City comparison
Budapest vs Vienna: which is better to live in?
Quick verdict
Budapest is the cheaper of the two — our estimate for a single person is about €200 a month less than Vienna, mostly because of rent. They’re in different countries, so visa routes, taxes and healthcare differ too — see below.
Choose Budapest for
- Affordability
- Sunny, warm climate
- Nightlife
- Remote-work scene
- Lower living costs
Choose Vienna for
- English-friendliness
- Safety
- Walkability
- Nature & green space
Budapest vs Vienna at a glance
| Budapest | Vienna | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Hungary | Austria |
| Single budget / month | €1,700 | €1,900 |
| Couple budget / month | €2,500 | €2,700 |
| 1-bed rent, center | €750 | €1,050 |
| Winter highs (Dec–Feb) | 6°C / 42°F | 5°C / 42°F |
| Summer highs (Jun–Aug) | 28°C / 83°F | 26°C / 80°F |
| Sunshine (hours/yr) | 1,928 | 2,048 |
| City size | Capital / metropolis | Capital / metropolis |
| Coastal | No | No |
| Direct flights to the US | Yes | Yes |
| Affordability | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Sunny, warm climate | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| English-friendliness | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Safety | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Walkability | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Public transport | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Nature & green space | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Beach life | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Mountains nearby | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Culture | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Nightlife | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Family life | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Remote-work scene | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Expat community | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Flights home | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Calm, slower pace | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
Cost of living: Budapest or Vienna?
By our estimates, a comfortable mid-range life costs about €1,700 a month for one person in Budapest and €1,900 in Vienna, rent included. For a couple it’s €2,500 vs €2,700, and for a family of four €3,600 vs €4,600.
Rent drives most of the gap: a one-bedroom in the center runs about €750 in Budapest against €1,050 in Vienna, while a monthly transit pass costs €25 vs €39. Want to plug in your own lifestyle? Use the cost of living calculator.
Climate and weather
Winters average highs of about 6°C (42°F) in Budapest and 5°C (42°F) in Vienna. In summer it’s roughly 28°C vs 26°C. Budapest gets about 1,928 hours of sunshine a year and Vienna about 2,048.
1,928 hours of sunshine a year · 526 mm of rain a year · Source: HungaroMet 1991-2020 normals for Budapest, via the Wikipedia climate table; sunshine from an older NCEI period (1961-1990)
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5°C / 40°F | -1°C / 30°F |
| Feb | 7°C / 45°F | 0°C / 32°F |
| Mar | 12°C / 54°F | 4°C / 39°F |
| Apr | 19°C / 66°F | 9°C / 48°F |
| May | 23°C / 74°F | 13°C / 55°F |
| Jun | 27°C / 80°F | 16°C / 61°F |
| Jul | 29°C / 84°F | 18°C / 64°F |
| Aug | 29°C / 84°F | 18°C / 64°F |
| Sep | 23°C / 74°F | 13°C / 56°F |
| Oct | 17°C / 63°F | 9°C / 48°F |
| Nov | 11°C / 51°F | 4°C / 40°F |
| Dec | 5°C / 41°F | -0°C / 32°F |
2,048 hours of sunshine a year · 669 mm of rain a year · Source: ZAMG/GeoSphere Austria 1991-2020 normals for Wien-Innere Stadt, as tabulated on Wikipedia 'Vienna'
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4°C / 40°F | -0°C / 32°F |
| Feb | 7°C / 45°F | 1°C / 34°F |
| Mar | 11°C / 52°F | 4°C / 39°F |
| Apr | 17°C / 63°F | 9°C / 47°F |
| May | 21°C / 70°F | 12°C / 54°F |
| Jun | 26°C / 78°F | 16°C / 62°F |
| Jul | 27°C / 80°F | 18°C / 64°F |
| Aug | 27°C / 80°F | 18°C / 64°F |
| Sep | 22°C / 71°F | 14°C / 57°F |
| Oct | 15°C / 59°F | 9°C / 48°F |
| Nov | 10°C / 49°F | 5°C / 41°F |
| Dec | 5°C / 40°F | 1°C / 33°F |
Daily life
Budapest is a capital / metropolis; Vienna is a capital / metropolis. Budapest offers capital-city culture, thermal baths and a big nightlife scene at the lowest price level of our four countries. It suits budget-minded remote workers and anyone on the White Card. The trade-offs are Hungarian-language bureaucracy, patchy English outside the center and no US tax treaty. Vienna is a big, safe, beautiful capital with an excellent public transport system and a cost of living well below the Nordic capitals. German matters here, and the legal route in for non-EU citizens is the points-based Red-White-Red Card. Budget about EUR 1,900 a month for a comfortable single life.
Living in Budapest: the upsides and downsides
- Low rents and restaurant prices for a capital
- Excellent trams, metro and cheap monthly pass
- Thermal baths and strong culture
- Downside: Hungarian is extremely difficult
- Downside: Pickpocketing and nightlife scams are common in tourist areas
Living in Vienna: the upsides and downsides
- Public transport annual pass costs EUR 467
- Rich cultural scene and walkable centre
- Sunnier and warmer than Nordic capitals
- Downside: German needed for paperwork and everyday admin
- Downside: Red-White-Red Card is tied to an Austrian employer
Visas and residency
Budapest is in Hungary and Vienna is in Austria. The main routes for each:
- Hungary Guest Investor Residence Permit — Golden visa, open, €250,000 investment
- Hungary White Card (Digital Nomad Residence Permit) — Digital nomad visa, open, €3,000/mo income
- Austria Red-White-Red Card — Work permit, open, €3,465/mo income
Read the full guides: living in Budapest and living in Vienna.
Related comparisons
- Vienna vs Copenhagen
- Vienna vs Stockholm
- Prague vs Budapest
- Prague vs Vienna
- Tallinn vs Budapest
- Krakow vs Budapest
- Oslo vs Vienna
- Warsaw vs Budapest
- Berlin vs Budapest
- Munich vs Vienna
Costs are our estimates for a comfortable mid-range lifestyle; scores are editorial, relative to the 40 cities we cover. Methodology.