Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rethymno and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Rethymno: $1,345 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Rethymno
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Rethymno Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Rethymno

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,345

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,345 per month in Rethymno vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Rethymno $1,345
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $2,021 per month in Rethymno vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Rethymno $2,021
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $2,697 per month in Rethymno vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Rethymno $2,697
Budapest $3,429

Rethymno is about 17% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Rethymno and Budapest sit above the global median – Rethymno by 0%, Budapest by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.58 €11.19

$13.94 Ft 4,503

-9.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.6 €49.49

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

-9.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.88 €8.79

$10.19 Ft 3,291

-3.04%

Cappuccino

$3.56 €3.17

$3.26 Ft 1,055

9.20%

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

$1.65 €1.47

$2.14 Ft 690

-22.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 €0.47

$1.78 Ft 577

-70.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.43 €3.94

$3.71 Ft 1,198

19.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.42 €4.82

$3.77 Ft 1,217

43.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 €1.35

$1.15 Ft 371

32.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.79 Ft 578

-29.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$2.49 Ft 804

-12.85%

Eggs

$4.55 €4.04

$3.90 Ft 1,261

16.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.65 €13.03

$11.10 Ft 3,587

31.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 €8.29

$6.62 Ft 2,139

40.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.06 €13.40

$14.69 Ft 4,745

2.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.83 Ft 591

11.48%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.79

$2.05 Ft 661

-1.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 €1.08

$2.37 Ft 765

-48.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-54.87%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.99 Ft 320

-2.02%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 €0.84

$1.00 Ft 322

-5.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.58 Ft 511

-59.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.64

$0.67 Ft 216

7.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.36 €3.88

$7.96 Ft 2,572

-45.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.58 €5.85

$6.22 Ft 2,009

5.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.27 Ft 411

39.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.03 Ft 654

-6.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.83 €1.63

$1.52 Ft 490

20.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 €3.91

$3.31 Ft 1,070

32.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.37 Ft 442

-20.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.32 €10.07

$19.83 Ft 6,406

-42.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.82 Ft 589

23.63%

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

$22.4K €19.9K

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

-24.90%

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

$24.4K €21.7K

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

-27.79%

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

$193 €171

$171 Ft 55.3K

12.54%

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

$17.94 €15.96

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-23.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$23.29 Ft 7,526

30.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.2 €53.6

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-10.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$8.50 €7.56

$9.30 Ft 3,004

-8.60%

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

$364 €324

$533 Ft 172.3K

-31.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,938 €3,503

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-76.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 €79.7

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-10.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$11.17 €9.94

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

-74.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.93 €39.96

$110 Ft 35.7K

-59.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$43.80 €38.96

$119 Ft 38.4K

-63.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$549 €489

$830 Ft 268.3K

-33.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 €392

$622 Ft 200.9K

-29.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$908 €808

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

-43.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$712 €633

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

-39.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,079 €3,628

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-30.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,948 €2,622

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

-24.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,222 €1,087

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

-25.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.3

6.45

-33.33%

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

Last update for Rethymno: 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

Rethymno

$441 32.8%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 41% $181

Groceries & Markets

Rethymno

$268 20%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 3.8% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rethymno

$241 17.9%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 9.5% $23

Eating Out

Rethymno

$215 16%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 3.8% $8.3

Clothing & Footwear

Rethymno

$85 6.3%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 96.5% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Rethymno

$77 5.7%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 11.6% $8.9

Getting Around

Rethymno

$17 * 1.3%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 158% $27

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $549 in Rethymno 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 35% 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 $56.0 in Rethymno versus $61.0 in Budapest. Groceries tell a different story – $268 in Rethymno vs $258 in Budapest – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Rethymno

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

18:11 6:11 PM

17:11 5:11 PM

1 h behind Rethymno

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,763

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.1 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rethymno Budapest 1,420 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Rethymno
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

Rethymno vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 20%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,017 per month in Rethymno 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 Rethymno, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $56.0 in Rethymno and $61.0 in Budapest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 4% cheaper in Budapest – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Rethymno, where all-in costs run around $1,345, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Rethymno it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Rethymno – 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 Rethymno. 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.