Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sligo and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,641 a month against $1,784 in Sligo, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Sligo
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Sligo Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Sligo

🇮🇪 Ireland

$1,784

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,784 per month in Sligo vs $1,641 in Budapest, rent included.

Sligo $1,784
Budapest $1,641

A couple spends around $2,736 per month in Sligo vs $2,562 in Budapest, rent included.

Sligo $2,736
Budapest $2,562

A family of three spends $3,688 per month in Sligo vs $3,483 in Budapest, rent included.

Sligo $3,688
Budapest $3,483

Sligo costs about 9% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Sligo and Budapest sit above the global median – Sligo by 32%, Budapest by 21%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.00 €15.12

$14.04 Ft 4,536

21.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.8 €69.2

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

27.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.98 €7.99

$10.37 Ft 3,351

-13.40%

Cappuccino

$3.67 €3.26

$3.46 Ft 1,117

6.07%

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

$2.57 €2.29

$2.07 Ft 669

24.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 €1.67

$1.77 Ft 572

6.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.42 €5.71

$3.69 Ft 1,191

73.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.07 €5.40

$3.80 Ft 1,229

59.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.16 Ft 374

26.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.85 Ft 598

-22.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 €1.40

$2.40 Ft 776

-34.58%

Eggs

$3.53 €3.14

$3.99 Ft 1,289

-11.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.54 €7.59

$11.40 Ft 3,683

-25.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.05 €8.05

$6.87 Ft 2,221

31.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.18 €9.94

$14.49 Ft 4,682

-22.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.88 Ft 607

10.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$2.14 Ft 693

-18.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 €2.52

$2.30 Ft 744

23.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.75 €2.45

$4.04 Ft 1,304

-31.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.71 €1.52

$1.02 Ft 329

67.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 €1.05

$0.99 Ft 320

19.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.58 Ft 510

-20.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 €1.46

$0.70 Ft 225

134.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.28 €15.37

$8.03 Ft 2,594

115.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.43 €10.17

$6.18 Ft 1,997

84.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 €2.34

$1.24 Ft 401

112.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.84 €3.42

$2.06 Ft 666

86.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.59 Ft 513

38.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.72 €5.09

$3.43 Ft 1,110

66.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.33 Ft 431

8.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$67.4 €60.0

$20.45 Ft 6,607

229.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 €1.78

$1.93 Ft 624

3.63%

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

$39.7K €35.3K

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

36.25%

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

$37.1K €33.0K

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

6.80%

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

$166 €147

$175 Ft 56.4K

-5.09%

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

$22.20 €19.75

$23.62 Ft 7,631

-6.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.25 €41.14

$23.60 Ft 7,625

95.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.6 €58.3

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

-4.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.19 €9.95

$19.26 Ft 6,224

-41.90%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.78

$10.31 Ft 3,333

6.60%

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

$807 €718

$535 Ft 172.9K

50.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,248 €2,000

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-86.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

-11.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.13 €25.02

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

-34.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.8 €65.6

$112 Ft 36.1K

-33.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.3 €80.3

$119 Ft 38.4K

-24.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,378 €1,226

$832 Ft 268.8K

65.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$770 €685

$629 Ft 203.3K

22.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,286 €2,034

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

44.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 €1,210

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

13.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,114 €1,880

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

-63.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,161 €3,701

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

143.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.6

6.45

-44.19%

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

Last update for Sligo: October 17, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sligo

$770 43.1%

Budapest

$629 38.4% 18.2% $140

Groceries & Markets

Sligo

$276 15.5%

Budapest

$262 16% 5.1% $14

Eating Out

Sligo

$269 15.1%

Budapest

$226 13.8% 15.9% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sligo

$234 13.1%

Budapest

$222 13.5% 5.3% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Sligo

$126 7.1%

Budapest

$168 10.3% 33.1% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Sligo

$88 4.9%

Budapest

$89 5.5% 2.2% $1.9

Getting Around

Sligo

$22 * 1.2%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 103% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,378 in Sligo versus $832 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 143% higher in Sligo, 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 $78.0 in Sligo versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $276 vs $262 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Sligo

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

09:50 9:50 AM

10:50 10:50 AM

1 h ahead of Sligo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,608

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 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 24, 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 →

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Between locations

Sligo Budapest 2,060 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Sligo
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

Sligo vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sligo is pricier by about 9%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,676 per month in Sligo and $2,461 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $78.0 in Sligo and $61.0 in Budapest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 5% more in Sligo, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Budapest, where all-in costs run around $1,641, than in Sligo at $1,784. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sligo 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, Sligo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.