Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the Canary Islands and Budapest

For one person, living costs are similar in the Canary Islands and in Budapest: $1,650 and $1,619 a month, rent and utilities included.

80

Cost of Living Index in the Canary Islands
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Canary Islands Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Canary Islands

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,650

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in the Canary Islands and in Budapest

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in the Canary Islands and in Budapest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,650 per month in the Canary Islands vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Canary Islands $1,650
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $2,373 per month in the Canary Islands vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Canary Islands $2,373
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $3,095 per month in the Canary Islands vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Canary Islands $3,095
Budapest $3,429

Canary Islands costs about 2% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Canary Islands and Budapest sit above the global median – Canary Islands by 22%, Budapest by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.32 €18.07

$13.94 Ft 4,503

45.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.1 €54.3

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

-0.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.42 €8.37

$10.19 Ft 3,291

-7.56%

Cappuccino

$2.05 €1.83

$3.26 Ft 1,055

-37.12%

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

$1.86 €1.65

$2.14 Ft 690

-13.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.78 Ft 577

-38.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.85 €2.53

$3.71 Ft 1,198

-23.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 €3.04

$3.77 Ft 1,217

-9.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.15 Ft 371

18.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.39 €2.13

$1.79 Ft 578

33.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 €1.40

$2.49 Ft 804

-36.55%

Eggs

$2.18 €1.94

$3.90 Ft 1,261

-44.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.31 €17.18

$11.10 Ft 3,587

73.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.93 €8.83

$6.62 Ft 2,139

50.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.23 €15.32

$14.69 Ft 4,745

17.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.83 Ft 591

49.18%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 €2.00

$2.05 Ft 661

9.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.37 Ft 765

-8.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 €2.23

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-35.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.14 €1.91

$0.99 Ft 320

116.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.00 Ft 322

102.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.58 Ft 511

7.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$0.67 Ft 216

38.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.66 €4.14

$7.96 Ft 2,572

-41.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.86 €6.99

$6.22 Ft 2,009

26.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.27 Ft 411

33.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.03 Ft 654

-13.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 €0.76

$1.52 Ft 490

-43.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.24 €3.77

$3.31 Ft 1,070

28.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.69 €1.50

$1.37 Ft 442

23.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 €14.75

$19.83 Ft 6,406

-16.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.82 Ft 589

-6.59%

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

$24.9K €22.2K

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

-16.37%

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

$29.0K €25.8K

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

-14.33%

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

$126 €112

$171 Ft 55.3K

-26.32%

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

$20.91 €18.60

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-11.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.49 €31.57

$23.29 Ft 7,526

52.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.49 €42.24

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-29.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.07 €21.41

$18.89 Ft 6,104

27.42%

Cinema Ticket

$9.85 €8.76

$9.30 Ft 3,004

5.91%

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

$400 €355

$533 Ft 172.3K

-25.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,096 €4,532

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-69.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.3 €60.7

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-31.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.65 €34.38

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

-11.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.6 €79.7

$110 Ft 35.7K

-18.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 €101

$119 Ft 38.4K

-4.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,111 €988

$830 Ft 268.3K

33.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$680 €605

$622 Ft 200.9K

9.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$825 €734

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

-29.47%

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)

$1,369 €1,218

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

-17.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.33

6.45

-48.37%

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

Last update for the Canary Islands: October 13, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Canary Islands

$680 41.2%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 8.6% $58

Groceries & Markets

Canary Islands

$316 19.2%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 18.5% $58

Eating Out

Canary Islands

$248 15.1%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 10.2% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Canary Islands

$182 11.1%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 19.4% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Canary Islands

$140 8.5%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 20% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Canary Islands

$67 4.1%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 28.2% $19

Getting Around

Canary Islands

$16 * 1%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 174% $28

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,111 in the Canary Islands versus $830 in Budapest. 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 21% higher in Budapest, 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 $61.0 in the Canary Islands versus $61.0 in Budapest. Groceries tell a different story – $316 in the Canary Islands vs $258 in Budapest – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Canary Islands

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

20:19 8:19 PM

21:19 9:19 PM

1 h ahead of the Canary Islands

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,050

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Canary Islands Budapest 3,750 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Canary Islands
Budapest

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

Canary Islands vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Canary Islands is pricier by about 2%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,475 per month in the Canary Islands and $2,428 in Budapest. 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 the Canary Islands and $61.0 in Budapest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 23% more in the Canary Islands, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Budapest, where all-in costs run around $1,619, than in the Canary Islands at $1,650. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in the Canary Islands 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, Canary Islands makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.