Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Glasgow and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,621 a month against $2,386 in Glasgow, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Glasgow
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Glasgow Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Glasgow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,386

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,386 per month in Glasgow vs $1,621 in Budapest, rent included.

Glasgow $2,386
Budapest $1,621

A couple spends around $3,604 per month in Glasgow vs $2,555 in Budapest, rent included.

Glasgow $3,604
Budapest $2,555

A family of three spends $4,823 per month in Glasgow vs $3,489 in Budapest, rent included.

Glasgow $4,823
Budapest $3,489

Glasgow costs about 47% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Glasgow and Budapest sit above the global median – Glasgow by 78%, Budapest by 21%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.99 £15.87

$13.99 Ft 4,555

50.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.5 £55.6

$60.3 Ft 19.7K

21.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 £7.98

$9.96 Ft 3,244

5.92%

Cappuccino

$4.87 £3.68

$3.38 Ft 1,102

44.08%

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

$2.13 £1.61

$2.13 Ft 693

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.87 Ft 609

-7.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.19 £3.93

$3.75 Ft 1,222

38.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.65 £5.03

$3.57 Ft 1,163

86.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.24

$1.13 Ft 369

45.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 £1.18

$1.84 Ft 600

-15.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.55

$2.39 Ft 777

-14.23%

Eggs

$3.80 £2.88

$3.83 Ft 1,246

-0.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.16 £6.93

$11.33 Ft 3,689

-19.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.00 £6.81

$6.74 Ft 2,194

33.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 £12.66

$14.69 Ft 4,784

14.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.26

$1.84 Ft 598

62.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.18

$2.01 Ft 654

-22.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 £2.24

$2.36 Ft 767

25.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 £2.36

$3.77 Ft 1,227

-16.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 £1.44

$0.96 Ft 314

98.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.21

$1.03 Ft 335

55.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 £0.86

$1.56 Ft 509

-26.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.23

$0.66 Ft 216

146.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.66 £17.88

$7.96 Ft 2,594

197.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 £8.42

$6.01 Ft 1,956

85.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.48

$1.30 Ft 422

151.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 £2.59

$2.08 Ft 677

64.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.08

$1.50 Ft 490

171.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$103 £78.1

$27.61 Ft 8,991

274.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.96 £4.51

$3.30 Ft 1,075

80.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.17 £0.89

$1.30 Ft 424

-10.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$60.4 £45.63

$19.78 Ft 6,442

205.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.61

$1.81 Ft 591

18.23%

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

$38.5K £29.1K

$29.3K Ft 9.6M

31.34%

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

$40.4K £30.6K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

18.59%

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

$309 £233

$170 Ft 55.3K

81.63%

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

$20.34 £15.38

$23.98 Ft 7,809

-15.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.92 £31.68

$23.42 Ft 7,628

78.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.96 £33.99

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-32.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.43 £15.45

$19.18 Ft 6,245

6.52%

Cinema Ticket

$15.90 £12.02

$9.52 Ft 3,101

67.02%

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

$897 £678

$537 Ft 174.8K

67.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.4K £16.2K

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

29.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$133 £101

$101 Ft 33.0K

31.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.49 £35.14

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

8.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.5

$113 Ft 36.7K

-5.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.6 £69.3

$119 Ft 38.7K

-22.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,345 £1,016

$805 Ft 262.2K

67.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 £795

$629 Ft 204.9K

67.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,713 £2,051

$1,549 Ft 504.6K

75.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,955 £1,477

$1,167 Ft 380.1K

67.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,008 £3,030

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-28.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 £2,302

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-23.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,270 £2,472

$1,626 Ft 529.5K

101.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.76

6.43

-25.97%

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

Last update for Glasgow: October 5, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Glasgow

$1.1K 43.4%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 40.2% $423

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Glasgow

$371 15.3%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 41.4% $154

Eating Out

Glasgow

$313 12.9%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 28.3% $89

Groceries & Markets

Glasgow

$308 12.7%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 16.5% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Glasgow

$170 7%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 0.6% $1

Getting Around

Glasgow

$131 5.4%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 67% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Glasgow

$77 3.2%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 11.1% $8.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,345 in Glasgow 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 101% higher in Glasgow, 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 Glasgow versus $60.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $308 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Glasgow

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

06:06 6:06 AM

07:06 7:06 AM

1 h ahead of Glasgow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

606,340

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 326 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Glasgow Budapest 1,840 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Glasgow
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

Glasgow vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Glasgow is pricier by about 47%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,578 per month in Glasgow 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 274% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $897 per month in Glasgow 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 Glasgow at $2,386. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Glasgow 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, Glasgow makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.