Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melissia and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Melissia: $1,449 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Budapest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

70

Cost of Living Index in Melissia
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Melissia Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Melissia

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,449

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,449 per month in Melissia vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Melissia $1,449
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $2,207 per month in Melissia vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Melissia $2,207
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $2,966 per month in Melissia vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Melissia $2,966
Budapest $3,429

Melissia is about 10% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Melissia and Budapest sit above the global median – Melissia by 7%, Budapest by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.22 €10.01

$13.94 Ft 4,517

-19.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.7 €53.3

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

-2.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.11 €8.12

$10.19 Ft 3,302

-10.60%

Cappuccino

$4.00 €3.57

$3.26 Ft 1,058

22.70%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$2.14 Ft 693

7.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 €0.52

$1.78 Ft 578

-66.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.58 €4.08

$3.71 Ft 1,202

23.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.15 €4.59

$3.77 Ft 1,221

36.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.15 Ft 372

65.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 €1.25

$1.79 Ft 579

-21.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.79 €2.49

$2.49 Ft 806

12.05%

Eggs

$5.17 €4.61

$3.90 Ft 1,265

32.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.12 €9.91

$11.10 Ft 3,599

0.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.13 €9.03

$6.62 Ft 2,146

53.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.83 €16.79

$14.69 Ft 4,761

28.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.23 €1.98

$1.83 Ft 593

21.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$2.05 Ft 663

-6.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.38 €1.23

$2.37 Ft 768

-41.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 €1.77

$3.90 Ft 1,264

-49.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 €0.99

$0.99 Ft 321

12.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.00 Ft 323

12.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 €0.77

$1.58 Ft 513

-44.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 €0.77

$0.67 Ft 217

28.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.47 €4.87

$7.96 Ft 2,580

-31.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.17 €9.07

$6.22 Ft 2,015

63.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.16 €1.93

$1.27 Ft 412

70.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 €2.08

$2.03 Ft 657

14.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 €1.05

$1.52 Ft 492

-23.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.14 €40.24

$28.02 Ft 9,082

61.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.42 €3.94

$3.31 Ft 1,073

33.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 €0.90

$1.37 Ft 444

-26.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.15 €12.61

$19.83 Ft 6,427

-28.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.82 Ft 590

19.23%

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

$28.4K €25.3K

$29.8K Ft 9.7M

-4.62%

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

$23.4K €20.8K

$33.8K Ft 11.0M

-30.89%

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

$203 €181

$171 Ft 55.5K

18.85%

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

$24.57 €21.91

$23.51 Ft 7,620

4.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.60 €25.50

$23.29 Ft 7,550

22.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.3 €52.0

$67.5 Ft 21.9K

-13.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.37 €19.94

$18.89 Ft 6,124

18.42%

Cinema Ticket

$8.94 €7.98

$9.30 Ft 3,013

-3.87%

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

$479 €427

$533 Ft 172.9K

-10.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,505 €4,017

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-73.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.0 €78.5

$99.6 Ft 32.3K

-11.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.95 €32.05

$43.49 Ft 14.1K

-17.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$110 Ft 35.8K

-7.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$119 Ft 38.6K

4.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$461 €411

$830 Ft 269.2K

-44.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$390 €348

$622 Ft 201.6K

-37.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$757 €675

$1,594 Ft 516.5K

-52.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$621 €554

$1,170 Ft 379.3K

-46.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,608 €2,325

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-55.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,213 €1,973

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

-43.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,362 €1,214

$1,651 Ft 535.2K

-17.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

6.45

-30.54%

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

Last update for Melissia: October 12, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melissia

$390 27%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 59.3% $231

Groceries & Markets

Melissia

$299 20.6%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 13.6% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melissia

$257 17.7%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 15.1% $39

Eating Out

Melissia

$210 14.5%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 6.3% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Melissia

$158 10.9%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 6.2% $9.8

Sport & Entertainment

Melissia

$76 5.3%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 13% $9.9

Getting Around

Melissia

$59 4.1%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 25.4% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $461 in Melissia 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 21% 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 $60.0 in Melissia versus $61.0 in Budapest. Groceries tell a different story – $299 in Melissia vs $258 in Budapest – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Melissia

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

15:54 3:54 PM

14:54 2:54 PM

1 h behind Melissia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,588

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.09 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 16, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 324 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 364 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Melissia Budapest 1,120 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Melissia
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

Melissia vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 12%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,173 per month in Melissia 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 Melissia, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 61% less in Melissia. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $479 per month in Melissia 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 Melissia, where all-in costs run around $1,449, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Melissia it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Melissia – 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 Melissia. 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.