Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Artem

For one person, living is cheaper in Artem: $1,095 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Artem
Learn more

Artem Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Artem

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,095

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Artem

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 Artem actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,621 in Budapest versus $1,095 in Artem.

Budapest $1,621
Artem $1,095

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,555 in Budapest versus $1,729 in Artem.

Budapest $2,555
Artem $1,729

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,489 in Budapest versus $2,362 in Artem.

Budapest $3,489
Artem $2,362

Living in Budapest is roughly 48% more expensive than in Artem, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Budapest is 21% above, Artem is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,555

$11.95 ₽1,016

17.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.7K

$35.43 ₽3,012

70.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,244

$6.30 ₽536

58.10%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,102

$3.02 ₽257

11.92%

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

$2.13 Ft 693

$1.04 ₽88.5

104.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 609

$0.69 ₽58.5

171.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,222

$1.45 ₽123

158.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,163

$2.30 ₽195

55.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 369

$1.68 ₽143

-32.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 600

$0.66 ₽55.9

178.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$1.61 ₽137

48.45%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,246

$2.34 ₽199

63.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,689

$13.16 ₽1,119

-13.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,194

$6.23 ₽529

8.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,784

$11.07 ₽941

32.70%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 598

$2.90 ₽246

-36.55%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 654

$2.08 ₽177

-3.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$2.69 ₽229

-12.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,227

$4.12 ₽350

-8.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 314

$0.98 ₽83.3

-2.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 335

$1.03 ₽87.7

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.29 ₽110

20.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$1.05 ₽89.2

-37.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,594

$2.91 ₽247

173.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,956

$7.61 ₽647

-21.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 422

$1.16 ₽98.5

12.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 677

$2.30 ₽196

-9.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 490

$0.56 ₽47.26

167.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,991

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,075

$2.40 ₽204

37.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.34 ₽29.05

282.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,442

$5.89 ₽501

235.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$0.86 ₽72.7

110.47%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.6M

$44.8K ₽3.8M

-34.60%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$35.2K ₽3.0M

-3.11%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$153 ₽13.0K

11.03%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,809

$8.22 ₽699

191.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,628

$9.21 ₽783

154.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$37.85 ₽3,218

75.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,245

$20.31 ₽1,727

-5.56%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,101

$5.34 ₽454

78.28%

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

$537 Ft 174.8K

$348 ₽29.5K

54.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$6,051 ₽514.4K

174.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$78.1 ₽6,638

29.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$51.6 ₽4,386

-16.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$97.2 ₽8,263

16.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.7K

$125 ₽10.6K

-4.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.2K

$387 ₽32.9K

108.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.9K

$312 ₽26.5K

101.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.6K

$983 ₽83.6K

57.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 380.1K

$629 ₽53.4K

85.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$2,160 ₽183.6K

160.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,297 ₽110.2K

206.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

23.6

-72.75%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Artem: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Artem

$312 28% 50.5% $317

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Artem

$250 22.4% 3.1% $7.9

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Artem

$170 15.2% 24.4% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Artem

$170 15.3% 21.6% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Artem

$158 14.2% 6.4% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Artem

$49 4.4% 43.1% $37

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Artem

$6.3 * 0.6% 85.4% $37

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 $805 in Budapest and $387 in Artem. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $60.0 in Budapest vs $35.00 in Artem for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $250 per month, with Artem cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇷🇺 Artem

🕒 Local time

10:11 10:11 AM

18:11 6:11 PM

8 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

104,926

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

100 RUB = 1.18 USD

100 RUB = 1.05 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 326 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 85.02 RUB (100 RUB = 1.18 USD). 1 EUR = 95.36 RUB (100 RUB = 1.05 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Artem 7,980 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Artem

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 Artem: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Artem wins on cost – living expenses run 48% lower than in Budapest. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Artem the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,432 in Budapest and $1,643 in Artem to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $805 in Budapest versus $387 in Artem. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $537 in Budapest versus $348 in Artem. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Artem – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $60.0 in Budapest. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,095 in Artem versus $1,621 in Budapest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Artem but tight or insufficient in Budapest. The gap between the two cities makes Artem the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Artem delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,095 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Artem hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Budapest and Artem 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 Artem gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Budapest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.