✦ Compare
Budapest vs
Madrid
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
Budapest, HU vs Madrid, ES at a glance — Madrid, ES is 53% more expensive than Budapest, HU overall. Median 1-bed rent runs about $1,300/mo versus $700/mo. Top income tax: 47% vs 15%.
To keep the same standard of living in Madrid, ES, you'd need
$114,631 / year
Madrid, ES is 53% more expensive overall
Category breakdown (Madrid, ES vs Budapest, HU)
- Housing+85%
- Food & groceries+47%
- Transport+60%
- Utilities+16%
- Healthcare+45%
- Goods & services+39%
◎ How Budapest, HU and Madrid, ES compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Budapest, HU | Madrid, ES | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 67 | 103 |
| Housing | 65 | 120 |
| Food | 68 | 100 |
| Transport | 50 | 80 |
| Utilities | 95 | 110 |
| Healthcare | 55 | 80 |
| Goods & services | 72 | 100 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $700/mo | $1,300/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $520/mo | $950/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $1,350/mo | $2,600/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $3,200 | $6,000 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $1,484 | $971 |
| Inexpensive meal | $8 | $14 |
| Monthly transit pass | $30 | $60 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 15% | 47% |
| VAT / sales tax | 27% | 21% |
| Social security (employee) | — | 6.4% |
| Corporate tax | 9% | 25% |
| Capital gains | — | 28% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $900/mo | $1,900/mo |
| Avg annual wage (OECD, PPP) | $39,145✓ | $57,779✓ |
| Minimum wage | $1,050/mo✓ | $1,652/mo✓ |
| GDP per capita | $23,320✓ | $38,627✓ |
| Inflation (annual) | 3.7%✓ | 2.7%✓ |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | Yes | Yes |
| English proficiency | Moderate | Low |
| Coworking spaces | 40 | 70 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | UTC+1 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Quality of life (overall) | 67 | 74 |
| Safety index | 72 | 62 |
| Healthcare index | 60 | 80 |
| Pollution index | 50 | 45 |
| Internet speed | 200 Mbps | 200 Mbps |
| Walkability | 80 | 88 |
| Public transport | 82 | 90 |
| Family-friendly | 65 | 68 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Life expectancy | 77 yr✓ | 84 yr✓ |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | Low | High |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | 0 °C | +6 °C |
| July avg | +22 °C | +25 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 200 | 250 |
| Rainfall / year | 520 mm | 420 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1.5 h | 1 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: Hungary vs Spain. 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: Budapest vs Madrid — in your currency
Converted from USD at approximate rates (2026-09).
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
Good to know before you move to Madrid
Spain's sunny, sociable capital — great transit and food, affordable by Western-European standards.
- Currency
- Euro (€ EUR)
- Languages
- Spanish
- Time zone
- UTC+1
- Internet
- 200 Mbps
- English
- Rarely spoken
- Safety
- 62/100
- Climate
- ❄ 6°C · ☀ 25°C · 250 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- F · 230V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Malasaña · Chamberí · La Latina
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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Plan your move to Madrid
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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? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Budapest to Madrid: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Budapest to Madrid, your cost of living will be roughly 53% more expensive. Madrid’s cost-of-living index is 103 versus 67 for Budapest (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Budapest cheaper than Madrid?
Madrid is about 53% more expensive than Budapest overall — its cost-of-living index is 103 versus 67 for Budapest.
Which is more expensive, Budapest or Madrid?
Madrid is more expensive than Budapest. Its cost-of-living index is 103 vs 67 (US = 100) — about 54% higher.
Is rent cheaper in Budapest or Madrid?
Rent is cheaper in Budapest — about $700/month for a one-bedroom in the city centre, vs $1,300 in Madrid.
How much do you need to earn in Madrid to live like in Budapest?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Budapest is worth about $114,631 in Madrid. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Budapest or Madrid?
Hungary has the lower top income-tax rate — 15% versus 47% in Spain.
◷ More comparisons from Budapest
How we calculate these figures →
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.