Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Charlottetown and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,621 a month against $1,957 in Charlottetown, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

95

Cost of Living Index in Charlottetown
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Charlottetown Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Charlottetown

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,957

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,957 per month in Charlottetown vs $1,621 in Budapest, rent included.

Charlottetown $1,957
Budapest $1,621

A couple spends around $2,920 per month in Charlottetown vs $2,555 in Budapest, rent included.

Charlottetown $2,920
Budapest $2,555

A family of three spends $3,882 per month in Charlottetown vs $3,489 in Budapest, rent included.

Charlottetown $3,882
Budapest $3,489

Charlottetown costs about 21% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Charlottetown and Budapest sit above the global median – Charlottetown by 46%, Budapest by 21%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.00 CA$19.95

$13.99 Ft 4,551

0.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.2 CA$84.3

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

-1.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.23 CA$13.16

$9.96 Ft 3,241

-7.33%

Cappuccino

$3.57 CA$5.08

$3.38 Ft 1,100

5.62%

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

$1.73 CA$2.46

$2.13 Ft 692

-18.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 CA$1.84

$1.87 Ft 608

-31.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.52 CA$7.87

$3.75 Ft 1,221

47.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.57 CA$7.94

$3.57 Ft 1,162

56.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.23 CA$3.18

$1.13 Ft 368

97.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.99 CA$4.27

$1.84 Ft 599

62.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.85 CA$6.91

$2.39 Ft 777

102.93%

Eggs

$3.90 CA$5.56

$3.83 Ft 1,245

1.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.34 CA$16.16

$11.33 Ft 3,686

0.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.86 CA$21.18

$6.74 Ft 2,192

120.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.99 CA$24.22

$14.69 Ft 4,780

15.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.52 CA$5.02

$1.84 Ft 597

91.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 CA$2.07

$2.01 Ft 653

-27.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.91 CA$5.57

$2.36 Ft 767

65.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.72 CA$6.73

$3.77 Ft 1,226

25.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 CA$2.45

$0.96 Ft 313

79.17%

Onion (1kg)

$3.12 CA$4.44

$1.03 Ft 334

202.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.67 CA$3.81

$1.56 Ft 509

71.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 CA$2.90

$0.66 Ft 216

207.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.45 CA$24.87

$7.96 Ft 2,591

119.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.70 CA$19.52

$6.01 Ft 1,954

127.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.25 CA$4.64

$1.30 Ft 421

150.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 CA$4.41

$2.08 Ft 676

48.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.42 CA$2.03

$1.50 Ft 489

-5.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.18 CA$20.21

$27.61 Ft 8,982

-48.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.29 CA$10.39

$3.30 Ft 1,074

120.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 CA$2.93

$1.30 Ft 424

57.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.61 CA$39.35

$19.78 Ft 6,436

39.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 CA$1.77

$1.81 Ft 591

-31.49%

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

$27.6K CA$39.3K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

-5.88%

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

$18.3K CA$26.1K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

-46.23%

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

$124 CA$177

$170 Ft 55.3K

-27.00%

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

$32.57 CA$46.42

$23.98 Ft 7,802

35.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$73.0 CA$104

$23.42 Ft 7,621

211.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.9 CA$81.1

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-14.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.55 CA$5.06

$19.18 Ft 6,239

-81.49%

Cinema Ticket

$10.57 CA$15.07

$9.52 Ft 3,098

11.03%

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

$157 CA$224

$537 Ft 174.6K

-70.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.61 CA$56.5

$101 Ft 33.0K

-60.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.73 CA$48.08

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

-21.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.1 CA$118

$113 Ft 36.7K

-26.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 CA$184

$119 Ft 38.6K

9.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,091 CA$1,555

$805 Ft 262.0K

35.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$823 CA$1,174

$629 Ft 204.7K

30.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,747 CA$2,491

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

12.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,358 CA$1,936

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

16.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,107 CA$4,428

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-44.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,923 CA$2,741

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-51.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,415 CA$3,442

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

48.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.58

6.43

-28.77%

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

Last update for Charlottetown: October 6, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Charlottetown

$823 42.5%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 23.6% $194

Groceries & Markets

Charlottetown

$408 21.1%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 36.9% $151

Eating Out

Charlottetown

$233 12%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 3.9% $9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Charlottetown

$230 11.9%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 5.4% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Charlottetown

$129 6.6%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 31.5% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Charlottetown

$78 4%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 9.2% $7.2

Getting Around

Charlottetown

$37 1.9%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 16.1% $6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,091 in Charlottetown 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 49% higher in Charlottetown, 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 $59.0 in Charlottetown versus $60.0 in Budapest. Groceries tell a different story – $408 in Charlottetown vs $258 in Budapest – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Charlottetown

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

04:21 4:21 AM

09:21 9:21 AM

5 h ahead of Charlottetown

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,809

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 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 CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Charlottetown Budapest 5,940 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Charlottetown
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

Charlottetown vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,936 per month in Charlottetown 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 Budapest, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 95% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $157 per month in Charlottetown and $537 in Budapest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Budapest, where all-in costs run around $1,621, than in Charlottetown at $1,957. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Charlottetown 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, Charlottetown makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.