Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Howrah

For one person, living is cheaper in Howrah: $385 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
18

Cost of Living Index in Howrah
Learn more

Howrah Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Howrah

🇮🇳 India

$385

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Howrah

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

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $385 in Howrah, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Howrah $385

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $510 in Howrah, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Howrah $510

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $635 in Howrah, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Howrah $635

Budapest costs about 327% more than Howrah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Howrah is 71% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,407

$2.16 ₹204

531.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.6K

$9.69 ₹915

525.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,239

$4.28 ₹404

134.11%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,075

$1.38 ₹130

141.30%

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

$2.12 Ft 684

$0.41 ₹39.03

417.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 581

$0.11 ₹10.02

1536.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,166

$1.56 ₹147

131.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,160

$2.99 ₹283

20.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 361

$0.64 ₹60.7

75.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 623

$0.47 ₹44.09

310.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$0.67 ₹63.1

271.64%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,275

$1.10 ₹104

258.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,646

$6.29 ₹594

79.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,177

$2.61 ₹246

157.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,670

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 601

$2.18 ₹206

-14.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 658

$0.83 ₹78.1

145.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 740

$1.39 ₹131

64.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,290

$0.61 ₹57.8

554.10%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 304

$0.31 ₹29.16

203.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 330

$0.47 ₹44.30

117.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 534

$0.30 ₹28.06

450.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$0.26 ₹24.39

161.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,526

$4.98 ₹471

56.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,946

$10.76 ₹1,016

-44.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 418

$1.37 ₹129

-5.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 655

$2.86 ₹270

-29.37%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$8.38 ₹791

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 484

$0.17 ₹16.42

782.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,769

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,085

$0.60 ₹56.8

460.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 444

$0.33 ₹31.51

315.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,451

$1.62 ₹154

1132.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 603

$1.11 ₹105

67.57%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$13.2K ₹1.2M

116.16%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$19.8K ₹1.9M

68.44%

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

$178 Ft 57.6K

$44.23 ₹4,178

302.83%

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

$23.58 Ft 7,623

$3.56 ₹336

562.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,797

$6.20 ₹586

289.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.5K

$14.23 ₹1,344

389.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,505

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,388

$3.18 ₹301

229.56%

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

$625 Ft 202.1K

$27.26 ₹2,576

2193.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$1,264 ₹119.4K

1454.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.0K

$24.89 ₹2,351

309.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.0K

$25.89 ₹2,446

67.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.5K

$34.23 ₹3,234

220.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.0K

$28.51 ₹2,694

323.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 273.3K

$118 ₹11.2K

614.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.4K

$79.5 ₹7,508

703.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 520.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 393.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 557.5K

$365 ₹34.5K

372.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

-29.56%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Howrah: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Howrah

$79 20.6% 87.5% $559

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Howrah

$115 29.8% 55.8% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Howrah

$54 14% 76.1% $172

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Howrah

$63 16.2% 71.6% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Howrah

$51 13.3% 69.8% $118

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Howrah

$21 5.3% 77.3% $70

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Howrah

$3 * 0.8% 93.2% $40

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $845 in Budapest versus $118 in Howrah. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Budapest are about 4.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest versus $10 in Howrah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $115 – making Howrah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇮🇳 Howrah

🕒 Local time

19:40 7:40 PM

00:10 12:10 AM

4 h 30 min ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

1,072,161

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.59 USD

1,000 INR = 9.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 94.47 INR (100 INR = 1.06 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.42 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Budapest Howrah 6,640 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Howrah

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 Howrah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 327%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,471 per month in Budapest and $578 in Howrah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Howrah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $118 there versus $845 in Budapest.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest and $10 in Howrah. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 126% more in Budapest, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Howrah, where all-in costs run around $385, than in Budapest at $1,647. In Howrah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Howrah. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Budapest makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.