Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Braintree

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,619 a month against $2,191 in Braintree, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Braintree
Learn more

Braintree Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Braintree

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,191

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Braintree

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $2,191 in Braintree, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
Braintree $2,191

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $3,260 in Braintree, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
Braintree $3,260

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $4,329 in Braintree, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
Braintree $4,329

Budapest is about 26% cheaper than Braintree, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Budapest and Braintree sit above the global median – Budapest by 20%, Braintree by 62%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$20.01 £15.01

-30.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$91.5 £68.6

-33.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$10.44 £7.83

-2.39%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$4.61 £3.46

-29.28%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$1.82 £1.36

17.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$1.13 £0.85

57.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$6.71 £5.03

-44.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$5.90 £4.42

-36.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.43 £1.07

-19.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$1.38 £1.03

29.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.64 £1.23

51.83%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$2.95 £2.21

32.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$8.65 £6.49

28.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$7.74 £5.81

-14.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$12.97 £9.73

13.26%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$3.15 £2.36

-41.90%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$1.40 £1.05

46.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$2.58 £1.94

-8.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$2.78 £2.08

40.29%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$1.65 £1.24

-40.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$1.41 £1.06

-29.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$1.19 £0.89

32.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$1.36 £1.02

-50.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$23.37 £17.53

-65.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$9.00 £6.75

-30.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$2.69 £2.02

-52.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$2.34 £1.75

-13.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$3.42 £2.56

-55.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

$94.4 £70.9

-70.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$4.77 £3.58

-30.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$1.29 £0.97

6.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$21.52 £16.14

-7.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$2.09 £1.57

-12.92%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$37.4K £28.0K

-20.30%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$40.0K £30.0K

-15.50%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$249 £186

-31.14%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$14.35 £10.77

63.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$40.48 £30.37

-42.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$45.52 £34.15

48.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$21.07 £15.81

-55.86%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$1,070 £802

-50.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$19.9K £14.9K

-15.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$69.7 £52.3

42.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$31.23 £23.43

39.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$77.9 £58.4

41.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$49.97 £37.49

138.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$1,220 £915

-31.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$1,010 £758

-38.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$2,060 £1,545

-22.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$1,682 £1,262

-30.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$5,118 £3,839

13.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$3,798 £2,850

2.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

4.67

38.12%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Braintree: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Braintree

$1K 46.1% 62.4% $388

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Braintree

$263 12% 2.1% $5.4

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Braintree

$304 13.9% 36.3% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Braintree

$303 13.9% 39.2% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Braintree

$103 4.7% 38.6% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Braintree

$88 4% 1.8% $1.5

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Braintree

$119 5.5% 170% $75

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $830 in Budapest versus $1,220 in Braintree. 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 $91.0 in Braintree. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $263 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇬🇧 Braintree

🕒 Local time

05:20 5:20 AM

04:20 4:20 AM

1 h behind Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

151,677

💱 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 Braintree 1,410 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Braintree

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 Braintree: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,619 in Budapest, $2,191 in Braintree – roughly 35% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,428 per month in Budapest and $3,286 in Braintree. 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.

Groceries cost about 2% more in Braintree, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Budapest and $91.0 in Braintree. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Budapest, where all-in costs run around $1,619, than in Braintree at $2,191. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Braintree 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 $2,191 in Braintree. 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, Braintree makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.