Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the United Kingdom and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,621 a month against $2,457 in the United Kingdom, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in the United Kingdom
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United Kingdom Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

Jump to prices

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,457

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: The United Kingdom is 29.8% more expensive than Budapest without rent, and 51.5% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: The United Kingdom is 28.2% more expensive than Budapest without rent, and 33.1% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.38 £16.16

$13.99 Ft 4,551

52.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.5 £63.9

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

40.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.96

$9.96 Ft 3,241

5.82%

Cappuccino

$4.85 £3.66

$3.38 Ft 1,100

43.49%

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

$2.53 £1.91

$2.13 Ft 692

18.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 £1.39

$1.87 Ft 608

-1.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.81 £5.14

$3.75 Ft 1,221

81.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.51 £4.92

$3.57 Ft 1,162

82.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 £1.27

$1.13 Ft 368

48.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.29

$1.84 Ft 599

-7.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 £1.70

$2.39 Ft 777

-5.86%

Eggs

$3.96 £2.99

$3.83 Ft 1,245

3.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.53 £7.20

$11.33 Ft 3,686

-15.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 £6.77

$6.74 Ft 2,192

33.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.70 £11.11

$14.69 Ft 4,780

0.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 £2.20

$1.84 Ft 597

58.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 £1.22

$2.01 Ft 653

-19.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.86 £2.16

$2.36 Ft 767

21.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.44 £2.60

$3.77 Ft 1,226

-8.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 £1.30

$0.96 Ft 313

79.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.03 Ft 334

49.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 £0.93

$1.56 Ft 509

-21.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.24

$0.66 Ft 216

150.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.34 £17.63

$7.96 Ft 2,591

193.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.71 £8.10

$6.01 Ft 1,954

78.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.01 £2.27

$1.30 Ft 421

131.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 £2.50

$2.08 Ft 676

58.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.48 £2.63

$1.50 Ft 489

132.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$101 £76.0

$27.61 Ft 8,982

264.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 £4.07

$3.30 Ft 1,074

63.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 £1.79

$1.30 Ft 424

83.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.80 £20.25

$19.78 Ft 6,436

35.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.01 £1.52

$1.81 Ft 591

11.05%

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

$38.0K £28.7K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

29.52%

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

$40.6K £30.7K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

19.01%

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

$318 £240

$170 Ft 55.3K

86.92%

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

$18.35 £13.87

$23.98 Ft 7,802

-23.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.75 £31.55

$23.42 Ft 7,621

78.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.41 £35.07

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-29.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 £13.82

$19.18 Ft 6,239

-4.69%

Cinema Ticket

$13.28 £10.04

$9.52 Ft 3,098

39.50%

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

$1,731 £1,308

$537 Ft 174.6K

222.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K £16.8K

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

34.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.4 £69.9

$101 Ft 33.0K

-8.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.27 £34.96

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

7.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 £76.5

$113 Ft 36.7K

-10.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 £76.7

$119 Ft 38.6K

-14.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,321 £998

$805 Ft 262.0K

64.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,086 £821

$629 Ft 204.7K

72.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,158 £1,631

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

39.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 £1,290

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

46.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,523 £4,174

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-1.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,320 £3,265

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

8.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,264 £2,466

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

100.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.32

6.43

-17.26%

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

Last update for the United Kingdom: October 3, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

United Kingdom

$1.1K 44.3%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 42.1% $457

Monthly Utilities & Internet

United Kingdom

$378 15.4%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 42.5% $160

Eating Out

United Kingdom

$325 13.3%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 31.1% $101

Groceries & Markets

United Kingdom

$305 12.4%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 15.6% $47

Clothing & Footwear

United Kingdom

$154 6.3%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 10.1% $15

Getting Around

United Kingdom

$132 5.4%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 67% $88

Sport & Entertainment

United Kingdom

$73 3%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 16.9% $12

Good to know

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

08:31 8:31 AM

09:31 9:31 AM

1 h ahead of the United Kingdom

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,326,569

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 = 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

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Between locations

United Kingdom Budapest 1,450 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

United Kingdom
Budapest

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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