Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Romania

Name: Romania
Address: RO

For one person, living is cheaper in Romania: $1,095 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Romania
Learn more

Romania Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,095

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Budapest is 36.4% more expensive than Romania without rent, and 48% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Budapest is 35.4% more expensive than Romania without rent, and 55.2% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$10.35 RON 48.95

35.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$41.76 RON 198

44.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$7.47 RON 35.35

33.33%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$2.84 RON 13.45

19.01%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$1.95 RON 9.21

9.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$1.68 RON 7.94

11.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$2.30 RON 10.86

63.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$3.24 RON 15.31

10.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$1.47 RON 6.95

-23.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$1.16 RON 5.49

58.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$1.59 RON 7.54

50.31%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$3.18 RON 15.04

20.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$8.02 RON 37.95

41.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$6.26 RON 29.61

7.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$10.53 RON 49.79

39.51%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$1.21 RON 5.73

52.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.56 RON 7.40

28.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.55 RON 7.35

52.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$2.20 RON 10.41

71.36%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$0.85 RON 4.02

12.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$0.82 RON 3.86

25.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$0.84 RON 3.99

85.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.85 RON 4.01

-22.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$6.10 RON 28.85

30.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$6.21 RON 29.35

-3.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$1.14 RON 5.38

14.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$1.63 RON 7.69

27.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$0.73 RON 3.45

105.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$23.09 RON 109

19.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$0.76 RON 3.60

334.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.76 RON 3.58

71.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$7.20 RON 34.07

174.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.76 RON 8.34

2.84%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$28.6K RON 135.4K

2.41%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$24.9K RON 117.6K

37.23%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$161 RON 764

5.24%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$8.01 RON 37.89

199.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$8.84 RON 41.80

164.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$40.05 RON 189

65.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$18.90 RON 89.4

1.48%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$7.29 RON 34.50

30.59%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$469 RON 2,216

14.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$8,762 RON 41.4K

89.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$68.8 RON 325

47.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$37.50 RON 177

14.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$80.1 RON 379

40.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$84.2 RON 398

40.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$462 RON 2,186

74.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$342 RON 1,615

84.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$800 RON 3,784

93.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$589 RON 2,786

98.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$2,451 RON 11.6K

129.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,819 RON 8,605

118.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$975 RON 4,611

66.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

6.98

-7.88%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Romania: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Romania

$342 31% 45.7% $288

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Romania

$204 18.5% 20.8% $54

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Romania

$172 15.6% 23.4% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Romania

$178 16.2% 17.9% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Romania

$122 11% 28% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Romania

$55 5% 35.9% $31

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Romania

$31 2.8% 29.7% $13

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇷🇴 Romania

🕒 Local time

13:14 1:14 PM

14:14 2:14 PM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

19,053,815

💱 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 = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 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 = 325 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 = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Romania 640 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Romania

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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