Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Samsun

For one person, living is cheaper in Samsun: $960 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Samsun
Learn more

Samsun Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Samsun

🇹🇷 Turkey

$960

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Samsun

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $960 in Samsun, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Samsun $960

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $1,651 in Samsun, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Samsun $1,651

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $2,341 in Samsun, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Samsun $2,341

Budapest costs about 69% more than Samsun, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Samsun is 28% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$10.34 ₺510

35.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$60.9 ₺2,999

-0.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$10.80 ₺532

-7.78%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$4.03 ₺198

-16.13%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$0.79 ₺38.71

169.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.30 ₺14.70

523.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$1.86 ₺91.7

101.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$1.98 ₺97.3

80.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$1.18 ₺58.3

-4.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$2.05 ₺101

-10.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$2.81 ₺138

-14.95%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$2.60 ₺128

47.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$8.57 ₺422

32.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$5.77 ₺284

16.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$26.69 ₺1,315

-44.96%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$2.39 ₺118

-23.01%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$2.42 ₺119

-16.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.51 ₺74.3

56.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$1.09 ₺53.8

245.87%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$0.47 ₺23.26

104.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$0.34 ₺16.93

202.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$0.89 ₺43.80

75.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.63 ₺31.03

4.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$2.09 ₺103

280.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$8.96 ₺441

-32.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$1.67 ₺82.0

-22.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$2.23 ₺110

-6.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$0.60 ₺29.73

150.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$12.01 ₺591

129.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$2.07 ₺102

59.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.68 ₺33.58

91.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$6.62 ₺326

198.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.34 ₺66.2

35.07%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$41.6K ₺2.0M

-29.45%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$40.3K ₺2.0M

-15.29%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$91.5 ₺4,509

85.65%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$12.75 ₺628

88.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$12.56 ₺619

86.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$31.29 ₺1,542

111.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$6.13 ₺302

212.89%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$3.99 ₺197

138.60%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$256 ₺12.6K

109.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$24.15 ₺1,189

319.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$30.51 ₺1,503

40.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$70.1 ₺3,452

60.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$61.9 ₺3,048

91.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$349 ₺17.2K

130.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$258 ₺12.7K

143.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$752 ₺37.1K

105.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$618 ₺30.4K

88.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$984 ₺48.5K

471.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$666 ₺32.8K

495.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$934 ₺46.0K

73.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

-86.88%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Samsun: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Samsun

$258 26.6% 59% $371

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Samsun

$270 27.9% 5% $13

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Samsun

$181 18.7% 19.3% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Samsun

$117 12.1% 46.2% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Samsun

$84 8.7% 50.3% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Samsun

$39 4.1% 53.9% $46

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Samsun

$20 2.1% 54.2% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $349 in Samsun. 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 74% 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 $61.0 in Samsun. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $270 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇹🇷 Samsun

🕒 Local time

09:36 9:36 AM

10:36 10:36 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

1,295,927

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 49.26 TRY (100 TRY = 2.03 USD). 1 EUR = 55.25 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Samsun 1,530 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Samsun

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 Samsun: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 69%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,432 per month in Budapest and $1,441 in Samsun. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 130% less in Samsun. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $537 per month in Budapest and $256 in Samsun. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Samsun, where all-in costs run around $960, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Samsun it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Samsun – 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 Samsun. 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.