Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,638 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,638

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,210 per month in Lisbon vs $1,638 in Budapest, rent included.

Lisbon $2,210
Budapest $1,638

A couple spends around $3,275 per month in Lisbon vs $2,553 in Budapest, rent included.

Lisbon $3,275
Budapest $2,553

A family of three spends $4,341 per month in Lisbon vs $3,467 in Budapest, rent included.

Lisbon $4,341
Budapest $3,467

Lisbon costs about 35% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Lisbon and Budapest sit above the global median – Lisbon by 62%, Budapest by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$13.81 Ft 4,552

20.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$61.5 Ft 20.3K

0.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$10.16 Ft 3,349

11.81%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$3.22 Ft 1,062

-7.76%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$2.06 Ft 680

11.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.83 Ft 605

-4.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$3.60 Ft 1,188

-5.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.66 Ft 1,208

-9.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.19 Ft 392

-2.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.87 Ft 617

2.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.37 Ft 780

-36.29%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$3.96 Ft 1,305

1.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$11.16 Ft 3,680

15.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$6.76 Ft 2,228

14.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$14.35 Ft 4,731

23.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.81 Ft 596

27.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$2.11 Ft 695

-18.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.33 Ft 770

-20.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$3.80 Ft 1,254

-31.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.99 Ft 327

83.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.98 Ft 324

101.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.55 Ft 512

-5.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.70 Ft 230

2.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$7.79 Ft 2,569

-15.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$6.05 Ft 1,995

-7.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.28 Ft 421

6.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.04 Ft 672

4.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.55 Ft 511

50.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$27.28 Ft 8,995

63.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$3.30 Ft 1,087

16.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.31 Ft 433

-18.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$20.26 Ft 6,679

-18.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.82 Ft 600

20.88%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$28.7K Ft 9.5M

19.04%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$33.1K Ft 10.9M

17.06%

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

$161 €145

$172 Ft 56.8K

-6.37%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$23.95 Ft 7,897

-23.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$23.31 Ft 7,685

40.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$68.6 Ft 22.6K

-35.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$18.91 Ft 6,235

1.00%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$10.18 Ft 3,356

-5.70%

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

$668 €600

$600 Ft 197.9K

11.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$16.8K Ft 5.5M

4.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$99.0 Ft 32.6K

3.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$43.25 Ft 14.3K

2.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$113 Ft 37.2K

-12.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$117 Ft 38.6K

5.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$836 Ft 275.6K

92.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$640 Ft 210.9K

86.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,598 Ft 526.9K

75.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$1,205 Ft 397.3K

67.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$5,625 Ft 1.9M

39.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$3,802 Ft 1.3M

20.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,671 Ft 551.1K

-5.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.45

-40.31%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Budapest

$640 39.1% 46.2% $550

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 5.1% $14

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Budapest

$221 13.5% 9.1% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Budapest

$219 13.4% 3.3% $7.1

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Budapest

$168 10.2% 1% $1.7

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Budapest

$89 5.4% 39.6% $25

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 31.4% $20

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,608 in Lisbon versus $836 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 6% higher in Budapest, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Lisbon versus $61 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $272 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

18:39 6:39 PM

19:39 7:39 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.03 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.72 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 330 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.03 USD). 1 EUR = 367 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.72 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Budapest 2,470 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

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Lisbon
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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

Lisbon vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Lisbon is pricier by about 35%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,315 per month in Lisbon and $2,457 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $836 there versus $1,608 in Lisbon.

Public transport costs about 39% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Groceries cost about 5% more in Lisbon, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

$2,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,638 in Budapest, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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.