Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Andrews and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,621 a month against $2,255 in St. Andrews, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in St. Andrews
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St. Andrews Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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St. Andrews

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,255

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,255 per month in St. Andrews vs $1,621 in Budapest, rent included.

St. Andrews $2,255
Budapest $1,621

A couple spends around $3,874 per month in St. Andrews vs $2,555 in Budapest, rent included.

St. Andrews $3,874
Budapest $2,555

A family of three spends $5,492 per month in St. Andrews vs $3,489 in Budapest, rent included.

St. Andrews $5,492
Budapest $3,489

St. Andrews costs about 39% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both St. Andrews and Budapest sit above the global median – St. Andrews by 68%, Budapest by 21%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.47 £16.23

$13.99 Ft 4,555

53.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.5 £63.9

$60.3 Ft 19.7K

40.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.62 £8.03

$9.96 Ft 3,244

6.63%

Cappuccino

$4.67 £3.53

$3.38 Ft 1,102

38.17%

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

$2.81 £2.13

$2.13 Ft 693

31.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$1.87 Ft 609

14.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.51 £4.92

$3.75 Ft 1,222

73.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.59 £4.98

$3.57 Ft 1,163

84.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 £1.19

$1.13 Ft 369

38.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 £1.32

$1.84 Ft 600

-5.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 £1.52

$2.39 Ft 777

-15.48%

Eggs

$4.45 £3.37

$3.83 Ft 1,246

16.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.40 £5.59

$11.33 Ft 3,689

-34.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.44 £7.13

$6.74 Ft 2,194

40.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.43 £11.66

$14.69 Ft 4,784

5.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.44 £1.85

$1.84 Ft 598

32.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 £1.00

$2.01 Ft 654

-34.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 £2.14

$2.36 Ft 767

20.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.85 £2.15

$3.77 Ft 1,227

-24.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 £1.33

$0.96 Ft 314

83.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 £1.13

$1.03 Ft 335

44.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.95

$1.56 Ft 509

-19.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.45 £1.85

$0.66 Ft 216

271.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.65 £17.12

$7.96 Ft 2,594

184.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.91 £8.25

$6.01 Ft 1,956

81.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.73 £2.06

$1.30 Ft 422

110.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 £2.28

$2.08 Ft 677

44.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.65 £3.52

$1.50 Ft 490

210.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,991

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 £2.98

$3.30 Ft 1,075

19.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.44 £1.84

$1.30 Ft 424

87.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.22 £18.31

$19.78 Ft 6,442

22.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.58

$1.81 Ft 591

15.47%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$29.3K Ft 9.6M

27.92%

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

$41.2K £31.2K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

20.86%

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

$239 £181

$170 Ft 55.3K

40.53%

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

$12.98 £9.81

$23.98 Ft 7,809

-45.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.73 £32.30

$23.42 Ft 7,628

82.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$92.2 £69.7

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

39.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,245

Cinema Ticket

$13.16 £9.94

$9.52 Ft 3,101

38.24%

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

$1,773 £1,340

$537 Ft 174.8K

230.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.2K £17.6K

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

39.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$94.7 £71.6

$101 Ft 33.0K

-6.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.10 £36.36

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

11.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £78.7

$113 Ft 36.7K

-7.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.5 £66.1

$119 Ft 38.7K

-26.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,354 £1,023

$805 Ft 262.2K

68.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 £777

$629 Ft 204.9K

63.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,082 £2,330

$1,549 Ft 504.6K

98.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,706 £2,045

$1,167 Ft 380.1K

131.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,113 £4,621

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

8.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,693 £2,036

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-32.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,284 £2,483

$1,626 Ft 529.5K

102.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.41

6.43

-15.86%

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

Last update for St. Andrews: October 6, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Andrews

$1K 45.6%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 38.8% $399

Eating Out

St. Andrews

$325 14.4%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 31.1% $101

Groceries & Markets

St. Andrews

$305 13.5%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 15.4% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Andrews

$295 13.1%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 26.2% $77

Clothing & Footwear

St. Andrews

$151 6.7%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 12.4% $19

Sport & Entertainment

St. Andrews

$119 5.3%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 28.1% $33

Getting Around

St. Andrews

$35 * 1.5%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 25% $8.7

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,354 in St. Andrews 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 102% higher in St. Andrews, 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 $84.0 in St. Andrews versus $60.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $305 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 St. Andrews

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

03:50 3:50 AM

04:50 4:50 AM

1 h ahead of St. Andrews

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

16,460

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 = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 326 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

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Between locations

St. Andrews Budapest 1,780 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

St. Andrews
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

St. Andrews vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – St. Andrews is pricier by about 39%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,383 per month in St. Andrews 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $84.0 in St. Andrews and $60.0 in Budapest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 18% more in St. Andrews, 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 $1,621, than in St. Andrews at $2,255. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in St. Andrews 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, St. Andrews makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.