Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cheltenham and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,619 a month against $2,327 in Cheltenham, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Cheltenham
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Cheltenham Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Cheltenham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,327

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,327 per month in Cheltenham vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Cheltenham $2,327
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $3,528 per month in Cheltenham vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Cheltenham $3,528
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $4,729 per month in Cheltenham vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Cheltenham $4,729
Budapest $3,429

Cheltenham costs about 44% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cheltenham and Budapest sit above the global median – Cheltenham by 72%, Budapest by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.67 £17.75

$13.94 Ft 4,503

69.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$105 £79.1

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

72.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.03 £8.28

$10.19 Ft 3,291

8.24%

Cappuccino

$4.89 £3.67

$3.26 Ft 1,055

50.00%

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

$2.56 £1.92

$2.14 Ft 690

19.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.78 Ft 577

-2.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.76 £5.82

$3.71 Ft 1,198

109.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.54 £4.91

$3.77 Ft 1,217

73.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.15 Ft 371

50.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.29

$1.79 Ft 578

-4.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.99 £1.49

$2.49 Ft 804

-20.08%

Eggs

$4.43 £3.33

$3.90 Ft 1,261

13.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 £6.15

$11.10 Ft 3,587

-26.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.59 £7.19

$6.62 Ft 2,139

44.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.09 £9.82

$14.69 Ft 4,745

-10.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 £2.32

$1.83 Ft 591

69.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 £1.07

$2.05 Ft 661

-30.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 £1.45

$2.37 Ft 765

-18.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.49 £2.62

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-10.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$0.99 Ft 320

53.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.00 Ft 322

51.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.58 Ft 511

-23.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 £1.07

$0.67 Ft 216

111.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.12 £17.35

$7.96 Ft 2,572

190.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.63 £7.98

$6.22 Ft 2,009

70.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.86 £2.15

$1.27 Ft 411

125.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 £2.20

$2.03 Ft 654

44.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.44 £2.58

$1.52 Ft 490

126.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.5 £69.4

$28.02 Ft 9,053

230.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.53 £2.65

$3.31 Ft 1,070

6.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.37 Ft 442

19.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.85 £20.14

$19.83 Ft 6,406

35.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.82 Ft 589

2.75%

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

$37.1K £27.8K

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

24.45%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

21.79%

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

$341 £256

$171 Ft 55.3K

99.11%

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

$17.10 £12.83

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-27.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.0 £38.24

$23.29 Ft 7,526

118.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.28 £33.22

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-34.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$39.01 £29.27

$18.89 Ft 6,104

106.51%

Cinema Ticket

$14.00 £10.50

$9.30 Ft 3,004

50.54%

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

$2,020 £1,516

$533 Ft 172.3K

278.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.2K £18.9K

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

50.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.2 £73.7

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-1.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.22 £36.18

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

10.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.4

$110 Ft 35.7K

-4.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.9 £72.7

$119 Ft 38.4K

-18.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,161 £871

$830 Ft 268.3K

39.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$929 £697

$622 Ft 200.9K

49.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,149 £1,613

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

34.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,617 £1,213

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

38.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,704 £4,279

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-2.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,676 £4,258

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

45.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,753 £3,566

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

187.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

6.45

-14.11%

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

Last update for Cheltenham: October 11, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cheltenham

$929 39.9%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 33% $307

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cheltenham

$409 17.6%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 46.7% $191

Eating Out

Cheltenham

$350 15.1%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 36.3% $127

Groceries & Markets

Cheltenham

$292 12.6%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 11.7% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Cheltenham

$157 6.8%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 6.7% $10

Getting Around

Cheltenham

$118 5.1%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 62.5% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Cheltenham

$72 3.1%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 19.1% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,161 in Cheltenham 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 188% higher in Cheltenham, 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 $105 in Cheltenham versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $292 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cheltenham

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

20:12 8:12 PM

21:12 9:12 PM

1 h ahead of Cheltenham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

115,300

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

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).

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).

USD to GBP in detail →

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Between locations

Cheltenham Budapest 1,590 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cheltenham
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

Cheltenham vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cheltenham is pricier by about 44%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,490 per month in Cheltenham 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.

Public transport costs about 230% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,020 per month in Cheltenham and $533 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 $1,619, than in Cheltenham at $2,327. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cheltenham 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, Cheltenham makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.