Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brighton and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,621 a month against $2,889 in Brighton, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

142

Cost of Living Index in Brighton
Learn more

Brighton Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index

Jump to prices

Brighton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,889

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,889 in Brighton versus $1,621 in Budapest.

Brighton $2,889
Budapest $1,621

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,135 in Brighton versus $2,555 in Budapest.

Brighton $4,135
Budapest $2,555

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,380 in Brighton versus $3,489 in Budapest.

Brighton $5,380
Budapest $3,489

Living in Brighton is roughly 78% more expensive than in Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Brighton 116% above, Budapest 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.56 £19.31

$13.99 Ft 4,551

82.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$95.3 £72.0

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

57.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.81 £7.41

$9.96 Ft 3,241

-1.51%

Cappuccino

$5.10 £3.85

$3.38 Ft 1,100

50.89%

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

$3.85 £2.91

$2.13 Ft 692

80.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.47

$1.87 Ft 608

74.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.61 £6.50

$3.75 Ft 1,221

129.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.99 £6.79

$3.57 Ft 1,162

151.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.13 Ft 368

72.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 £1.53

$1.84 Ft 599

9.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 £1.61

$2.39 Ft 777

-10.88%

Eggs

$4.43 £3.35

$3.83 Ft 1,245

15.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 £8.85

$11.33 Ft 3,686

3.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.37 £7.08

$6.74 Ft 2,192

39.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.98 £11.32

$14.69 Ft 4,780

1.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 £2.19

$1.84 Ft 597

57.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 £1.50

$2.01 Ft 653

-1.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.17

$2.36 Ft 767

21.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.75 £2.84

$3.77 Ft 1,226

-0.53%

Potato (1kg)

$2.19 £1.65

$0.96 Ft 313

128.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 £1.36

$1.03 Ft 334

74.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 £0.90

$1.56 Ft 509

-23.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 £1.27

$0.66 Ft 216

154.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.01 £17.39

$7.96 Ft 2,591

189.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.86 £8.20

$6.01 Ft 1,954

80.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 £2.21

$1.30 Ft 421

124.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 £2.45

$2.08 Ft 676

55.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.01 £3.03

$1.50 Ft 489

167.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$132 £99.6

$27.61 Ft 8,982

377.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.99 £3.77

$3.30 Ft 1,074

51.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.72 £2.05

$1.30 Ft 424

109.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$38.98 £29.46

$19.78 Ft 6,436

97.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.55

$1.81 Ft 591

13.26%

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

$38.6K £29.1K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

31.45%

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

$40.8K £30.9K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

19.70%

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

$287 £217

$170 Ft 55.3K

68.59%

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

$16.77 £12.67

$23.98 Ft 7,802

-30.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.44 £33.58

$23.42 Ft 7,621

89.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.65 £37.52

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-25.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.16 £20.52

$19.18 Ft 6,239

41.61%

Cinema Ticket

$17.28 £13.06

$9.52 Ft 3,098

81.51%

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

$2,057 £1,554

$537 Ft 174.6K

283.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.8K £23.3K

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

85.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.7 £69.3

$101 Ft 33.0K

-9.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.81 £33.86

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

4.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £78.7

$113 Ft 36.7K

-7.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.8 £68.7

$119 Ft 38.6K

-23.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,846 £1,395

$805 Ft 262.0K

129.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,468 £1,109

$629 Ft 204.7K

133.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,791 £2,109

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

80.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,257 £1,706

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

93.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,443 £6,380

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

50.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,228 £4,706

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

56.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,423 £2,587

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

110.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

6.43

-20.37%

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

Last update for Brighton: October 5, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brighton

$1.5K 50.1%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 57.1% $839

Eating Out

Brighton

$385 13.1%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 41.7% $160

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brighton

$348 11.9%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 37.5% $130

Groceries & Markets

Brighton

$327 11.2%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 21.3% $70

Getting Around

Brighton

$166 5.7%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 73.9% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Brighton

$149 5.1%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 13.4% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Brighton

$84 2.9%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 1.3% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,846 in Brighton and $805 in Budapest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brighton pays 111% 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: $95.0 in Brighton vs $60.0 in Budapest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $327 vs $258 per month, with Budapest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Brighton

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

05:06 5:06 AM

06:06 6:06 AM

1 h ahead of Brighton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

256,000

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Brighton Budapest 1,440 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Brighton
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

Brighton vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brighton and Budapest differ by about 78% in total monthly costs ($2,889 vs $1,621 including rent). Budapest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 111% higher in Brighton, 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: $1,846 in Brighton versus $805 in Budapest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,057 in Brighton versus $537 in Budapest. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Brighton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,621 in Budapest versus $2,889 in Brighton, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Budapest but tight or insufficient in Brighton. The gap between the two cities makes Budapest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Brighton 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 78% less than in Brighton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.