Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Livingston and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,619 a month against $2,067 in Livingston, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Livingston
Learn more

Livingston Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index

Jump to prices

Livingston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,067

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,067 per month in Livingston vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Livingston $2,067
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $3,253 per month in Livingston vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Livingston $3,253
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $4,439 per month in Livingston vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Livingston $4,439
Budapest $3,429

Livingston costs about 28% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Livingston and Budapest sit above the global median – Livingston by 53%, Budapest by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.56 £14.68

$13.94 Ft 4,503

40.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.9 £74.2

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

61.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.41 £7.81

$10.19 Ft 3,291

2.16%

Cappuccino

$5.07 £3.80

$3.26 Ft 1,055

55.52%

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

$2.62 £1.96

$2.14 Ft 690

22.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 £1.72

$1.78 Ft 577

28.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.67 £5.00

$3.71 Ft 1,198

79.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.49 £4.87

$3.77 Ft 1,217

72.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.15 Ft 371

24.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.79 Ft 578

2.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.24 £1.68

$2.49 Ft 804

-10.04%

Eggs

$3.52 £2.64

$3.90 Ft 1,261

-9.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.42 £7.06

$11.10 Ft 3,587

-15.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.23 £6.93

$6.62 Ft 2,139

39.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.92 £10.44

$14.69 Ft 4,745

-5.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 £2.13

$1.83 Ft 591

54.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 £1.41

$2.05 Ft 661

-8.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 £2.13

$2.37 Ft 765

19.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.44 £2.58

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-11.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$0.99 Ft 320

71.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 £1.03

$1.00 Ft 322

37.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 £0.89

$1.58 Ft 511

-25.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 £1.29

$0.67 Ft 216

156.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.33 £15.25

$7.96 Ft 2,572

155.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.51 £7.89

$6.22 Ft 2,009

68.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.05 £2.29

$1.27 Ft 411

140.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 £2.37

$2.03 Ft 654

55.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 £2.28

$1.52 Ft 490

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.3 £64.0

$28.02 Ft 9,053

204.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.32 £3.99

$3.31 Ft 1,070

60.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.37 Ft 442

13.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.39 £20.55

$19.83 Ft 6,406

38.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.82 Ft 589

16.48%

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

$39.0K £29.2K

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

30.77%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

17.87%

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

$322 £242

$171 Ft 55.3K

88.39%

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

$16.55 £12.42

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-29.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.85 £31.40

$23.29 Ft 7,526

79.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.79 £30.60

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-39.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$10.63 £7.98

$9.30 Ft 3,004

14.30%

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

$1,213 £910

$533 Ft 172.3K

127.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.4K £13.0K

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

3.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.3 £67.7

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-9.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.61 £35.72

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

9.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.0

$110 Ft 35.7K

-3.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.4 £70.8

$119 Ft 38.4K

-20.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$871 £654

$830 Ft 268.3K

4.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$745 £559

$622 Ft 200.9K

19.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,858 £1,394

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

16.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,534 £1,151

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

31.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,485 £3,365

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-23.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,665 £2,750

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

-5.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,903 £2,928

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

136.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.15

6.45

-20.16%

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

Last update for Livingston: October 10, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Livingston

$745 36.1%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 16.5% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Livingston

$381 18.4%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 42.8% $163

Eating Out

Livingston

$315 15.2%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 29.1% $92

Groceries & Markets

Livingston

$302 14.6%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 14.5% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Livingston

$153 7.4%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 9.9% $15

Getting Around

Livingston

$111 5.4%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 60% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Livingston

$62 3%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 38.8% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $871 in Livingston 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 136% higher in Livingston, 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 $99.0 in Livingston versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $302 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Livingston

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

15:57 3:57 PM

16:57 4:57 PM

1 h ahead of Livingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

56,840

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 →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Livingston Budapest 1,800 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Livingston
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

Livingston vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Livingston is pricier by about 28%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,101 per month in Livingston 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 205% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,213 per month in Livingston 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 Livingston at $2,067. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Livingston 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, Livingston makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.