Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between York and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,621 a month against $2,192 in York, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in York
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York Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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York

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,192

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,192 per month in York vs $1,621 in Budapest, rent included.

York $2,192
Budapest $1,621

A couple spends around $3,458 per month in York vs $2,555 in Budapest, rent included.

York $3,458
Budapest $2,555

A family of three spends $4,723 per month in York vs $3,489 in Budapest, rent included.

York $4,723
Budapest $3,489

York costs about 35% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both York and Budapest sit above the global median – York by 64%, Budapest by 21%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.67 £20.16

$13.99 Ft 4,551

90.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.8 £66.4

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

45.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.48 £7.92

$9.96 Ft 3,241

5.22%

Cappuccino

$5.02 £3.80

$3.38 Ft 1,100

48.52%

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

$2.78 £2.10

$2.13 Ft 692

30.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.87 Ft 608

-7.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.65 £5.02

$3.75 Ft 1,221

77.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.77 £5.12

$3.57 Ft 1,162

89.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 £1.24

$1.13 Ft 368

46.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 £1.19

$1.84 Ft 599

-14.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.04 £1.54

$2.39 Ft 777

-14.64%

Eggs

$3.82 £2.88

$3.83 Ft 1,245

-0.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.90 £6.73

$11.33 Ft 3,686

-21.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.28 £6.26

$6.74 Ft 2,192

22.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.82 £7.42

$14.69 Ft 4,780

-33.15%

Apples (1kg)

$3.33 £2.52

$1.84 Ft 597

80.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 £1.48

$2.01 Ft 653

-2.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.46 £1.86

$2.36 Ft 767

4.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 £3.60

$3.77 Ft 1,226

26.26%

Potato (1kg)

$3.08 £2.32

$0.96 Ft 313

220.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 £1.18

$1.03 Ft 334

51.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 £1.15

$1.56 Ft 509

-2.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 £1.10

$0.66 Ft 216

119.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.54

$7.96 Ft 2,591

191.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.84 £8.95

$6.01 Ft 1,954

97.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.18 £3.16

$1.30 Ft 421

221.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.69 £3.55

$2.08 Ft 676

125.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.98 £3.01

$1.50 Ft 489

165.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$114 £86.2

$27.61 Ft 8,982

313.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.55 £3.44

$3.30 Ft 1,074

37.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.66 £2.01

$1.30 Ft 424

104.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.50 £14.74

$19.78 Ft 6,436

-1.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 £1.53

$1.81 Ft 591

11.60%

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

$38.5K £29.1K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

31.32%

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

$40.1K £30.3K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

17.66%

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

$195 £147

$170 Ft 55.3K

14.75%

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

$16.43 £12.42

$23.98 Ft 7,802

-31.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.68 £35.28

$23.42 Ft 7,621

99.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.76 £36.85

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-26.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.11 £18.22

$19.18 Ft 6,239

25.70%

Cinema Ticket

$13.39 £10.12

$9.52 Ft 3,098

40.65%

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

$1,577 £1,192

$537 Ft 174.6K

193.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.3K £12.3K

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

-1.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.1 £45.42

$101 Ft 33.0K

-40.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.33 £27.46

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

-15.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 £59.2

$113 Ft 36.7K

-30.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.3 £57.6

$119 Ft 38.6K

-35.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,234 £933

$805 Ft 262.0K

53.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$927 £701

$629 Ft 204.7K

47.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,495 £1,885

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

61.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,931 £1,459

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

65.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,018 £3,792

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-10.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,867 £2,922

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-2.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,500 £2,645

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

115.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.61

6.43

-12.75%

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

Last update for York: October 5, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

York

$927 42.2%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 32.1% $298

Eating Out

York

$370 16.8%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 39.4% $146

Groceries & Markets

York

$305 13.9%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 15.6% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

York

$258 11.8%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 15.8% $41

Getting Around

York

$148 6.7%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 70.6% $104

Clothing & Footwear

York

$113 5.1%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 49.7% $56

Sport & Entertainment

York

$76 3.4%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 12.9% $9.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,234 in York 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 115% higher in York, 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 $88.0 in York 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

🇬🇧 York

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

07:17 7:17 AM

08:17 8:17 AM

1 h ahead of York

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

137,000

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

York Budapest 1,580 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

York
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

York vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – York is pricier by about 35%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,288 per month in York 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.

Public transport costs about 313% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,577 per month in York and $537 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 $1,621, than in York at $2,192. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in York 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, York makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.