Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kastoria and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Kastoria: $1,303 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Budapest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

63

Cost of Living Index in Kastoria
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Kastoria Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Kastoria

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,303

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,303 per month in Kastoria vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Kastoria $1,303
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $2,108 per month in Kastoria vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Kastoria $2,108
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $2,914 per month in Kastoria vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Kastoria $2,914
Budapest $3,429

Kastoria is about 20% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Kastoria sits 4% below the global median, while Budapest is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.03 €15.15

$13.94 Ft 4,503

22.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.9 €59.5

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

9.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.18 €9.95

$10.19 Ft 3,291

9.72%

Cappuccino

$4.01 €3.57

$3.26 Ft 1,055

23.01%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$2.14 Ft 690

6.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.67

$1.78 Ft 577

-57.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.02 €3.58

$3.71 Ft 1,198

8.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$3.77 Ft 1,217

-9.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.15 Ft 371

49.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.78 €1.58

$1.79 Ft 578

-0.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.67 €3.27

$2.49 Ft 804

47.39%

Eggs

$5.57 €4.96

$3.90 Ft 1,261

42.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.08 €12.53

$11.10 Ft 3,587

26.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.31 €10.06

$6.62 Ft 2,139

70.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.58 €16.53

$14.69 Ft 4,745

26.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.49 €2.22

$1.83 Ft 591

36.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$2.05 Ft 661

3.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.13 €1.89

$2.37 Ft 765

-10.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.56

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-26.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 €1.10

$0.99 Ft 320

25.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 €1.05

$1.00 Ft 322

19.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.59 €1.41

$1.58 Ft 511

0.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 €0.80

$0.67 Ft 216

34.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.50 €4.89

$7.96 Ft 2,572

-30.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$6.22 Ft 2,009

62.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.27 Ft 411

65.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 €2.84

$2.03 Ft 654

57.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 €0.68

$1.52 Ft 490

-49.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.05 €30.29

$28.02 Ft 9,053

21.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.15 €3.69

$3.31 Ft 1,070

25.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.37 Ft 442

-16.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.63 €14.79

$19.83 Ft 6,406

-16.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 €1.78

$1.82 Ft 589

9.89%

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

$28.3K €25.1K

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

-5.11%

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

$30.9K €27.5K

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

-8.66%

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

$214 €190

$171 Ft 55.3K

24.88%

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

$22.64 €20.14

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-3.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.77 €27.37

$23.29 Ft 7,526

32.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.30 €28.73

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-52.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$6.60 €5.87

$9.30 Ft 3,004

-29.03%

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

$472 €420

$533 Ft 172.3K

-11.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,969 €7,977

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-46.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.8 €86.1

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-2.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.66 €39.73

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

2.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 €114

$110 Ft 35.7K

16.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 €119

$119 Ft 38.4K

12.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$277 €247

$830 Ft 268.3K

-66.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$169 €151

$622 Ft 200.9K

-72.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$513 €456

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

-67.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 €350

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

-66.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$936 €833

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-83.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$733 €652

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

-81.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$629 €560

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

-61.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.34

6.45

-17.21%

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

Last update for Kastoria: October 11, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kastoria

$335 25.7%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 23% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kastoria

$267 20.5%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 18.4% $49

Eating Out

Kastoria

$257 19.7%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 13.2% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Kastoria

$182 14%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 7.7% $14

Accommodation & Living

Kastoria

$169 13%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 267% $453

Getting Around

Kastoria

$47 3.6%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 5.9% $2.8

Sport & Entertainment

Kastoria

$45 3.5%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 89.3% $41

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $277 in Kastoria 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 162% 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 $67.0 in Kastoria versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $335 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Kastoria

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

01:30 1:30 AM

00:30 12:30 AM

1 h behind Kastoria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,387

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

Kastoria Budapest 800 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Kastoria
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

Kastoria vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 24%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,954 per month in Kastoria 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 Kastoria, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 22% less in Kastoria. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $472 per month in Kastoria and $533 in Budapest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Kastoria, where all-in costs run around $1,303, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Kastoria it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Kastoria – 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 Kastoria. 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.