Cost of living comparison

Czech Republic

compared to

Hungary

Budapest vs. Prague Cost of Living Summary

Budapest is 12.6% cheaper than Prague.

Restaurants: pay 14.7% more in Budapest
Groceries: pay 1.3% more in Budapest
Transportation: pay 2.5% more in Budapest
Housing: pay 30.5% less in Budapest
Childcare: pay 32.8% less in Budapest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.3% less in Budapest
Clothing: pay 2.2% less in Budapest

The cost of restaurants, transportation, and groceries in Budapest are more expensive than in Prague. Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Budapest.

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Budapest vs. Prague Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 14.7% more for restaurants

	Prague	Budapest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.87 CZK236.60	$13.77 HUF4,485.49	+26.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.09 CZK219.54	$10.17 HUF3,314.28	+0.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.99 CZK43.38	$2.08 HUF678.60	+4.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.45 CZK31.47	$1.83 HUF595.67	+26.5%
Average			+14.7%

Prague vs. Budapest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.3% more for groceries

	Prague	Budapest
Bread 1 loaf	$1.64 CZK35.79	$1.80 HUF585.07	+9.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.97 CZK130.01	$5.57 HUF1,815.79	-6.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.03 CZK87.69	$4.40 HUF1,431.88	+9.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.83 CZK83.35	$3.88 HUF1,262.53	+1.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.77 CZK82.09	$3.10 HUF1,010.60	-17.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.87 CZK18.97	$0.85 HUF276.70	-2.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 CZK17.53	$0.94 HUF305.34	+16.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.97 CZK21.04	$1.06 HUF344.10	+9.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.68 CZK36.67	$1.73 HUF562.62	+2.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 CZK10.04	$0.45 HUF145.67	-3.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 CZK9.84	$0.46 HUF148.64	+1.0%
Average			+1.3%

Prague vs. Budapest - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.5% more for transportation

	Prague	Budapest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.27 CZK158.32	$7.07 HUF2,302.27	-2.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.49 CZK467.64	$27.54 HUF8,970.99	+28.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,083.07 CZK676K	$29,374.56 HUF10M	-5.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.59 CZK339.28	$14.14 HUF4,605.11	-9.3%
Average			+2.5%

Prague vs. Budapest - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.5% less for housing

	Prague	Budapest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.83 CZK475.16	$23.57 HUF7,679.33	+8.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,115.98 CZK24,287.31	$817.66 HUF266K	-26.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$960.67 CZK20,907.38	$631.44 HUF206K	-34.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$219.79 CZK4,783.39	$132.77 HUF43,251.49	-39.6%
Average			-30.5%

Prague vs. Budapest - Cost of housing

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pay 32.8% less for childcare

	Prague	Budapest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,078.55 CZK23,472.83	$539.65 HUF176K	-50.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,476.09 CZK402K	$16,674.34 HUF5M	-9.8%
Average			-32.8%

Prague vs. Budapest - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Prague	Budapest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.16 CZK68.85	$3.67 HUF1,196.13	+16.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.65 CZK79.50	$3.35 HUF1,089.79	-8.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.79 CZK169.64	$7.96 HUF2,591.62	+2.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$67.45 CZK1,467.92	$67.07 HUF21,849.34	-0.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.30 CZK289.39	$9.33 HUF3,040.17	-29.8%
Average			-7.3%

Prague vs. Budapest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.2% less for clothing

	Prague	Budapest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$92.51 CZK2,013.32	$100.01 HUF32,578.86	+8.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.60 CZK1,036.04	$42.98 HUF14,000.28	-9.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.07 CZK2,439.06	$113.36 HUF36,928.20	+1.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$127.30 CZK2,770.53	$118.19 HUF38,500.50	-7.2%
Average			-2.2%

Prague vs. Budapest - 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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