Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Athlone

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,619 a month against $2,542 in Athlone, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 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
124

Cost of Living Index in Athlone
Learn more

Athlone Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Athlone

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,542

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Athlone

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,619 in Budapest versus $2,542 in Athlone.

Budapest $1,619
Athlone $2,542

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,524 in Budapest versus $3,749 in Athlone.

Budapest $2,524
Athlone $3,749

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,429 in Budapest versus $4,956 in Athlone.

Budapest $3,429
Athlone $4,956

Living in Budapest costs roughly 36% less than in Athlone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Budapest 20% above, Athlone 88% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$22.37 €19.90

-37.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$91.0 €81.0

-32.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$12.63 €11.23

-19.32%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$4.32 €3.85

-24.54%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$2.92 €2.60

-26.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$1.84 €1.64

-3.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$7.41 €6.59

-49.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$6.55 €5.82

-42.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.46 €1.30

-21.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$1.26 €1.12

42.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.66 €1.48

50.00%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$3.91 €3.48

-0.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$10.73 €9.55

3.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$11.27 €10.02

-41.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$11.85 €10.54

23.97%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$2.55 €2.27

-28.24%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$1.56 €1.39

31.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$2.41 €2.14

-1.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$2.85 €2.53

36.84%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$2.29 €2.03

-56.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$1.81 €1.61

-44.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$1.44 €1.28

9.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$1.90 €1.69

-64.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$17.88 €15.90

-55.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$11.10 €9.88

-43.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$3.44 €3.06

-63.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$3.58 €3.18

-43.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$2.06 €1.83

-26.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$5.08 €4.52

-34.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$1.49 €1.32

-8.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$27.77 €24.70

-28.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$2.03 €1.80

-10.34%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$39.6K €35.2K

-24.74%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$36.8K €32.7K

-8.13%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$241 €214

-28.95%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$21.86 €19.45

7.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$49.22 €43.78

-52.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$58.5 €52.1

15.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

$34.69 €30.85

-45.55%

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$10.95 €9.74

-15.07%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$1,001 €891

-46.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$5,365 €4,772

212.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$92.9 €82.6

7.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$40.88 €36.36

6.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$83.6 €74.4

31.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$77.7 €69.1

53.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$1,468 €1,306

-43.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$1,353 €1,203

-54.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$2,529 €2,249

-36.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$2,254 €2,005

-48.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$3,294 €2,930

77.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$3,340 €2,971

16.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

$3,153 €2,805

-47.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

3.73

72.92%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Athlone: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Athlone

$1.4K 53.2% 118% $731

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Athlone

$305 12% 18.3% $47

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Athlone

$338 13.3% 51.5% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Athlone

$312 12.3% 43.1% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Athlone

$133 5.2% 20.8% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Athlone

$80 3.2% 6.6% $5.7

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Athlone

$21 * 0.8% 53.1% $23

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 $830 in Budapest and $1,468 in Athlone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athlone pays 91% 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: $61.0 in Budapest vs $91.0 in Athlone for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $305 per month, with Budapest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇮🇪 Athlone

🕒 Local time

14:30 2:30 PM

13:30 1:30 PM

1 h behind Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

21,000

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 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 = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Between locations

Budapest Athlone 2,010 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Athlone

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 Athlone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Budapest wins on cost – living expenses run 57% lower than in Athlone. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Budapest the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 91% lower in Athlone. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $830 in Budapest versus $1,468 in Athlone. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Athlone. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,619 per month in Budapest versus $2,542 in Athlone – a 57% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,619 in Budapest versus $2,542 in Athlone, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Budapest but tight or insufficient in Athlone. The gap between the two cities makes Budapest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Budapest delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,619 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Budapest hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Budapest and Athlone 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 57% less than in Athlone. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.