Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Kharkiv

For one person, living is cheaper in Kharkiv: $673 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Kharkiv
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Kharkiv Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Kharkiv

🇺🇦 Ukraine

$673

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Kharkiv

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $673 in Kharkiv, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Kharkiv $673

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $1,064 in Kharkiv, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Kharkiv $1,064

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $1,456 in Kharkiv, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Kharkiv $1,456

Budapest costs about 141% more than Kharkiv, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Kharkiv is 50% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$6.80 ₴305

105.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$31.13 ₴1,396

93.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$4.95 ₴222

101.21%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$1.57 ₴70.6

115.29%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$1.05 ₴47.09

102.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.51 ₴23.00

266.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$0.97 ₴43.65

286.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$1.70 ₴76.3

110.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$1.09 ₴48.88

3.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$0.70 ₴31.47

162.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$1.19 ₴53.5

100.84%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$1.74 ₴78.0

120.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$8.33 ₴374

36.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$4.29 ₴192

57.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$7.08 ₴317

107.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$1.39 ₴62.6

32.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.60 ₴72.0

25.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.66 ₴74.6

42.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$2.15 ₴96.5

75.35%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$0.73 ₴32.75

31.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$0.55 ₴24.73

87.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.21 ₴54.2

28.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.65 ₴28.97

1.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$2.85 ₴128

179.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$4.35 ₴195

38.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$0.85 ₴38.29

52.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$1.18 ₴52.9

76.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$1.38 ₴61.8

139.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.31 ₴14.06

319.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$2.19 ₴98.2

803.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.83 ₴82.2

-1.09%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$29.5K ₴1.3M

-0.62%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$22.2K ₴996.8K

53.47%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$95.1 ₴4,266

78.70%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$5.98 ₴268

301.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$6.83 ₴306

242.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$22.10 ₴991

199.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$13.61 ₴610

40.93%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$4.62 ₴207

106.06%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$280 ₴12.6K

91.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$2,666 ₴119.6K

522.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$56.3 ₴2,527

79.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$42.92 ₴1,925

0.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$90.2 ₴4,044

25.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$104 ₴4,685

13.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$243 ₴10.9K

231.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$143 ₴6,431

338.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$505 ₴22.6K

206.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$211 ₴9,470

452.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$1,073 ₴48.1K

423.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$571 ₴25.6K

594.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$528 ₴23.7K

208.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

17.89

-64.06%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Kharkiv: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Kharkiv

$143 21% 77.2% $486

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Kharkiv

$163 23.8% 36.9% $95

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Kharkiv

$103 15% 54.2% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Kharkiv

$108 15.8% 50.3% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Kharkiv

$132 19.4% 21.8% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Kharkiv

$31 4.6% 63.3% $54

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Kharkiv

$3 * 0.4% 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 $805 in Budapest versus $243 in Kharkiv. 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 208% 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 $31.00 in Kharkiv. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $163 – making Kharkiv the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇺🇦 Kharkiv

🕒 Local time

13:15 1:15 PM

14:15 2:15 PM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

1,447,652

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Ukrainian Hryvnia UAH ₴

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

100 UAH = 2.23 USD

100 UAH = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UAH, 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).

Ukrainian Hryvnia exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 44.85 UAH (100 UAH = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 50.26 UAH (100 UAH = 1.99 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Between locations

Budapest Kharkiv 1,290 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Kharkiv: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 141%, 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 $1,009 in Kharkiv. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kharkiv, 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 $60.0 in Budapest and $31.00 in Kharkiv. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 59% 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 Kharkiv, where all-in costs run around $673, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Kharkiv it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Kharkiv – 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 Kharkiv. 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.