Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Karabuk

For one person, living is cheaper in Karabuk: $661 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Karabuk
Learn more

Karabuk Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Karabuk

🇹🇷 Turkey

$661

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Karabuk

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $661 in Karabuk, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
Karabuk $661

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $1,037 in Karabuk, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
Karabuk $1,037

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $1,414 in Karabuk, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
Karabuk $1,414

Budapest costs about 145% more than Karabuk, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while Karabuk is 51% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$8.07 ₺400

72.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$24.01 ₺1,189

154.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$7.68 ₺380

32.68%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$3.43 ₺170

-4.96%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$1.13 ₺56.1

89.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$0.31 ₺15.36

474.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$1.59 ₺78.6

133.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$2.78 ₺138

35.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$0.86 ₺42.57

33.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$0.31 ₺15.45

477.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$2.55 ₺126

-2.35%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$2.57 ₺127

51.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$6.23 ₺308

78.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$4.01 ₺199

65.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$10.25 ₺508

43.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$1.40 ₺69.3

30.71%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$1.75 ₺86.5

17.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$0.73 ₺36.38

224.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$0.78 ₺38.80

400.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$0.49 ₺24.43

102.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$0.43 ₺21.53

132.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$0.42 ₺21.04

276.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$0.29 ₺14.21

131.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$1.85 ₺91.6

330.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$4.97 ₺246

25.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$1.66 ₺82.1

-23.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$2.05 ₺101

-0.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$0.59 ₺29.31

157.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$0.63 ₺31.39

425.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$0.93 ₺46.23

47.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$1.33 ₺65.8

36.84%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$40.3K ₺2.0M

-26.02%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$39.5K ₺2.0M

-14.36%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$77.3 ₺3,826

121.43%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$4.92 ₺244

377.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$9.99 ₺495

133.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$17.38 ₺861

288.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

$6.18 ₺306

205.66%

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$4.12 ₺204

125.73%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$464 ₺23.0K

15.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$6,117 ₺302.8K

173.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$20.00 ₺990

398.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$27.93 ₺1,383

55.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$39.99 ₺1,980

175.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$41.30 ₺2,045

188.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$255 ₺12.6K

225.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$173 ₺8,579

258.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$460 ₺22.8K

246.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$333 ₺16.5K

251.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$1,629 ₺80.6K

258.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$619 ₺30.7K

527.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

$1,202 ₺59.5K

37.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

-84.27%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Karabuk: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Karabuk

$173 26.2% 72.1% $449

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Karabuk

$156 23.6% 39.6% $102

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Karabuk

$148 22.4% 33.6% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Karabuk

$92 14% 57.7% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Karabuk

$58 8.8% 65.3% $109

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Karabuk

$26 3.9% 70.3% $61

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Karabuk

$7.7 * 1.2% 82.7% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $830 in Budapest versus $255 in Karabuk. 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 37% 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 $61.0 in Budapest versus $24.00 in Karabuk. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $156 – making Karabuk the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇹🇷 Karabuk

🕒 Local time

01:39 1:39 AM

02:39 2:39 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

123,309

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Between locations

Budapest Karabuk 1,280 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Karabuk

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 Karabuk: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 145%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,428 per month in Budapest and $991 in Karabuk. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Budapest and $24.00 in Karabuk. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 66% more in Budapest, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Karabuk, where all-in costs run around $661, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Karabuk it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Karabuk – 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 Karabuk. 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.