Prime Estate real estate agency > About Budapest > Expats in Budapest > Cost of living in Budapest
Cost of living in Budapest
According to the weekly newspaper Economist, Budapest is ranked as the 96th most expensive city from 131 metropolises all over the world in 2012, while the most expensive in Europe being Oslo, Norway. In Budapest you can come out from half of the money that you need in the Norwegian capital. Being a cheap or expensive city also depends on your point of view. As Hungarian salaries are well below Norwegians’, we can’t say that living in Budapest is cheap, especially not for Hungarians.
Working here as an expatriate will surely make you realize that Budapest is more expensive than most cities at Eastern Europe, but fortunately prices are not as high as in England, France or Norway.
We can tell you the same from real estate’s points of view: it is cheaper to rent a flat in Budapest than in Vienna, Austria, but it surely costs more than the same type of property in Sofia, Bulgaria. We are like a golden middle!
Salaries of foreigners are usually well above the Hungarian standard that ensures them to enjoy the best services, restaurants, gyms, hotels and to buy top quality food and wine.
According to our clients, expats are surprised at the rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) that is currently 27% and they think that utility costs are a little bit expensive as well. However, what everybody agrees on is that fuel is definitely too expensive in Hungary.
When talking about costs of living we shouldn’t forget that the supply is unfortunately not like in Austria or Germany. Many people visit the big shopping centers close to the Austrian capital to buy designer clothes or toys for their kids.
Prices in elite restaurants are still quite low and this is true also for leisure time activities and bars, cafes.
Are you relocating to Hungary and you would like to find out more about Budapest and the country?