Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Boston

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,619 a month against $2,372 in Boston, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 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
116

Cost of Living Index in Boston
Learn more

Boston Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Boston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,372

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Boston

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,619 in Budapest versus $2,372 in Boston.

Budapest $1,619
Boston $2,372

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,524 in Budapest versus $3,454 in Boston.

Budapest $2,524
Boston $3,454

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,429 in Budapest versus $4,535 in Boston.

Budapest $3,429
Boston $4,535

Living in Budapest costs roughly 32% less than in Boston, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Budapest 20% above, Boston 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$26.64 £19.99

-47.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$77.9 £58.5

-21.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$10.52 £7.89

-3.14%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$4.90 £3.67

-33.47%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$2.46 £1.85

-13.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$2.07 £1.55

-14.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$5.70 £4.28

-34.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$5.52 £4.14

-31.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.52 £1.14

-24.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$0.58 £0.44

208.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.64 £1.23

51.83%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$4.10 £3.08

-4.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$9.39 £7.05

18.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$8.09 £6.07

-18.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$16.71 £12.53

-12.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$3.27 £2.45

-44.04%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$1.60 £1.20

28.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$3.02 £2.26

-21.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$3.53 £2.65

10.48%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$1.20 £0.90

-17.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$1.74 £1.30

-42.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$1.29 £0.97

22.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$1.25 £0.94

-46.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$15.76 £11.82

-49.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$8.76 £6.57

-29.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$3.30 £2.47

-61.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$3.04 £2.28

-33.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$3.52 £2.64

-56.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

$95.1 £71.3

-70.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$4.14 £3.10

-20.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$3.89 £2.92

-64.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$32.35 £24.27

-38.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$1.84 £1.38

-1.09%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$37.5K £28.1K

-20.48%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$40.5K £30.3K

-16.42%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$359 £269

-52.32%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$17.73 £13.30

32.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$43.87 £32.91

-46.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$45.02 £33.78

50.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$9.92 £7.45

-6.25%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$1,570 £1,177

-66.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$22.5K £16.9K

-25.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$53.3 £40.01

86.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$39.15 £29.37

11.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$72.9 £54.7

51.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$59.0 £44.23

101.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$1,242 £932

-33.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$1,006 £755

-38.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$2,136 £1,602

-25.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$1,672 £1,255

-30.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$4,998 £3,749

16.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$3,825 £2,870

1.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

$1,566 £1,175

5.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

5.21

23.80%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Boston: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Boston

$1K 42.4% 61.8% $384

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Boston

$286 12% 10.7% $28

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Boston

$361 15.2% 61.9% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Boston

$420 17.7% 92.9% $203

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Boston

$101 4.3% 39.8% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Boston

$65 2.7% 24.7% $21

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Boston

$133 5.6% 200% $89

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $830 in Budapest and $1,242 in Boston. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Budapest pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Budapest vs $78.0 in Boston for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $286 per month, with Budapest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇬🇧 Boston

🕒 Local time

07:02 7:02 AM

06:02 6:02 AM

1 h behind Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

45,339

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Budapest Boston 1,480 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Boston

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 Boston: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Budapest wins on cost – living expenses run 47% lower than in Boston. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Budapest the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 5% higher in Budapest, 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: $830 in Budapest versus $1,242 in Boston. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,619 per month in Budapest versus $2,372 in Boston – a 47% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Budapest runs roughly 239% less than in Boston. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,619 in Budapest versus $2,372 in Boston, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Budapest but tight or insufficient in Boston. 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 Boston 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 47% less than in Boston. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.