City comparison
Cost of living in Budapest vs Lisbon
One person needs about €1,220 a month in Budapest and €1,874 in Lisbon, rent included — Budapest is 54% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Lisbon the way you live in Budapest on €3,000, you need
€4,608/ month net
54% more than today (+€1,608)
- Budapest today
- Basket €1,220 · left over €1,780 (59%)
- Lisbon at the matched salary
- Basket €1,874 · left over €2,734 (59%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 128% over in Lisbon (tight) vs 189% in Budapest. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇭🇺 Budapest
Thermal baths, cheap rent and a currency that makes euro income stretch.
Monthly budget: €1,220
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇵🇹 Lisbon
Visa-friendly and well connected, but local salaries lag far behind expat-driven rents.
Monthly budget: €1,874
Sources: Statistics Portugal (INE) + Eurostat, HICP & house-rent statistics (2025) · 331 community reports
Should you move to Budapest or Lisbon?
On salary, Lisbon pays more for tech roles (€2,400 versus €2,300 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,080 in Budapest at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €750 in Budapest against €1,300 in Lisbon. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Budapest at 78 and Lisbon at 83 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.