Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Wigan

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,619 a month against $1,964 in Wigan, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 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
96

Cost of Living Index in Wigan
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Wigan Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Wigan

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,964

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Wigan

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $1,964 in Wigan, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
Wigan $1,964

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $2,893 in Wigan, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
Wigan $2,893

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $3,823 in Wigan, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
Wigan $3,823

Budapest is about 18% cheaper than Wigan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Budapest and Wigan sit above the global median – Budapest by 20%, Wigan by 45%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$19.72 £14.80

-29.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$68.3 £51.2

-10.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$9.87 £7.40

3.24%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$3.39 £2.54

-3.83%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$2.37 £1.77

-9.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$1.53 £1.15

16.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$4.54 £3.40

-18.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$4.21 £3.16

-10.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.27 £0.95

-9.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$1.36 £1.02

31.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.29 £0.97

93.02%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$3.54 £2.66

10.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$5.43 £4.08

104.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$5.56 £4.17

19.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$7.80 £5.85

88.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$1.51 £1.13

21.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$1.67 £1.25

22.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$3.53 £2.65

-32.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$3.82 £2.87

2.09%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$1.79 £1.34

-44.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$1.71 £1.29

-41.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$1.20 £0.90

31.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$1.91 £1.43

-64.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$22.51 £16.89

-64.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$8.98 £6.74

-30.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$4.39 £3.30

-71.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$3.26 £2.45

-37.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$2.70 £2.02

-43.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$4.33 £3.25

-23.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$33.05 £24.79

-40.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$1.91 £1.44

-4.71%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$38.1K £28.6K

-21.86%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$40.5K £30.4K

-16.59%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$343 £258

-50.17%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$16.01 £12.01

46.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$38.96 £29.23

-40.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$59.0 £44.26

14.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$17.13 £12.85

-45.71%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$797 £598

-33.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$110 £82.4

-9.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$55.9 £41.97

-22.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$110 £82.8

-0.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$114 £85.3

4.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$975 £732

-14.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$760 £570

-18.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$1,593 £1,195

0.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$1,343 £1,008

-12.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

$2,670 £2,003

-38.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

6.4

0.78%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Wigan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Wigan

$760 38.7% 22.2% $138

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Wigan

$247 12.6% 4.3% $11

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Wigan

$275 14% 23.2% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Wigan

$398 20.3% 82.8% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Wigan

$175 8.9% 4.7% $7.9

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Wigan

$93 4.8% 8.3% $7.1

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Wigan

$15 * 0.8% 65.8% $29

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $830 in Budapest versus $975 in Wigan. 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 62% higher in Wigan, 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 $61.0 in Budapest versus $68.0 in Wigan. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Budapest vs $247 in Wigan – so Wigan wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇬🇧 Wigan

🕒 Local time

05:22 5:22 AM

04:22 4:22 AM

1 h behind Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

81,203

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Budapest Wigan 1,660 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Wigan

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 Wigan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Wigan is pricier by about 21%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,428 per month in Budapest and $2,946 in Wigan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Budapest and $68.0 in Wigan. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 4% cheaper in Wigan – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Budapest, where all-in costs run around $1,619, than in Wigan at $1,964. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Wigan it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Budapest – 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 Budapest. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Wigan makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.