# Budapest vs Warsaw

> On balanced weights, Budapest and Warsaw are too close to call: 50 and 48 out of 100. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/budapest-hu-vs-warsaw-pl/

Scores out of 100: Budapest 50, Warsaw 48. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=budapest-hu,warsaw-pl

## Line by line

| Line | Budapest | Warsaw |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,325 take-home a month | €3,086 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 57 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 40 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 8 h 26 min | 7 h 42 min |
| Sunshine | 1,977 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) | 2,227 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) |
| Dry days | 101 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 134 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 10.1 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 14.7 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 0.7 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 0.8 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 76.7 years (World Development Indicators) | 78.4 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €24 a month (World Development Indicators) | €24 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 78 weeks (mother 76, father 2) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 49 weeks (mother 40, father 8) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.10 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.70 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 46 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 51 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 18 km (OurAirports airports) | 8 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | no data | no data |
| Rail and metro stations | 114 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 79 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | no data | no data |
| Cycle network | 0.58 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 2.04 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 97 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 98 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | no data | no data |
| Quick way out by bike | 4.4 km, about 18 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 7.5 km, about 30 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 412 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 262 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 127 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 23.5 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 21.5 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 88 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 40 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 20 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 33 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 13.1 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 2.1 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 3.5 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 4.0 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 4.5 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 3.0 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 59.3 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) | 65.3 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) |
| Developers around | 8.6 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 18.9 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 0.00 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 0.85 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | no data | centre-right, 6.2 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | also for her health, or after rape; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | civil union or partnership; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | legal, no union in law; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 29 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 18 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 17 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 17 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 45 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 33 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 30 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 11 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 224 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 212 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 10 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 7 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 126 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 172 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 19 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 27 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 6 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 6 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 16 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Budapest or Warsaw?

Everyday prices are lower in Poland: 54.9 against 57.9 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Budapest and Warsaw, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Budapest and in Warsaw?

About HUF 14,661,255 a year in Budapest (Hungary 2026 tax rules) and PLN 163,081 in Warsaw (Poland 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Budapest or Warsaw?

Budapest is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 17.0 °C against 14.1 °C in Warsaw (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Budapest or Warsaw?

Budapest has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 10.1 µg/m³ against 14.7 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2024).

### Can a citizen of Hungary live and work in Warsaw without a visa?

Yes. EU and EEA free movement rules let citizens of Hungary live and work in Poland without a visa.

## Cite

Borgo, "Budapest vs Warsaw", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/budapest-hu-vs-warsaw-pl/, figures as of 2026-11-05.