Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Poole and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,621 a month against $2,654 in Poole, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

127

Cost of Living Index in Poole
Learn more

Poole Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index

Jump to prices

Poole

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,654

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,654 per month in Poole vs $1,621 in Budapest, rent included.

Poole $2,654
Budapest $1,621

A couple spends around $3,904 per month in Poole vs $2,555 in Budapest, rent included.

Poole $3,904
Budapest $2,555

A family of three spends $5,154 per month in Poole vs $3,489 in Budapest, rent included.

Poole $5,154
Budapest $3,489

Poole costs about 64% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Poole and Budapest sit above the global median – Poole by 98%, Budapest by 21%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.17 £17.51

$13.99 Ft 4,551

65.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.9 £74.7

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

63.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.51 £7.94

$9.96 Ft 3,241

5.52%

Cappuccino

$4.70 £3.55

$3.38 Ft 1,100

39.05%

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

$3.21 £2.42

$2.13 Ft 692

50.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.53

$1.87 Ft 608

8.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.44 £4.87

$3.75 Ft 1,221

71.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.04 £5.32

$3.57 Ft 1,162

97.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.24

$1.13 Ft 368

45.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 £1.12

$1.84 Ft 599

-19.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 £1.67

$2.39 Ft 777

-7.53%

Eggs

$4.27 £3.23

$3.83 Ft 1,245

11.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.40 £4.84

$11.33 Ft 3,686

-43.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.54 £7.97

$6.74 Ft 2,192

56.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.72 £9.61

$14.69 Ft 4,780

-13.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 £1.75

$1.84 Ft 597

26.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 £1.29

$2.01 Ft 653

-14.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.96 £1.48

$2.36 Ft 767

-16.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 £1.66

$3.77 Ft 1,226

-41.91%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 £1.51

$0.96 Ft 313

108.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.43 £1.08

$1.03 Ft 334

38.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 £1.41

$1.56 Ft 509

19.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.48

$0.66 Ft 216

195.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.59

$7.96 Ft 2,591

192.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.62 £7.27

$6.01 Ft 1,954

60.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.98 £2.25

$1.30 Ft 421

129.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 £1.84

$2.08 Ft 676

17.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.00 £3.02

$1.50 Ft 489

166.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.6 £57.1

$27.61 Ft 8,982

173.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.40 £2.57

$3.30 Ft 1,074

3.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.32 £1.76

$1.30 Ft 424

78.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.83 £16.50

$19.78 Ft 6,436

10.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.81 Ft 591

11.60%

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

$37.6K £28.4K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

28.29%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

19.98%

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

$356 £269

$170 Ft 55.3K

109.61%

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

$19.48 £14.72

$23.98 Ft 7,802

-18.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.65 £32.98

$23.42 Ft 7,621

86.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$81.0 £61.2

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

22.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

Cinema Ticket

$20.89 £15.78

$9.52 Ft 3,098

119.43%

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

$1,603 £1,212

$537 Ft 174.6K

198.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.1K £25.0K

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

99.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.2 £65.9

$101 Ft 33.0K

-13.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.27 £30.43

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

-6.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.9 £74.8

$113 Ft 36.7K

-12.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.4 £63.8

$119 Ft 38.6K

-28.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,180 £892

$805 Ft 262.0K

46.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,206 £911

$629 Ft 204.7K

91.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,266 £1,712

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

46.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,137 £1,615

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

83.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,071 £1,565

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-47.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,244 £2,452

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

99.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

6.43

-22.86%

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

Last update for Poole: October 4, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Poole

$1.2K 46%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 47.8% $577

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Poole

$419 16%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 48.2% $202

Eating Out

Poole

$340 13%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 34.1% $116

Groceries & Markets

Poole

$287 10.9%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 10.1% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Poole

$140 5.3%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 20.9% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Poole

$123 4.7%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 30.5% $38

Getting Around

Poole

$107 4.1%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 59.3% $63

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,180 in Poole 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 100% higher in Poole, 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 Poole versus $60.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $287 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Poole

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

11:57 11:57 AM

12:57 12:57 PM

1 h ahead of Poole

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

154,718

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.847 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

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 GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Poole Budapest 1,570 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Poole
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

Poole vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Poole is pricier by about 64%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,981 per month in Poole 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 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 174% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,603 per month in Poole and $537 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 $1,621, than in Poole at $2,654. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Poole 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, Poole makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.