Prague vs Budapest
Which would you pick?
The short answer
Budapest is the cheaper trip, by roughly 17% a day — $90–150 against $110–180 mid-range per person. Meals run the other way, though: a cheap plate is $7–10 in Prague against $8–13 in Budapest. Both are at their best in May–Jun, Sep, so one trip can take in both.
Side by side
Mid-range, per person, in US dollars. Both guides were costed the same way — see how we work these out.
| 🇨🇿 Prague | 🇭🇺 Budapest | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily budgetmid-range, per person | $110–180 | $90–150cheaper |
| Cheap meallocal staple | $7–10cheaper | $8–13 |
| Mid-range hotelper night | $120–215 | $88–156cheaper |
| Transit ridesingle trip | $1.70 | $1.60 |
| Avg. monthly salarylocal, for context | ≈ $1,950 | ≈ $2,000 |
When to go
Filled months are the ones each guide recommends; hollow ones it warns off.
What you'd actually do
A few of each guide's picks, one per category before seconds — the full lists are on the guides themselves.
🇨🇿 Prague
A thousand years of architecture that nobody got around to bombing, a castle district on one bank and a Gothic Old Town on the other, and the best cheap beer in Europe. The center is crowded by ten; the city is wonderful before and after.
- Prague Castle$$Sights
- Lokál$Food & drink
- National Theatre$$Music & theater
- Charles Bridge$Sights
- U Zlatého tygra$Food & drink
🇭🇺 Budapest
Two cities glued together by bridges: hilly, castle-topped Buda and flat, loud, café-lined Pest, with a river of hot springs underneath both. Grander than you expect, cheaper than Vienna, and no longer the bargain it was ten years ago.
- Hungarian Parliament$$Sights
- Széchenyi Baths$$Baths
- Great Market Hall$Food & coffee
- Szimpla Kert$Nights out
- Buda Castle, Matthias Church & Fisherman's Bastion$Sights
Practicalities
| Prague | Budapest | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Czech; English is standard anywhere tourists go, less so in neighborhood pubs | Hungarian — related to almost nothing you speak. English is standard in hotels, bars and among under-40s; German is the older generation's second language |
| Currency | Czech koruna (CZK, written Kč). US$1 ≈ CZK 21. Czechia is in the EU but does not use the euro | Hungarian forint (HUF, written Ft). US$1 ≈ HUF 320, €1 ≈ HUF 365. Hungary does not use the euro |
| Power | Type E plugs (Type C fits), 230V | Type C/F plugs, 230V |
| Tap water | Safe to drink everywhere; restaurants will still sell you bottled unless you ask for tap | Safe to drink everywhere; restaurants will bring it if you ask for csapvíz |
| Emergency | 112 general · 155 ambulance · 158 police · 150 fire | 112 general (English spoken) · 104 ambulance · 107 police · 105 fire |
The same in both:
- Time zone
- CET (UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer)