✦ Compare
Barcelona vs
Budapest
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
Barcelona, ES vs Budapest, HU at a glance — Budapest, HU is 36% cheaper than Barcelona, ES overall. Median 1-bed rent runs about $700/mo versus $1,350/mo. Top income tax: 15% vs 47%.
To keep the same standard of living in Budapest, HU, you'd need
$48,090 / year
Budapest, HU is 36% cheaper overall
Category breakdown (Budapest, HU vs Barcelona, ES)
- Housing-48%
- Food & groceries-32%
- Transport-38%
- Utilities-14%
- Healthcare-31%
- Goods & services-29%
◎ How Barcelona, ES and Budapest, HU compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Barcelona, ES | Budapest, HU | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 105 | 67 |
| Housing | 125 | 65 |
| Food | 100 | 68 |
| Transport | 80 | 50 |
| Utilities | 110 | 95 |
| Healthcare | 80 | 55 |
| Goods & services | 102 | 72 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $1,350/mo | $700/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $1,000/mo | $520/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $2,700/mo | $1,350/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $5,500 | $3,200 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $951 | $1,484 |
| Inexpensive meal | $15 | $8 |
| Monthly transit pass | $60 | $30 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 47% | 15% |
| VAT / sales tax | 21% | 27% |
| Social security (employee) | 6.4% | — |
| Corporate tax | 25% | 9% |
| Capital gains | 28% | — |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $1,900/mo | $900/mo |
| Avg annual wage (OECD, PPP) | $57,779✓ | $39,145✓ |
| Minimum wage | $1,652/mo✓ | $1,050/mo✓ |
| GDP per capita | $38,627✓ | $23,320✓ |
| Inflation (annual) | 2.7%✓ | 3.7%✓ |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | Yes | Yes |
| English proficiency | Moderate | Moderate |
| Coworking spaces | 80 | 40 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | UTC+1 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Quality of life (overall) | 73 | 67 |
| Safety index | 55 | 72 |
| Healthcare index | 80 | 60 |
| Pollution index | 50 | 50 |
| Internet speed | 200 Mbps | 200 Mbps |
| Walkability | 90 | 80 |
| Public transport | 88 | 82 |
| Family-friendly | 66 | 65 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Life expectancy | 84 yr✓ | 77 yr✓ |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | High | Low |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | +10 °C | 0 °C |
| July avg | +25 °C | +22 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 250 | 200 |
| Rainfall / year | 640 mm | 520 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1 h | 1.5 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: Spain vs Hungary. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
✓ = official statistics (OECD (PPP), Eurostat 2026, World Bank 2025, World Bank 2024). Unmarked figures are CostTrek estimates. How we calculate these figures →
Cost of living: Barcelona vs Budapest — in your currency
Converted from USD at approximate rates (2026-09).
Good to know before you move to Barcelona
Beach, Gaudí and a huge digital-nomad scene — the trade-off is tourism pressure on housing.
- Currency
- Euro (€ EUR)
- Languages
- Spanish
- Time zone
- UTC+1
- Internet
- 200 Mbps
- English
- Fairly common
- Safety
- 55/100
- Climate
- ❄ 10°C · ☀ 25°C · 250 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- F · 230V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Gràcia · El Born · Poblenou
Good to know before you move to Budapest
Grand Habsburg boulevards, thermal baths and ruin bars split by the Danube — one of the EU's best-value capitals, with a flat 15% tax and the White Card pulling in a fast-growing nomad crowd.
- Currency
- Hungarian forint (Ft HUF)
- Languages
- Hungarian
- Time zone
- UTC+1
- Internet
- 200 Mbps
- English
- Fairly common
- Safety
- 72/100
- Climate
- ❄ 0°C · ☀ 22°C · 200 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- F · 230V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- District VII · District V · District XIII · Buda Hills
Plan your move to Barcelona
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalLocalrent
- Airport transferWelcome Pickups
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- Tours & ticketsTiqets
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Flight compensationAirHelp
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Plan your move to Budapest
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalDiscoverCars
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- Tours & ticketsTiqets
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Flight compensationAirHelp
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? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Barcelona to Budapest: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Barcelona to Budapest, your cost of living will be roughly 36% cheaper. Budapest’s cost-of-living index is 67 versus 105 for Barcelona (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Barcelona cheaper than Budapest?
Budapest is about 36% cheaper than Barcelona overall — its cost-of-living index is 67 versus 105 for Barcelona.
Which is more expensive, Barcelona or Budapest?
Barcelona is more expensive than Budapest. Its cost-of-living index is 105 vs 67 (US = 100) — about 57% higher.
Is rent cheaper in Barcelona or Budapest?
Rent is cheaper in Budapest — about $700/month for a one-bedroom in the city centre, vs $1,350 in Barcelona.
How much do you need to earn in Budapest to live like in Barcelona?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Barcelona is worth about $48,090 in Budapest. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Barcelona or Budapest?
Hungary has the lower top income-tax rate — 15% versus 47% in Spain.
◷ More comparisons from Barcelona
How we calculate these figures →
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.