Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Iasi

For one person, living is cheaper in Iasi: $1,251 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Iasi
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Iasi Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Iasi

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,251

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Iasi

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $1,251 in Iasi, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Iasi $1,251

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $1,834 in Iasi, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Iasi $1,834

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $2,417 in Iasi, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Iasi $2,417

Budapest costs about 30% more than Iasi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Iasi is 7% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,555

$10.54 RON 50.2

32.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.7K

$41.58 RON 198

45.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,244

$6.96 RON 33.17

43.10%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,102

$2.95 RON 14.07

14.58%

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

$2.13 Ft 693

$2.29 RON 10.89

-6.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 609

$1.78 RON 8.46

5.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,222

$3.06 RON 14.58

22.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,163

$3.69 RON 17.59

-3.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 369

$1.50 RON 7.14

-24.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 600

$1.33 RON 6.34

38.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$1.98 RON 9.44

20.71%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,246

$3.35 RON 15.95

14.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,689

$8.21 RON 39.11

38.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,194

$6.61 RON 31.52

1.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,784

$9.76 RON 46.50

50.51%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 598

$1.37 RON 6.53

34.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 654

$1.62 RON 7.74

24.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.66 RON 7.92

42.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,227

$2.16 RON 10.28

74.54%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 314

$0.84 RON 4.02

14.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 335

$0.83 RON 3.95

24.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.11 RON 5.30

40.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.94 RON 4.46

-29.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,594

$6.26 RON 29.82

27.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,956

$6.87 RON 32.76

-12.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 422

$1.31 RON 6.22

-0.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 677

$2.06 RON 9.84

0.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 490

$0.86 RON 4.08

74.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,991

$27.82 RON 133

-0.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,075

$0.86 RON 4.12

283.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.85 RON 4.05

52.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,442

$8.30 RON 39.57

138.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.90 RON 9.08

-4.74%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.6M

$28.5K RON 135.7K

3.00%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$27.3K RON 130.2K

24.88%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$183 RON 870

-6.89%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,809

$7.40 RON 35.28

224.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,628

$8.66 RON 41.28

170.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$44.73 RON 213

48.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,245

$15.73 RON 75.0

21.93%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,101

$8.15 RON 38.86

16.81%

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

$537 Ft 174.8K

$412 RON 1,962

30.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$6,959 RON 33.2K

138.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$73.9 RON 352

37.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$39.35 RON 188

9.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$95.1 RON 453

18.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.7K

$92.0 RON 438

29.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.2K

$539 RON 2,567

49.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.9K

$427 RON 2,036

47.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.6K

$874 RON 4,163

77.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 380.1K

$668 RON 3,185

74.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$2,932 RON 14.0K

91.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,910 RON 9,103

107.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.5K

$1,117 RON 5,324

45.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

7.18

-10.45%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Iasi: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Iasi

$427 34.1% 32.1% $202

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Iasi

$215 17.2% 16.6% $43

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Iasi

$180 14.3% 19.9% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Iasi

$199 15.9% 8.6% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Iasi

$135 10.8% 20.1% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Iasi

$61 4.9% 28.4% $24

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Iasi

$36 2.9% 16.3% $7.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $539 in Iasi. 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 46% 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 $42.00 in Iasi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $215 – making Iasi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇷🇴 Iasi

🕒 Local time

05:42 5:42 AM

06:42 6:42 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

290,422

💱 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 = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 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 = 326 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 = 4.77 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Between locations

Budapest Iasi 640 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
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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 Iasi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 30%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,432 per month in Budapest and $1,876 in Iasi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 1% less in Iasi. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $537 per month in Budapest and $412 in Iasi. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Iasi, where all-in costs run around $1,251, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Iasi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Iasi – 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 Iasi. 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.