Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Barlad

For one person, living is cheaper in Barlad: $975 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Barlad
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Barlad Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Barlad

🇷🇴 Romania

$975

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Barlad

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

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Budapest vs $975 in Barlad, rent included.

Budapest $1,641
Barlad $975

A couple spends around $2,562 per month in Budapest vs $1,521 in Barlad, rent included.

Budapest $2,562
Barlad $1,521

A family of three spends $3,483 per month in Budapest vs $2,066 in Barlad, rent included.

Budapest $3,483
Barlad $2,066

Budapest costs about 68% more than Barlad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Barlad is 28% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.04 Ft 4,536

$8.96 RON 42.41

56.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

$41.38 RON 196

47.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 Ft 3,351

$7.20 RON 34.06

44.03%

Cappuccino

$3.46 Ft 1,117

$2.41 RON 11.40

43.57%

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

$2.07 Ft 669

$1.85 RON 8.75

11.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 Ft 572

$1.54 RON 7.27

14.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 Ft 1,191

$2.17 RON 10.25

70.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 Ft 1,229

$2.69 RON 12.72

41.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 Ft 374

$1.34 RON 6.34

-13.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 Ft 598

$1.12 RON 5.31

65.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 Ft 776

$1.40 RON 6.63

71.43%

Eggs

$3.99 Ft 1,289

$3.39 RON 16.02

17.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 Ft 3,683

$7.51 RON 35.53

51.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.87 Ft 2,221

$5.22 RON 24.69

31.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.49 Ft 4,682

$10.04 RON 47.49

44.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.88 Ft 607

$1.04 RON 4.92

80.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 Ft 693

$1.63 RON 7.73

31.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 Ft 744

$1.38 RON 6.54

66.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.04 Ft 1,304

$1.76 RON 8.31

129.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 329

$0.79 RON 3.75

29.11%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$0.77 RON 3.65

28.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 510

$0.84 RON 3.99

88.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 225

$0.89 RON 4.20

-21.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.03 Ft 2,594

$6.64 RON 31.41

20.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 Ft 1,997

$5.58 RON 26.38

10.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 Ft 401

$1.20 RON 5.68

3.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 Ft 666

$1.62 RON 7.67

27.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 Ft 513

$0.51 RON 2.40

211.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

$19.88 RON 94.0

38.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 Ft 1,110

$0.72 RON 3.42

376.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 Ft 431

$0.73 RON 3.46

82.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.45 Ft 6,607

$6.99 RON 33.08

192.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.75 RON 8.30

10.29%

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

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

$26.5K RON 125.3K

9.98%

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

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

$25.1K RON 118.7K

38.47%

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

$175 Ft 56.4K

$158 RON 748

10.45%

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

$23.62 Ft 7,631

$8.87 RON 41.95

166.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.60 Ft 7,625

$8.36 RON 39.58

182.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

$34.02 RON 161

102.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

$18.05 RON 85.4

6.70%

Cinema Ticket

$10.31 Ft 3,333

$6.61 RON 31.28

55.98%

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

$535 Ft 172.9K

$465 RON 2,202

15.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$7,715 RON 36.5K

118.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

$62.0 RON 293

61.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

$34.81 RON 165

24.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 Ft 36.1K

$72.7 RON 344

53.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$86.2 RON 408

38.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 Ft 268.8K

$407 RON 1,927

104.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 203.3K

$269 RON 1,271

134.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

$651 RON 3,081

143.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

$505 RON 2,387

137.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

$1,755 RON 8,305

225.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

$1,263 RON 5,976

212.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

6.97

-7.46%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barlad: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.4%

Barlad

$269 27.6% 57.3% $361

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$262 16%

Barlad

$190 19.5% 27.3% $72

Eating Out

Budapest

$226 13.8%

Barlad

$152 15.6% 32.8% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$222 13.5%

Barlad

$175 18% 21% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.3%

Barlad

$115 11.8% 31.6% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.5%

Barlad

$47 4.9% 47.2% $42

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Barlad

$26 2.7% 40.2% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $832 in Budapest versus $407 in Barlad. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Budapest versus $41.00 in Barlad. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $262 vs $190 – making Barlad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇷🇴 Barlad

🕒 Local time

00:55 12:55 AM

01:55 1:55 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

77,518

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Barlad 670 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Barlad

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 Barlad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,641 in Budapest, $975 in Barlad – roughly 68% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,461 per month in Budapest and $1,462 in Barlad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Barlad, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 38% less in Barlad. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $535 per month in Budapest and $465 in Barlad. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Barlad, where all-in costs run around $975, than in Budapest at $1,641. In Barlad it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest 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 $975 in Barlad to $1,641 in Budapest. 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 Barlad. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Budapest makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.