Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Moldova

Name: Moldova
Address: MD

For one person, living is cheaper in Moldova: $1,135 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Moldova
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Moldova Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

🇲🇩 Moldova

$1,135

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Budapest is 45.4% more expensive than Moldova without rent, and 42.9% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Budapest is 46.2% more expensive than Moldova without rent, and 50.2% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$9.43 MDL 167

48.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$34.09 MDL 604

77.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$8.59 MDL 152

15.95%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$1.89 MDL 33.46

78.84%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$1.06 MDL 18.71

100.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.74 MDL 13.08

152.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$1.83 MDL 32.40

104.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$1.99 MDL 35.35

79.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$1.21 MDL 21.37

-6.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$0.65 MDL 11.59

183.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$1.40 MDL 24.88

70.71%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$2.70 MDL 47.91

41.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$9.46 MDL 168

19.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$5.22 MDL 92.4

29.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$8.30 MDL 147

76.99%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$1.00 MDL 17.75

84.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.83 MDL 32.34

9.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.84 MDL 32.67

28.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$2.11 MDL 37.38

78.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$0.77 MDL 13.72

24.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$0.52 MDL 9.28

98.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.28 MDL 22.60

21.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.88 MDL 15.55

-25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$3.38 MDL 59.8

135.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$4.34 MDL 76.9

38.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$1.27 MDL 22.57

2.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$1.92 MDL 34.01

8.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$0.40 MDL 7.13

275.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$14.89 MDL 264

85.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$2.18 MDL 38.65

51.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.35 MDL 6.23

271.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$5.00 MDL 88.7

295.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.67 MDL 29.63

8.38%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$30.1K MDL 533.2K

-2.52%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$28.4K MDL 503.9K

19.97%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$221 MDL 3,921

-23.19%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$9.33 MDL 165

157.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$10.79 MDL 191

117.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$38.47 MDL 682

72.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$17.62 MDL 312

8.85%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$8.32 MDL 148

14.42%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$388 MDL 6,868

38.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$5,539 MDL 98.2K

199.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$68.3 MDL 1,211

48.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$41.45 MDL 735

3.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$102 MDL 1,816

10.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$108 MDL 1,920

9.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$564 MDL 9,997

42.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$363 MDL 6,425

73.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$1,110 MDL 19.7K

39.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$706 MDL 12.5K

65.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$2,465 MDL 43.7K

127.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,824 MDL 32.3K

117.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$764 MDL 13.5K

112.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

8.61

-25.32%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Moldova: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Moldova

$363 31.4% 42.4% $267

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Moldova

$186 16.1% 27.7% $71

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Moldova

$144 12.5% 35.7% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Moldova

$241 20.9% 11.1% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Moldova

$144 12.5% 14.7% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Moldova

$55 4.8% 35.4% $30

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Moldova

$20 1.8% 52.9% $23

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇲🇩 Moldova

🕒 Local time

06:56 6:56 AM

07:56 7:56 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

2,603,813

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

100 MDL = 5.64 USD

100 MDL = 5.03 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MDL, 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).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17.72 MDL (100 MDL = 5.64 USD). 1 EUR = 19.88 MDL (100 MDL = 5.03 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Budapest Moldova 740 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Moldova

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.

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