2,500 in Birmingham. 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, Birmingham makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.