Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Santiago de Compostela

Name: Santiago de Compostela
Address: Santiago de Compostela, ES

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago de Compostela: $1,443 a month against $1,638 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 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
69

Cost of Living Index in Santiago de Compostela
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Santiago de Compostela Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,638

/mo nomad

Santiago de Compostela

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Santiago de Compostela

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 Santiago de Compostela actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,638 per month in Budapest vs $1,443 in Santiago de Compostela, rent included.

Budapest $1,638
Santiago de Compostela $1,443

A couple spends around $2,553 per month in Budapest vs $2,226 in Santiago de Compostela, rent included.

Budapest $2,553
Santiago de Compostela $2,226

A family of three spends $3,467 per month in Budapest vs $3,008 in Santiago de Compostela, rent included.

Budapest $3,467
Santiago de Compostela $3,008

Budapest costs about 14% more than Santiago de Compostela, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Budapest and Santiago de Compostela sit above the global median – Budapest by 20%, Santiago de Compostela by 6%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.81 Ft 4,552

$13.64 €12.25

1.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.5 Ft 20.3K

$67.6 €60.7

-9.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.16 Ft 3,349

$9.43 €8.47

7.74%

Cappuccino

$3.22 Ft 1,062

$1.94 €1.74

65.98%

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

$2.06 Ft 680

$2.78 €2.49

-25.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 Ft 605

$2.13 €1.92

-14.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.60 Ft 1,188

$2.96 €2.66

21.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 Ft 1,208

$3.95 €3.55

-7.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 Ft 392

$1.21 €1.09

-1.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 Ft 617

$1.16 €1.04

61.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 780

$1.34 €1.20

76.87%

Eggs

$3.96 Ft 1,305

$2.80 €2.52

41.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.16 Ft 3,680

$9.15 €8.22

21.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.76 Ft 2,228

$6.75 €6.06

0.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.35 Ft 4,731

$16.50 €14.82

-13.03%

Apples (1kg)

$1.81 Ft 596

$2.09 €1.88

-13.40%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 Ft 695

$2.13 €1.91

-0.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 Ft 770

$1.49 €1.34

56.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.80 Ft 1,254

$2.84 €2.55

33.80%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 327

$1.98 €1.78

-50.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.98 Ft 324

$1.47 €1.32

-33.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 Ft 512

$1.14 €1.02

35.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 230

$0.83 €0.74

-15.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.79 Ft 2,569

$5.75 €5.17

35.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 Ft 1,995

$4.91 €4.41

23.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 Ft 421

$1.43 €1.29

-10.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 Ft 672

$2.37 €2.13

-13.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 Ft 511

$1.26 €1.13

23.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.28 Ft 8,995

$32.86 €29.52

-16.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,087

$4.90 €4.40

-32.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.31 Ft 433

$1.36 €1.22

-3.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.26 Ft 6,679

$18.97 €17.04

6.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 600

$1.77 €1.59

2.82%

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

$28.7K Ft 9.5M

$34.9K €31.3K

-17.59%

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

$33.1K Ft 10.9M

$29.7K €26.7K

11.41%

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

$172 Ft 56.8K

$152 €137

12.93%

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

$23.95 Ft 7,897

$21.57 €19.37

11.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.31 Ft 7,685

$32.85 €29.51

-29.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.6 Ft 22.6K

$50.7 €45.55

35.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.91 Ft 6,235

$2.27 €2.04

733.04%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 Ft 3,356

$10.20 €9.17

-0.20%

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

$600 Ft 197.9K

$335 €301

79.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.5M

$8,280 €7,438

102.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.0 Ft 32.6K

$90.1 €80.9

9.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.25 Ft 14.3K

$64.1 €57.6

-32.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 37.2K

$103 €92.1

10.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 Ft 38.6K

$93.8 €84.3

24.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$836 Ft 275.6K

$739 €664

13.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$640 Ft 210.9K

$515 €463

24.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 Ft 526.9K

$1,070 €961

49.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,205 Ft 397.3K

$868 €780

38.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,625 Ft 1.9M

$3,100 €2,785

81.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,802 Ft 1.3M

$2,153 €1,934

76.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,671 Ft 551.1K

$1,886 €1,694

-11.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

2.96

117.91%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 27, 2026

Last update for Santiago de Compostela: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$640 39.1%

Santiago de Compostela

$515 35.7% 19.5% $125

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Santiago de Compostela

$239 16.6% 7.3% $19

Eating Out

Budapest

$221 13.5%

Santiago de Compostela

$203 14.1% 8% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$219 13.4%

Santiago de Compostela

$207 14.3% 5.7% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.2%

Santiago de Compostela

$158 10.9% 5.9% $9.8

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.4%

Santiago de Compostela

$71 4.9% 20.1% $18

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Santiago de Compostela

$50 3.4% 14.4% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $836 in Budapest versus $739 in Santiago de Compostela. 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 13% higher in Santiago de Compostela, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest versus $68 in Santiago de Compostela. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Budapest vs $239 in Santiago de Compostela – so Santiago de Compostela wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇪🇸 Santiago de Compostela

🕒 Local time

17:07 5:07 PM

Same time as Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

98,687

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.03 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 330 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.03 USD). 1 EUR = 367 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Santiago de Compostela 2,210 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Santiago de Compostela

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 Santiago de Compostela: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 14%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,457 per month in Budapest and $2,164 in Santiago de Compostela. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Santiago de Compostela, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $739 there versus $836 in Budapest.

Public transport costs about 17% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $600 per month in Budapest and $335 in Santiago de Compostela. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,638 in Budapest and $1,443 in Santiago de Compostela, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Santiago de Compostela – 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.