Cost of living comparison

Hungary

compared to

Belgium

Brussels vs. Budapest Cost of Living Summary

Brussels is 55.3% more expensive than Budapest.

Restaurants: pay 59.8% more in Brussels
Groceries: pay 52.2% more in Brussels
Transportation: pay 41.3% more in Brussels
Housing: pay 73.5% more in Brussels
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in Brussels
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.5% more in Brussels
Clothing: pay 6.9% more in Brussels

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Brussels are more expensive than in Budapest. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Brussels.

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Brussels vs. Budapest Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Brussels instead of Budapest, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 59.8% more for restaurants

	Budapest	Brussels
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.77 HUF4,451.76	$22.39 €19.93	+62.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.17 HUF3,289.36	$15.12 €13.45	+48.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.08 HUF673.49	$3.73 €3.32	+78.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.83 HUF591.19	$3.11 €2.77	+70.3%
Average			+59.8%

Budapest vs. Brussels - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.2% more for groceries

	Budapest	Brussels
Bread 1 loaf	$1.80 HUF580.67	$2.75 €2.45	+53.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 HUF1,802.14	$8.91 €7.93	+59.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.40 HUF1,421.11	$5.00 €4.45	+13.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.88 HUF1,253.03	$5.29 €4.71	+36.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.10 HUF1,003.00	$5.97 €5.32	+92.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 HUF274.62	$1.40 €1.24	+64.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.94 HUF303.05	$1.09 €0.97	+16.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.06 HUF341.51	$1.27 €1.13	+20.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.73 HUF558.38	$1.87 €1.67	+8.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.45 HUF144.57	$1.14 €1.01	+154.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.46 HUF147.52	$1.00 €0.89	+118.5%
Average			+52.2%

Budapest vs. Brussels - Cost of groceries

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pay 41.3% more for transportation

	Budapest	Brussels
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.07 HUF2,284.96	$7.99 €7.11	+13.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$27.54 HUF8,903.52	$62.71 €55.81	+127.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,374.56 HUF9M	$35,462.03 €31,562.48	+20.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.14 HUF4,570.47	$21.27 €18.94	+50.5%
Average			+41.3%

Budapest vs. Brussels - Cost of transportation

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pay 73.5% more for housing

	Budapest	Brussels
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$23.57 HUF7,621.57	$51.88 €46.18	+120.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$817.66 HUF264K	$1,339.95 €1,192.60	+63.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$631.44 HUF204K	$1,154.19 €1,027.27	+82.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.77 HUF42,926.20	$215.91 €192.17	+62.6%
Average			+73.5%

Budapest vs. Brussels - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	Budapest	Brussels
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$539.65 HUF174K	$1,603.72 €1,427.37	+197.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,674.34 HUF5M	$36,825.21 €32,775.76	+120.8%
Average			+156.2%

Budapest vs. Brussels - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Budapest	Brussels
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.67 HUF1,187.14	$5.60 €4.98	+52.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 HUF1,081.59	$4.44 €3.96	+32.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.96 HUF2,572.13	$13.44 €11.96	+68.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$67.07 HUF21,685.02	$32.93 €29.31	-50.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.33 HUF3,017.30	$16.68 €14.85	+78.8%
Average			+17.5%

Budapest vs. Brussels - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.9% more for clothing

	Budapest	Brussels
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$100.01 HUF32,333.83	$101.94 €90.73	+1.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.98 HUF13,894.99	$46.03 €40.97	+7.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$113.36 HUF36,650.47	$109.64 €97.58	-3.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$118.19 HUF38,210.94	$146.15 €130.08	+23.7%
Average			+6.9%

Budapest vs. Brussels - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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