✦ Compare
Budapest vs
Warsaw
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 Warsaw, PL at a glance — Warsaw, PL is 7% more expensive than Budapest, HU overall. Median 1-bed rent runs about $900/mo versus $700/mo. Top income tax: 32% vs 15%.
To keep the same standard of living in Warsaw, PL, you'd need
$80,186 / year
Warsaw, PL is 7% more expensive overall
Category breakdown (Warsaw, PL vs Budapest, HU)
- Housing+11%
- Food & groceries+3%
- Transport+10%
- Utilities+5%
- Healthcare+18%
- Goods & services+3%
◎ How Budapest, HU and Warsaw, PL compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Budapest, HU | Warsaw, PL | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 67 | 72 |
| Housing | 65 | 72 |
| Food | 68 | 70 |
| Transport | 50 | 55 |
| Utilities | 95 | 100 |
| Healthcare | 55 | 65 |
| Goods & services | 72 | 74 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $700/mo | $900/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $520/mo | $650/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $1,350/mo | $1,700/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $3,200 | $4,000 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $1,484 | $1,388 |
| Inexpensive meal | $8 | $8 |
| Monthly transit pass | $30 | $30 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 15% | 32% |
| VAT / sales tax | 27% | 23% |
| Corporate tax | 9% | 19% |
| Capital gains | — | 19% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $900/mo | $1,200/mo |
| Avg annual wage (OECD, PPP) | $39,145✓ | $49,074✓ |
| Minimum wage | $1,050/mo✓ | $1,297/mo✓ |
| GDP per capita | $23,320✓ | $28,420✓ |
| Inflation (annual) | 3.7%✓ | 3.8%✓ |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | Yes | No |
| English proficiency | Moderate | Moderate |
| Coworking spaces | 40 | 50 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | UTC+1 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Quality of life (overall) | 67 | 67 |
| Safety index | 72 | 68 |
| Healthcare index | 60 | 72 |
| Pollution index | 50 | 55 |
| Internet speed | 200 Mbps | 150 Mbps |
| Walkability | 80 | 80 |
| Public transport | 82 | 82 |
| Family-friendly | 65 | 68 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Life expectancy | 77 yr✓ | 78 yr✓ |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | Low | Low |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | 0 °C | -2 °C |
| July avg | +22 °C | +19 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 200 | 90 |
| Rainfall / year | 520 mm | 550 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1.5 h | 1.5 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: Hungary vs Poland. 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 Warsaw — 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 Warsaw
Central Europe's fastest-rising business hub — modern, safe and affordable, with cold winters.
- Currency
- Polish złoty (zł PLN)
- Languages
- Polish
- Time zone
- UTC+1
- Internet
- 150 Mbps
- English
- Fairly common
- Safety
- 68/100
- Climate
- ❄ -2°C · ☀ 19°C · 90 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- E · 230V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Śródmieście · Praga · Mokotów
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 Warsaw
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
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Budapest to Warsaw: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Budapest to Warsaw, your cost of living will be roughly 7% more expensive. Warsaw’s cost-of-living index is 72 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 Warsaw?
Warsaw is about 7% more expensive than Budapest overall — its cost-of-living index is 72 versus 67 for Budapest.
Which is more expensive, Budapest or Warsaw?
Warsaw is more expensive than Budapest. Its cost-of-living index is 72 vs 67 (US = 100) — about 7% higher.
Is rent cheaper in Budapest or Warsaw?
Rent is cheaper in Budapest — about $700/month for a one-bedroom in the city centre, vs $900 in Warsaw.
How much do you need to earn in Warsaw to live like in Budapest?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Budapest is worth about $80,186 in Warsaw. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Budapest or Warsaw?
Hungary has the lower top income-tax rate — 15% versus 32% in Poland.
◷ 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.