Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Cluj-Napoca

For one person, living is cheaper in Cluj-Napoca: $1,382 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Cluj-Napoca
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Cluj-Napoca Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,382

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Cluj-Napoca

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 Cluj-Napoca actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $1,382 in Cluj-Napoca, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Cluj-Napoca $1,382

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $2,085 in Cluj-Napoca, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Cluj-Napoca $2,085

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $2,787 in Cluj-Napoca, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Cluj-Napoca $2,787

Budapest costs about 17% more than Cluj-Napoca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Budapest and Cluj-Napoca sit above the global median – Budapest by 21%, Cluj-Napoca by 3%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$12.81 RON 60.6

9.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$56.4 RON 267

7.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$9.34 RON 44.17

6.64%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$3.73 RON 17.66

-9.38%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$2.33 RON 11.00

-8.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$2.30 RON 10.87

-18.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$3.19 RON 15.11

17.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$4.30 RON 20.36

-16.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$1.63 RON 7.69

-30.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$1.52 RON 7.18

21.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$1.75 RON 8.28

36.57%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$3.86 RON 18.26

-0.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$9.35 RON 44.23

21.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$7.28 RON 34.44

-7.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$11.45 RON 54.1

28.30%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$1.43 RON 6.78

28.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.64 RON 7.78

22.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.89 RON 8.92

24.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$2.50 RON 11.82

50.80%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$0.97 RON 4.59

-1.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$0.91 RON 4.32

13.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$0.98 RON 4.64

59.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$1.02 RON 4.83

-35.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$6.12 RON 28.92

30.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$7.37 RON 34.84

-18.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$1.28 RON 6.06

1.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$1.73 RON 8.16

20.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$0.77 RON 3.64

94.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$30.49 RON 144

-9.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$0.86 RON 4.07

283.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$1.00 RON 4.71

30.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$8.42 RON 39.82

134.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.93 RON 9.15

-6.22%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$28.2K RON 133.3K

4.07%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$24.9K RON 117.8K

36.96%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$157 RON 743

8.24%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$8.59 RON 40.63

179.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$9.79 RON 46.30

139.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$47.00 RON 222

40.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$22.48 RON 106

-14.68%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$9.65 RON 45.64

-1.35%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$591 RON 2,794

-9.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$9,697 RON 45.9K

71.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$87.2 RON 412

16.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$45.80 RON 217

-6.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$101 RON 476

12.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$109 RON 517

8.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$630 RON 2,981

27.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$519 RON 2,457

21.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$1,163 RON 5,499

33.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$829 RON 3,922

40.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$4,711 RON 22.3K

19.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$3,394 RON 16.1K

16.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$1,223 RON 5,783

32.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

6.8

-5.44%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Cluj-Napoca

$519 36.9% 17.5% $110

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Cluj-Napoca

$235 16.7% 8.7% $22

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Cluj-Napoca

$218 15.5% 2.6% $5.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Cluj-Napoca

$175 12.5% 19.3% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Cluj-Napoca

$154 11% 8.7% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Cluj-Napoca

$66 4.7% 22.3% $19

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Cluj-Napoca

$39 2.8% 9.3% $4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $630 in Cluj-Napoca. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 33% higher in Budapest, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60.0 in Budapest versus $56.0 in Cluj-Napoca. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $235 – making Cluj-Napoca the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🕒 Local time

09:19 9:19 AM

10:19 10:19 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

324,576

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Budapest vs Cluj-Napoca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 17%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,432 per month in Budapest and $2,074 in Cluj-Napoca. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 10% less in Cluj-Napoca. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $537 per month in Budapest and $591 in Cluj-Napoca. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cluj-Napoca, where all-in costs run around $1,382, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Cluj-Napoca it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cluj-Napoca – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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 Cluj-Napoca. 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.