Cost of living comparison

Albania

compared to

Hungary

Budapest vs. Tirana Cost of Living Summary

Budapest is 11.3% more expensive than Tirana.

Restaurants: pay 16.3% more in Budapest
Groceries: pay 3.1% less in Budapest
Transportation: pay 10.8% less in Budapest
Housing: pay 22.0% more in Budapest
Childcare: pay 78.0% more in Budapest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.9% more in Budapest
Clothing: pay 5.4% more in Budapest

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

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Budapest vs. Tirana Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 16.3% more for restaurants

	Tirana	Budapest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 ALL794	$13.77 HUF4,451.76	+40.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.99 ALL893	$10.17 HUF3,289.36	-7.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.38 ALL193	$2.08 HUF673.49	-12.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.26 ALL103	$1.83 HUF591.19	+44.7%
Average			+16.3%

Tirana vs. Budapest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.1% less for groceries

	Tirana	Budapest
Bread 1 loaf	$1.18 ALL96	$1.80 HUF580.67	+52.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.45 ALL524	$5.57 HUF1,802.14	-13.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.47 ALL688	$4.40 HUF1,421.11	-48.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.77 ALL306	$3.88 HUF1,253.03	+2.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.12 ALL335	$3.10 HUF1,003.00	-24.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.89 ALL72	$0.85 HUF274.62	-4.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.12 ALL91	$0.94 HUF303.05	-16.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.98 ALL80	$1.06 HUF341.51	+7.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 ALL68	$1.73 HUF558.38	+105.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 ALL38	$0.45 HUF144.57	-4.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 ALL47	$0.46 HUF147.52	-21.0%
Average			-3.1%

Tirana vs. Budapest - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.8% less for transportation

	Tirana	Budapest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.77 ALL712	$7.07 HUF2,284.96	-19.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$19.54 ALL1,587	$27.54 HUF8,903.52	+40.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,592.07 ALL3M	$29,374.56 HUF9M	-12.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$32.98 ALL2,678	$14.14 HUF4,570.47	-57.1%
Average			-10.8%

Tirana vs. Budapest - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.0% more for housing

	Tirana	Budapest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.91 ALL1,617	$23.57 HUF7,621.57	+18.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$828.78 ALL67,311	$817.66 HUF264K	-1.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$479.97 ALL38,982	$631.44 HUF204K	+31.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$74.95 ALL6,088	$132.77 HUF42,926.20	+77.1%
Average			+22.0%

Tirana vs. Budapest - Cost of housing

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pay 78.0% more for childcare

	Tirana	Budapest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$344.43 ALL27,973	$539.65 HUF174K	+56.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,249.97 ALL670K	$16,674.34 HUF5M	+102.1%
Average			+78.0%

Tirana vs. Budapest - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Tirana	Budapest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.54 ALL288	$3.67 HUF1,187.14	+3.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ALL183	$3.35 HUF1,081.59	+48.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.76 ALL387	$7.96 HUF2,572.13	+67.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.71 ALL4,525	$67.07 HUF21,685.02	+20.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.77 ALL794	$9.33 HUF3,017.30	-4.5%
Average			+18.9%

Tirana vs. Budapest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.4% more for clothing

	Tirana	Budapest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$69.87 ALL5,675	$100.01 HUF32,333.83	+43.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.44 ALL3,853	$42.98 HUF13,894.99	-9.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$122.26 ALL9,930	$113.36 HUF36,650.47	-7.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$115.33 ALL9,367	$118.19 HUF38,210.94	+2.5%
Average			+5.4%

Tirana 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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