Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Bulgaria

Name: Bulgaria
Address: BG

For one person, living is cheaper in Bulgaria: $1,158 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Bulgaria
Learn more

Bulgaria Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,158

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Budapest is 24% more expensive than Bulgaria without rent, and 40% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Budapest is 20% more expensive than Bulgaria without rent, and 44.1% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$11.46 BGN 20.06

22.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$45.27 BGN 79.2

33.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$10.46 BGN 18.30

-4.78%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$2.50 BGN 4.37

35.20%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$1.63 BGN 2.85

30.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$1.24 BGN 2.18

50.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$2.26 BGN 3.96

65.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$3.44 BGN 6.02

3.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$1.86 BGN 3.26

-39.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$1.11 BGN 1.95

65.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$2.29 BGN 4.01

4.37%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$3.57 BGN 6.25

7.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$10.41 BGN 18.21

8.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$7.75 BGN 13.56

-13.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$13.23 BGN 23.15

11.04%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$1.70 BGN 2.98

8.24%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$2.01 BGN 3.51

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.90 BGN 3.32

24.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$2.72 BGN 4.77

38.60%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$1.11 BGN 1.94

-13.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$1.06 BGN 1.86

-2.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.06 BGN 1.86

47.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.75 BGN 1.31

-12.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$3.94 BGN 6.89

102.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$6.93 BGN 12.12

-13.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$1.07 BGN 1.87

21.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$1.69 BGN 2.96

23.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$0.89 BGN 1.55

68.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$28.55 BGN 49.96

-3.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$1.47 BGN 2.57

124.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.72 BGN 1.25

80.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$12.22 BGN 21.39

61.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.61 BGN 2.83

12.42%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$30.6K BGN 53.5K

-4.11%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$24.9K BGN 43.6K

36.98%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$127 BGN 222

34.06%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$18.66 BGN 32.66

28.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$13.78 BGN 24.12

69.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$34.58 BGN 60.5

91.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$18.25 BGN 31.94

5.10%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$8.40 BGN 14.70

13.33%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$551 BGN 964

-2.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$9,645 BGN 16.9K

72.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$57.9 BGN 101

74.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$33.45 BGN 58.5

28.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$88.8 BGN 155

26.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$88.5 BGN 155

34.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$470 BGN 823

71.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$363 BGN 634

73.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$807 BGN 1,413

91.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$581 BGN 1,017

100.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$2,326 BGN 4,071

141.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,611 BGN 2,819

146.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$1,160 BGN 2,030

40.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

3.12

106.09%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Bulgaria: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Bulgaria

$363 31.3% 42.4% $267

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Bulgaria

$246 21.2% 4.5% $12

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Bulgaria

$183 15.8% 18.5% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Bulgaria

$159 13.7% 26.7% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Bulgaria

$121 10.4% 28.5% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Bulgaria

$51 4.4% 39.8% $34

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Bulgaria

$37 3.2% 14.5% $6.3

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

🕒 Local time

07:10 7:10 AM

08:10 8:10 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

6,795,803

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.509 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Between locations

Budapest Bulgaria 630 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Bulgaria

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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