Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Arklow

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.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
128

Cost of Living Index in Arklow
Learn more

Arklow Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Arklow

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,624

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Arklow

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

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

Budapest $1,619
Arklow $2,624

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

Budapest $2,524
Arklow $3,680

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

Budapest $3,429
Arklow $4,737

Budapest is about 38% cheaper than Arklow, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,492

$22.34 €19.84

-37.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.7K

$89.5 €79.5

-31.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,284

$11.25 €9.99

-9.42%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,052

$4.12 €3.66

-20.87%

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

$2.14 Ft 689

$2.93 €2.60

-26.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 575

$2.25 €2.00

-20.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,195

$5.47 €4.86

-32.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,215

$5.16 €4.58

-26.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 370

$1.69 €1.50

-31.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 576

$2.23 €1.98

-19.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 802

$1.90 €1.69

31.05%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,258

$4.64 €4.12

-15.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,579

$14.19 €12.60

-21.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,134

$13.17 €11.69

-49.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,734

$16.67 €14.80

-11.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 590

$3.26 €2.90

-43.87%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 660

$2.90 €2.58

-29.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 764

$3.42 €3.04

-30.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,257

$4.70 €4.18

-17.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$2.36 €2.09

-58.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 321

$1.83 €1.62

-45.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 510

$1.45 €1.29

8.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 215

$2.15 €1.91

-68.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,566

$20.31 €18.04

-60.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,004

$13.59 €12.07

-54.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 410

$4.08 €3.62

-68.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 653

$3.61 €3.20

-43.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 489

$2.40 €2.14

-36.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,032

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,067

$5.18 €4.60

-36.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 441

$1.54 €1.37

-11.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,391

$33.30 €29.57

-40.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 587

$2.12 €1.89

-14.15%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$38.8K €34.4K

-23.18%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$37.3K €33.1K

-9.36%

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

$171 Ft 55.2K

$240 €213

-28.67%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,579

$22.10 €19.62

6.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,508

$55.2 €49.00

-57.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$57.5 €51.1

17.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,090

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 2,997

$13.58 €12.06

-31.52%

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

$533 Ft 171.9K

$1,066 €947

-49.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$5,404 €4,800

210.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.1K

$93.9 €83.4

6.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$43.32 €38.47

0.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.6K

$106 €94.5

3.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.3K

$118 €105

0.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 267.7K

$1,566 €1,391

-46.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.5K

$1,325 €1,176

-53.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 513.7K

$2,857 €2,538

-44.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 377.2K

$1,819 €1,616

-35.67%

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)

$1,651 Ft 532.2K

$4,863 €4,319

-66.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

4.14

55.80%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Arklow: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Arklow

$1.3K 50.5% 113% $703

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Arklow

$392 14.9% 51.9% $134

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Arklow

$320 12.2% 43.6% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Arklow

$317 12.1% 45.5% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Arklow

$163 6.2% 2.9% $4.9

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Arklow

$85 3.2% 1.7% $1.5

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Arklow

$23 * 0.9% 49.1% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $830 in Budapest versus $1,566 in Arklow. 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 $61.0 in Budapest versus $89.0 in Arklow. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $392 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇮🇪 Arklow

🕒 Local time

09:49 9:49 AM

08:49 8:49 AM

1 h behind Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

13,399

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.76 EUR

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 322 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.76 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.888 EUR (1 EUR = 1.13 USD).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Budapest
Arklow

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

Budapest vs Arklow: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,428 per month in Budapest and $3,936 in Arklow. 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 $61.0 in Budapest and $89.0 in Arklow. 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.