Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Stara Zagora

For one person, living is cheaper in Stara Zagora: $864 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Stara Zagora
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Stara Zagora Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Stara Zagora

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$864

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Stara Zagora

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $864 in Stara Zagora, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Stara Zagora $864

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $1,394 in Stara Zagora, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Stara Zagora $1,394

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $1,924 in Stara Zagora, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Stara Zagora $1,924

Budapest costs about 88% more than Stara Zagora, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Stara Zagora is 36% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$10.36 BGN 18.13

35.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$50.8 BGN 88.8

18.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$8.79 BGN 15.38

13.31%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$2.33 BGN 4.08

45.06%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$1.51 BGN 2.65

41.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.88 BGN 1.54

112.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$2.30 BGN 4.02

63.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$2.00 BGN 3.49

78.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$1.79 BGN 3.13

-36.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$0.88 BGN 1.54

109.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$1.45 BGN 2.54

64.83%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$2.37 BGN 4.14

61.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$9.27 BGN 16.22

22.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$6.62 BGN 11.58

1.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$8.59 BGN 15.04

71.01%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$1.32 BGN 2.31

39.39%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.71 BGN 3.00

17.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.76 BGN 3.08

34.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$1.98 BGN 3.46

90.40%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$1.01 BGN 1.77

-4.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$0.76 BGN 1.33

35.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$0.54 BGN 0.95

188.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.64 BGN 1.11

3.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$3.79 BGN 6.64

110.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$5.04 BGN 8.82

19.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$1.14 BGN 2.00

14.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$1.71 BGN 2.99

21.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$0.89 BGN 1.55

68.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$18.61 BGN 32.56

48.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$1.31 BGN 2.29

151.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.64 BGN 1.12

103.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$11.52 BGN 20.16

71.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.60 BGN 2.81

13.12%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$30.6K BGN 53.6K

-4.22%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$22.3K BGN 39.1K

52.62%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$93.2 BGN 163

82.28%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$14.82 BGN 25.93

61.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$12.33 BGN 21.57

89.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$26.49 BGN 46.36

150.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$21.22 BGN 37.14

-9.61%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$8.66 BGN 15.16

9.93%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$234 BGN 410

129.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$2,272 BGN 3,975

631.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$31.04 BGN 54.3

226.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$19.21 BGN 33.62

123.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$63.9 BGN 112

76.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$51.7 BGN 90.5

129.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$298 BGN 522

169.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$250 BGN 438

151.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$494 BGN 865

213.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$395 BGN 692

195.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$1,449 BGN 2,536

287.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,064 BGN 1,861

273.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$1,058 BGN 1,852

53.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

2.99

115.05%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Stara Zagora: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Stara Zagora

$250 28.7% 60.2% $379

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Stara Zagora

$196 22.4% 23.9% $62

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Stara Zagora

$162 18.6% 27.7% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Stara Zagora

$120 13.8% 44.6% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Stara Zagora

$75 8.5% 55.9% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Stara Zagora

$44 5% 48.6% $41

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Stara Zagora

$27 3.1% 38.6% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $298 in Stara Zagora. 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 54% 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 $51.0 in Stara Zagora. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $196 – making Stara Zagora the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇧🇬 Stara Zagora

🕒 Local time

07:10 7:10 AM

08:10 8:10 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

149,266

💱 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 = 325 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 Stara Zagora 770 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 Stara Zagora: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 88%, 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 $1,296 in Stara Zagora. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 48% less in Stara Zagora. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $537 per month in Budapest and $234 in Stara Zagora. 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 Stara Zagora, where all-in costs run around $864, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Stara Zagora it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Stara Zagora – 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 Stara Zagora. 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.