Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bristol and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,621 a month against $2,891 in Bristol, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Bristol
Learn more

Bristol Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index

Jump to prices

Bristol

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,891

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,891 in Bristol versus $1,621 in Budapest.

Bristol $2,891
Budapest $1,621

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,132 in Bristol versus $2,555 in Budapest.

Bristol $4,132
Budapest $2,555

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,373 in Bristol versus $3,489 in Budapest.

Bristol $5,373
Budapest $3,489

Living in Bristol 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: Bristol 116% above, Budapest 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.56 £16.29

$13.99 Ft 4,551

54.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$113 £85.1

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

86.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.42 £7.87

$9.96 Ft 3,241

4.62%

Cappuccino

$5.03 £3.80

$3.38 Ft 1,100

48.82%

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

$2.61 £1.97

$2.13 Ft 692

22.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.39

$1.87 Ft 608

-2.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.76 £5.86

$3.75 Ft 1,221

106.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.72 £5.08

$3.57 Ft 1,162

88.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 £1.17

$1.13 Ft 368

37.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.66 £1.25

$1.84 Ft 599

-9.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 £1.51

$2.39 Ft 777

-16.32%

Eggs

$4.25 £3.21

$3.83 Ft 1,245

10.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.46 £6.39

$11.33 Ft 3,686

-25.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.72 £7.35

$6.74 Ft 2,192

44.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.75 £9.64

$14.69 Ft 4,780

-13.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.19 £2.41

$1.84 Ft 597

73.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.30

$2.01 Ft 653

-14.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.68 £2.02

$2.36 Ft 767

13.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.00 £3.03

$3.77 Ft 1,226

6.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.08 £1.57

$0.96 Ft 313

116.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.03 Ft 334

40.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 £0.92

$1.56 Ft 509

-21.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 £1.52

$0.66 Ft 216

204.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.96 £17.35

$7.96 Ft 2,591

188.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.76 £8.13

$6.01 Ft 1,954

79.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 £2.10

$1.30 Ft 421

113.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 £2.65

$2.08 Ft 676

68.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.34 £2.53

$1.50 Ft 489

122.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$119 £89.8

$27.61 Ft 8,982

330.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 £2.54

$3.30 Ft 1,074

1.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 £1.23

$1.30 Ft 424

25.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.73 £20.20

$19.78 Ft 6,436

35.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 £1.62

$1.81 Ft 591

18.78%

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

$37.7K £28.5K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

28.42%

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

$41.1K £31.1K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

20.50%

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

$317 £240

$170 Ft 55.3K

86.70%

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

$17.38 £13.13

$23.98 Ft 7,802

-27.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.91 £29.40

$23.42 Ft 7,621

66.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 £37.03

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-26.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.69 £8.83

$19.18 Ft 6,239

-39.05%

Cinema Ticket

$14.11 £10.66

$9.52 Ft 3,098

48.21%

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

$2,237 £1,690

$537 Ft 174.6K

316.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.0K £18.9K

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

50.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 £75.7

$101 Ft 33.0K

-1.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.31 £35.75

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

10.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 £79.1

$113 Ft 36.7K

-7.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.5 £73.7

$119 Ft 38.6K

-17.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,894 £1,431

$805 Ft 262.0K

135.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,471 £1,112

$629 Ft 204.7K

133.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,100 £2,343

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

100.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,300 £1,738

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

97.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,784 £5,126

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

20.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,111 £3,862

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

28.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,803 £2,874

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

133.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

6.43

-24.26%

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

Last update for Bristol: 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

Bristol

$1.5K 51.4%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 57.2% $842

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bristol

$374 13%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 41.8% $156

Eating Out

Bristol

$334 11.7%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 32.9% $110

Groceries & Markets

Bristol

$307 10.7%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 16.1% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Bristol

$157 5.5%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 7.5% $12

Getting Around

Bristol

$144 5%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 69.8% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Bristol

$77 2.7%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 10.4% $8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,894 in Bristol and $805 in Budapest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bristol pays 134% 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: $113 in Bristol vs $60.0 in Budapest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $258 per month, with Budapest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bristol

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

04:57 4:57 AM

05:57 5:57 AM

1 h ahead of Bristol

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

463,400

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

Bristol Budapest 1,620 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bristol
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

Bristol vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bristol and Budapest differ by about 78% in total monthly costs ($2,891 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 134% higher in Bristol, 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: $1,894 in Bristol versus $805 in Budapest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Bristol. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Budapest – a meal for two runs $60.0 versus $113 in Bristol. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,621 in Budapest versus $2,891 in Bristol, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Budapest but tight or insufficient in Bristol. 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, Bristol 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 Bristol. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.