Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Castries and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Castries: $1,413 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Budapest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

70

Cost of Living Index in Castries
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Castries Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Castries

🇱🇨 Saint Lucia

$1,413

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Castries 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 Castries and in Budapest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,413 per month in Castries vs $1,621 in Budapest, rent included.

Castries $1,413
Budapest $1,621

A couple spends around $2,371 per month in Castries vs $2,555 in Budapest, rent included.

Castries $2,371
Budapest $2,555

A family of three spends $3,330 per month in Castries vs $3,489 in Budapest, rent included.

Castries $3,330
Budapest $3,489

Castries is about 13% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Castries and Budapest sit above the global median – Castries by 5%, Budapest by 21%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.42 EC$25.43

$13.99 Ft 4,551

-32.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.5 EC$201

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

23.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.41 EC$22.72

$9.96 Ft 3,241

-15.56%

Cappuccino

$3.67 EC$9.90

$3.38 Ft 1,100

8.58%

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

$1.97 EC$5.31

$2.13 Ft 692

-7.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 EC$2.73

$1.87 Ft 608

-45.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.86 EC$7.72

$3.75 Ft 1,221

-23.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 EC$8.86

$3.57 Ft 1,162

-8.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 EC$5.46

$1.13 Ft 368

78.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 EC$4.99

$1.84 Ft 599

0.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 EC$4.65

$2.39 Ft 777

-28.03%

Eggs

$4.51 EC$12.19

$3.83 Ft 1,245

17.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.29 EC$30.47

$11.33 Ft 3,686

-0.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.08 EC$24.51

$6.74 Ft 2,192

34.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.92 EC$40.29

$14.69 Ft 4,780

1.57%

Apples (1kg)

$8.61 EC$23.25

$1.84 Ft 597

367.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 EC$4.38

$2.01 Ft 653

-19.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.09 EC$21.84

$2.36 Ft 767

242.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$14.83 EC$40.04

$3.77 Ft 1,226

293.37%

Potato (1kg)

$3.50 EC$9.44

$0.96 Ft 313

264.58%

Onion (1kg)

$2.06 EC$5.56

$1.03 Ft 334

100.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.20 EC$5.94

$1.56 Ft 509

41.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 EC$3.46

$0.66 Ft 216

93.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.35 EC$25.25

$7.96 Ft 2,591

17.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.95 EC$29.57

$6.01 Ft 1,954

82.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.31 EC$6.23

$1.30 Ft 421

77.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 EC$15.38

$2.08 Ft 676

174.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 EC$2.91

$1.50 Ft 489

-28.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.49 EC$25.63

$3.30 Ft 1,074

187.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 EC$4.11

$1.81 Ft 591

-16.02%

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

$26.3K EC$70.9K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

-10.42%

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

$36.5K EC$98.6K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

7.02%

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

$124 EC$334

$170 Ft 55.3K

-27.17%

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

$89.6 EC$242

$23.98 Ft 7,802

273.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.85 EC$129

$23.42 Ft 7,621

104.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.35 EC$114

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-36.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

Cinema Ticket

$5.68 EC$15.33

$9.52 Ft 3,098

-40.34%

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

$211 EC$570

$537 Ft 174.6K

-60.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.9 EC$226

$101 Ft 33.0K

-17.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.2 EC$135

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

16.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 EC$299

$113 Ft 36.7K

-1.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 EC$299

$119 Ft 38.6K

-6.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$450 EC$1,216

$805 Ft 262.0K

-44.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 EC$918

$629 Ft 204.7K

-45.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 EC$3,195

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

-23.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$708 EC$1,912

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

-39.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$101 EC$273

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-98.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$63.4 EC$171

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-98.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,122 EC$3,028

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

-31.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.75

6.43

20.53%

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

Last update for Castries: October 4, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Castries

$431 30%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 40.2% $173

Accommodation & Living

Castries

$340 23.7%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 85.1% $289

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Castries

$261 18.2%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 16.8% $44

Eating Out

Castries

$177 12.4%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 26.4% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Castries

$160 11.1%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 5.7% $9.2

Sport & Entertainment

Castries

$54 3.7%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 58.8% $32

Getting Around

Castries

$14 * 1%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 215% $30

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $450 in Castries versus $805 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 45% 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 $74.0 in Castries versus $60.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $431 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇨 Castries

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

04:14 4:14 AM

10:14 10:14 AM

6 h ahead of Castries

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,000 Capital

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

East Caribbean Dollar XCD $

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 XCD = 0.37 USD

1 XCD = 0.33 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to XCD – East Caribbean Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 East Caribbean Dollar ($)

East Caribbean Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.7 XCD (1 XCD = 0.37 USD). 1 EUR = 3.03 XCD (1 XCD = 0.33 EUR).

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).

USD to XCD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Castries Budapest 8,120 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Castries
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

Castries vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 15%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,119 per month in Castries and $2,432 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Castries, 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 $74.0 in Castries and $60.0 in Budapest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 67% cheaper in Budapest – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Castries, where all-in costs run around $1,413, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Castries it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Castries – 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 Castries. 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.