Cost of living comparison

 Budapest, Hungary
compared to
 Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki vs. Budapest Cost of Living Summary

Helsinki is 50.0% more expensive than Budapest.

Restaurants
pay 76.4% more in Helsinki
Groceries
pay 45.0% more in Helsinki
Transportation
pay 74.6% more in Helsinki
Housing
pay 43.5% more in Helsinki
Childcare
pay 10.3% less in Helsinki
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.1 times more in Helsinki
Clothing
pay 10.6% more in Helsinki

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

Helsinki vs. Budapest Cost Breakdown

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

pay 76.4% more for restaurants

 
Budapest
Helsinki
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $10.52
HUF4,143.42
$18.76
€17.99
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.89
HUF3,107.57
$11.79
€11.31
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.53
HUF600.77
$3.14
€3.01

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pay 45.0% more for groceries

 
Budapest
Helsinki
Bread
1 loaf
$1.48
HUF582.96
$2.89
€2.77
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.42
HUF1,738.95
$4.13
€3.96
Milk (1 gallon) $3.98
HUF1,567.02
$5.15
€4.94

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pay 74.6% more for transportation

 
Budapest
Helsinki
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.17
HUF2,430.55
$7.50
€7.20
Monthly public transit pass $23.54
HUF9,270.91
$71.38
€68.45
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $26,962.74
HUF10,617,521.24
$34,296.42
€32,888.79

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pay 43.5% more for housing

 
Budapest
Helsinki
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$17.98
HUF7,081.98
$22.48
€21.56
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $642.83
HUF253,136.90
$1,111.66
€1,066.03
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $478.04
HUF188,245.14
$870.64
€834.91

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pay 10.3% less for childcare

 
Budapest
Helsinki
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $423.92
HUF166,932.14
$338.03
€324.16
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,554.11
HUF4,156,050.78
$10,508.28
€10,076.99

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Budapest
Helsinki
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.63
HUF1,035.86
$8.57
€8.22
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.37
HUF934.64
$4.76
€4.57
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$5.98
HUF2,356.57
$11.36
€10.89

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pay 10.6% more for clothing

 
Budapest
Helsinki
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$74.81
HUF29,459.08
$100.00
€95.89
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.73
HUF14,463.04
$31.76
€30.45
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$86.74
HUF34,154.96
$89.57
€85.89

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: January 2025
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