Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Telsiai

For one person, living is cheaper in Telsiai: $1,378 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Telsiai
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Telsiai Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Telsiai

🇱🇹 Lithuania

$1,378

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Telsiai

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

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Budapest vs $1,378 in Telsiai, rent included.

Budapest $1,641
Telsiai $1,378

A couple spends around $2,562 per month in Budapest vs $2,157 in Telsiai, rent included.

Budapest $2,562
Telsiai $2,157

A family of three spends $3,483 per month in Budapest vs $2,936 in Telsiai, rent included.

Budapest $3,483
Telsiai $2,936

Budapest costs about 19% more than Telsiai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Budapest and Telsiai sit above the global median – Budapest by 21%, Telsiai by 2%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.04 Ft 4,536

$13.58 €12.08

3.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

$75.2 €66.9

-19.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 Ft 3,351

$9.19 €8.18

12.84%

Cappuccino

$3.46 Ft 1,117

$3.77 €3.36

-8.22%

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

$2.07 Ft 669

$2.26 €2.01

-8.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 Ft 572

$2.27 €2.02

-22.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 Ft 1,191

$5.52 €4.91

-33.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 Ft 1,229

$5.17 €4.60

-26.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 Ft 374

$1.46 €1.30

-20.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 Ft 598

$1.66 €1.48

11.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 Ft 776

$2.44 €2.17

-1.64%

Eggs

$3.99 Ft 1,289

$3.17 €2.82

25.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 Ft 3,683

$10.48 €9.32

8.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.87 Ft 2,221

$8.61 €7.66

-20.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.49 Ft 4,682

$11.67 €10.38

24.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.88 Ft 607

$1.86 €1.65

1.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 Ft 693

$1.45 €1.29

47.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 Ft 744

$1.76 €1.57

30.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.04 Ft 1,304

$3.48 €3.09

16.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 329

$0.91 €0.81

12.09%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$0.79 €0.70

25.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 510

$1.61 €1.43

-1.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 225

$0.80 €0.71

-12.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.03 Ft 2,594

$6.21 €5.52

29.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 Ft 1,997

$9.05 €8.05

-31.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 Ft 401

$1.77 €1.58

-29.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 Ft 666

$1.92 €1.71

7.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 Ft 513

$1.10 €0.98

44.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

$32.55 €28.95

-15.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 Ft 1,110

$3.09 €2.75

11.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 Ft 431

$1.27 €1.13

4.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.45 Ft 6,607

$14.03 €12.48

45.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.96 €1.75

-1.53%

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

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

$27.6K €24.5K

5.67%

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

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

$31.4K €27.9K

10.71%

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

$175 Ft 56.4K

$233 €207

-24.95%

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

$23.62 Ft 7,631

$13.74 €12.22

71.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.60 Ft 7,625

$20.49 €18.22

15.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

$39.90 €35.49

72.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

$22.34 €19.87

-13.79%

Cinema Ticket

$10.31 Ft 3,333

$9.99 €8.89

3.20%

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

$535 Ft 172.9K

$635 €565

-15.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$11.3K €10.1K

48.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

$96.0 €85.4

3.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

$41.72 €37.11

3.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 Ft 36.1K

$89.9 €79.9

24.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$128 €114

-7.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 Ft 268.8K

$533 €474

56.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 203.3K

$350 €312

79.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

$813 €723

95.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

$622 €553

92.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

$3,068 €2,729

86.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

$1,763 €1,568

123.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

3.99

61.65%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Telsiai: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.4%

Telsiai

$350 25.4% 44.3% $279

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$262 16%

Telsiai

$257 18.6% 1.9% $4.9

Eating Out

Budapest

$226 13.8%

Telsiai

$238 17.2% 5% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$222 13.5%

Telsiai

$267 19.4% 20.3% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.3%

Telsiai

$160 11.6% 4.8% $8.1

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.5%

Telsiai

$60 4.4% 33.1% $30

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Telsiai

$46 3.4% 5.4% $2.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $832 in Budapest versus $533 in Telsiai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Budapest versus $75.0 in Telsiai. Groceries tell a different story – $262 in Budapest vs $257 in Telsiai – so Telsiai wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇱🇹 Telsiai

🕒 Local time

20:59 8:59 PM

21:59 9:59 PM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

25,540

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 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 23, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Budapest Telsiai 970 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

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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 Telsiai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 19%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,461 per month in Budapest and $2,067 in Telsiai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 18% less in Telsiai. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $535 per month in Budapest and $635 in Telsiai. 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 Telsiai, where all-in costs run around $1,378, than in Budapest at $1,641. In Telsiai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Telsiai – 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 Telsiai. 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.