Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portsmouth and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,619 a month against $2,763 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,763

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,763 per month in Portsmouth vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Portsmouth $2,763
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $3,798 per month in Portsmouth vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Portsmouth $3,798
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $4,834 per month in Portsmouth vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Portsmouth $4,834
Budapest $3,429

Portsmouth costs about 71% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Portsmouth and Budapest sit above the global median – Portsmouth by 105%, Budapest by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.81 £14.86

$13.94 Ft 4,503

42.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.4 £49.78

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

8.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.34 £7.76

$10.19 Ft 3,291

1.47%

Cappuccino

$4.79 £3.59

$3.26 Ft 1,055

46.93%

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

$2.66 £1.99

$2.14 Ft 690

24.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 £1.71

$1.78 Ft 577

27.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.18 £4.63

$3.71 Ft 1,198

66.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.83 £4.38

$3.77 Ft 1,217

54.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.15 Ft 371

22.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.18

$1.79 Ft 578

-11.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.69 £2.77

$2.49 Ft 804

48.19%

Eggs

$3.39 £2.55

$3.90 Ft 1,261

-13.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.26 £9.95

$11.10 Ft 3,587

19.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.32 £6.24

$6.62 Ft 2,139

25.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.02 £9.77

$14.69 Ft 4,745

-11.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 £2.90

$1.83 Ft 591

110.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$2.05 Ft 661

-6.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 £2.14

$2.37 Ft 765

20.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.34 £2.51

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-14.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.23

$0.99 Ft 320

66.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.63 £1.23

$1.00 Ft 322

63.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.58 Ft 511

-24.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 £1.14

$0.67 Ft 216

126.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.07 £17.31

$7.96 Ft 2,572

189.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.29 £8.47

$6.22 Ft 2,009

81.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.94 £2.21

$1.27 Ft 411

131.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.60

$2.03 Ft 654

5.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.08 £3.06

$1.52 Ft 490

168.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.0 £66.0

$28.02 Ft 9,053

214.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.16 £3.87

$3.31 Ft 1,070

55.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.37 Ft 442

16.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.02 £15.02

$19.83 Ft 6,406

0.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.82 Ft 589

14.29%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

29.64%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

18.71%

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

$654 £491

$171 Ft 55.3K

282.43%

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

$14.83 £11.12

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-36.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.05 £31.55

$23.29 Ft 7,526

80.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.39 £28.80

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-43.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.15 £12.86

$18.89 Ft 6,104

-9.21%

Cinema Ticket

$10.65 £7.99

$9.30 Ft 3,004

14.52%

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

$1,249 £937

$533 Ft 172.3K

134.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

19.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 £67.9

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-9.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.83 £29.88

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

-8.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.6 £74.0

$110 Ft 35.7K

-10.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 £89.8

$119 Ft 38.4K

0.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,457 £1,093

$830 Ft 268.3K

75.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 £824

$622 Ft 200.9K

76.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,091 £1,569

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

31.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,714 £1,286

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

46.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,504 £3,378

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-22.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,703 £2,778

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

-4.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,350 £2,513

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

102.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

6.45

-20.00%

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

Last update for Portsmouth: 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

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.8%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 43.4% $476

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portsmouth

$711 25.7%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 69.4% $493

Groceries & Markets

Portsmouth

$310 11.2%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 16.9% $52

Eating Out

Portsmouth

$309 11.2%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 27.9% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Portsmouth

$157 5.7%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 6.8% $11

Getting Around

Portsmouth

$118 4.3%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 62.4% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Portsmouth

$60 2.2%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 44.3% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,457 in Portsmouth 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 103% higher in Portsmouth, 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 $66.0 in Portsmouth versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $310 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

22:09 10:09 PM

23:09 11:09 PM

1 h ahead of Portsmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,974

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 17, 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 17, 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

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Between locations

Portsmouth Budapest 1,500 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Portsmouth
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

Portsmouth vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Portsmouth is pricier by about 71%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,144 per month in Portsmouth 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 214% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,249 per month in Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth at $2,763. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Portsmouth 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, Portsmouth makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.