Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Piraeus and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Piraeus: $1,502 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Budapest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

73

Cost of Living Index in Piraeus
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Piraeus Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Piraeus

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,502

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,502 per month in Piraeus vs $1,621 in Budapest, rent included.

Piraeus $1,502
Budapest $1,621

A couple spends around $2,304 per month in Piraeus vs $2,555 in Budapest, rent included.

Piraeus $2,304
Budapest $2,555

A family of three spends $3,107 per month in Piraeus vs $3,489 in Budapest, rent included.

Piraeus $3,107
Budapest $3,489

Piraeus is about 7% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Piraeus and Budapest sit above the global median – Piraeus by 12%, Budapest by 21%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.60 €14.82

$13.99 Ft 4,551

18.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.3 €49.33

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

-8.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.16 €9.07

$9.96 Ft 3,241

2.01%

Cappuccino

$3.71 €3.31

$3.38 Ft 1,100

9.76%

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

$1.49 €1.33

$2.13 Ft 692

-30.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$1.87 Ft 608

-71.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.65 €5.04

$3.75 Ft 1,221

50.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.76 €5.14

$3.57 Ft 1,162

61.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 €1.61

$1.13 Ft 368

60.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.08 €0.97

$1.84 Ft 599

-41.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 €2.39

$2.39 Ft 777

12.13%

Eggs

$3.70 €3.30

$3.83 Ft 1,245

-3.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.80 €12.32

$11.33 Ft 3,686

21.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.78 €8.72

$6.74 Ft 2,192

45.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.42 €11.98

$14.69 Ft 4,780

-8.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.02

$1.84 Ft 597

22.83%

Banana (1kg)

$2.23 €1.99

$2.01 Ft 653

10.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.20 €1.07

$2.36 Ft 767

-49.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.78 €1.59

$3.77 Ft 1,226

-52.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 €1.04

$0.96 Ft 313

21.87%

Onion (1kg)

$0.97 €0.87

$1.03 Ft 334

-5.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.56 Ft 509

-39.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 €0.88

$0.66 Ft 216

50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.93 €4.40

$7.96 Ft 2,591

-38.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.13 €8.15

$6.01 Ft 1,954

51.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.30 Ft 421

60.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.05 €3.61

$2.08 Ft 676

94.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.50 Ft 489

-12.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.57 €29.96

$27.61 Ft 8,982

21.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 €4.03

$3.30 Ft 1,074

36.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.26 €2.02

$1.30 Ft 424

73.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.77 €24.78

$19.78 Ft 6,436

40.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.81 Ft 591

15.47%

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

$30.7K €27.4K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

4.82%

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

$25.7K €23.0K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

-24.54%

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

$209 €187

$170 Ft 55.3K

23.22%

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

$23.01 €20.53

$23.98 Ft 7,802

-4.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.71 €28.30

$23.42 Ft 7,621

35.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.39 €43.18

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-26.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$39.46 €35.22

$19.18 Ft 6,239

105.74%

Cinema Ticket

$10.23 €9.13

$9.52 Ft 3,098

7.46%

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

$393 €350

$537 Ft 174.6K

-26.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.3 €67.2

$101 Ft 33.0K

-25.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.75 €35.47

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

-7.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$126 €112

$113 Ft 36.7K

11.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €106

$119 Ft 38.6K

-0.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$551 €491

$805 Ft 262.0K

-31.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$422 €377

$629 Ft 204.7K

-32.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 €921

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

-33.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 €688

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

-33.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,467 €3,094

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-38.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,655 €2,369

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-33.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,057 €943

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

-34.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.83

6.43

-24.88%

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

Last update for Piraeus: 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

Piraeus

$422 28%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 49.1% $207

Groceries & Markets

Piraeus

$281 18.7%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 8.4% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Piraeus

$264 17.5%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 17.7% $47

Eating Out

Piraeus

$256 17%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 12.3% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Piraeus

$162 10.7%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 4.7% $7.6

Sport & Entertainment

Piraeus

$69 4.6%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 23.9% $16

Getting Around

Piraeus

$55 3.6%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 20.5% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $551 in Piraeus 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 54% 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 $55.0 in Piraeus versus $60.0 in Budapest. Groceries tell a different story – $281 in Piraeus vs $258 in Budapest – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Piraeus

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

09:14 9:14 AM

08:14 8:14 AM

1 h behind Piraeus

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

163,688

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Piraeus Budapest 1,130 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Piraeus
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

Piraeus vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 8%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,253 per month in Piraeus 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 Piraeus, 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 Piraeus. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $393 per month in Piraeus and $537 in Budapest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Piraeus, where all-in costs run around $1,502, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Piraeus it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Piraeus – 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 Piraeus. 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.