Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Plovdiv

For one person, living is cheaper in Plovdiv: $1,212 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Plovdiv
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Plovdiv Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Plovdiv

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,212

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Plovdiv

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $1,212 in Plovdiv, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Plovdiv $1,212

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $1,850 in Plovdiv, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Plovdiv $1,850

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

Budapest $3,489
Plovdiv $2,489

Budapest costs about 34% more than Plovdiv, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Plovdiv is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,555

$9.12 BGN 15.96

53.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.7K

$44.93 BGN 78.6

34.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,244

$9.39 BGN 16.43

6.07%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,102

$2.78 BGN 4.86

21.58%

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

$2.13 Ft 693

$1.77 BGN 3.09

20.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 609

$1.58 BGN 2.76

18.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,222

$2.53 BGN 4.43

48.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,163

$4.14 BGN 7.25

-13.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 369

$1.76 BGN 3.07

-35.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 600

$1.16 BGN 2.03

58.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$2.24 BGN 3.93

6.70%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,246

$3.64 BGN 6.37

5.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,689

$11.42 BGN 19.98

-0.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,194

$8.46 BGN 14.81

-20.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,784

$14.11 BGN 24.70

4.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 598

$1.67 BGN 2.92

10.18%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 654

$1.82 BGN 3.18

10.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.90 BGN 3.33

24.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,227

$2.58 BGN 4.51

46.12%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 314

$1.04 BGN 1.83

-7.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 335

$1.06 BGN 1.85

-2.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.16 BGN 2.04

34.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.73 BGN 1.27

-9.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,594

$4.06 BGN 7.11

96.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,956

$6.17 BGN 10.79

-2.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 422

$1.12 BGN 1.96

16.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 677

$2.03 BGN 3.56

2.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 490

$0.55 BGN 0.96

172.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,991

$28.99 BGN 50.7

-4.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,075

$1.29 BGN 2.27

155.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.61 BGN 1.06

113.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,442

$10.13 BGN 17.73

95.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.70 BGN 2.98

6.47%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.6M

$30.0K BGN 52.4K

-2.11%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$25.1K BGN 43.8K

36.14%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$114 BGN 200

48.60%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,809

$18.53 BGN 32.43

29.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,628

$15.25 BGN 26.69

53.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$40.23 BGN 70.4

64.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,245

$20.30 BGN 35.52

-5.52%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,101

$9.01 BGN 15.76

5.66%

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

$537 Ft 174.8K

$515 BGN 901

4.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$5,450 BGN 9,537

204.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$67.3 BGN 118

50.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$42.10 BGN 73.7

2.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$96.0 BGN 168

17.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.7K

$103 BGN 181

14.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.2K

$530 BGN 928

51.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.9K

$388 BGN 679

62.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.6K

$878 BGN 1,536

76.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 380.1K

$670 BGN 1,173

74.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$2,226 BGN 3,896

152.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,572 BGN 2,751

152.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.5K

$1,161 BGN 2,032

39.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

3.1

107.42%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Plovdiv: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Plovdiv

$388 32.6% 38.4% $241

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Plovdiv

$252 21.2% 2.2% $5.7

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Plovdiv

$169 14.2% 24.7% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Plovdiv

$148 12.5% 31.8% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Plovdiv

$139 11.7% 17.8% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Plovdiv

$58 4.9% 31.7% $27

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Plovdiv

$36 3% 18.2% $7.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $530 in Plovdiv. 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 40% 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 $45.00 in Plovdiv. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $252 – making Plovdiv the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇧🇬 Plovdiv

🕒 Local time

08:19 8:19 AM

09:19 9:19 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

368,983

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, 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).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.509 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Plovdiv 750 km ≈ 1 h 30 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 Plovdiv: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 34%, 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 $1,817 in Plovdiv. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 5% less in Plovdiv. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $537 per month in Budapest and $515 in Plovdiv. 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 Plovdiv, where all-in costs run around $1,212, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Plovdiv it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Plovdiv – 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 Plovdiv. 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.