You’re a junior developer looking to start your career in one of Europe’s hottest tech hubs. Your search has narrowed to two Central European powerhouses: Warsaw and Budapest.
You check job boards for jobs in Poland and see an offer for €1,600/month. Then you see a similar role in Budapest for €1,200/month. Case closed, right? Warsaw pays more.
Not so fast.
The single biggest mistake a new tech professional can make is comparing gross salaries. What matters is net salary (your take-home pay) versus your cost of living. A higher salary in one city can be completely erased by high taxes and rent, leaving you with less money in your pocket.
Let’s take a snapshot of how these two amazing cities stack up.
💰 The Salary Showdown (Net vs. Gross)
First, the salary. In Warsaw, a junior developer salary might range from 7,000 to 11,500 PLN (approx. €1,630–€2,680) per month. In Budapest, you might see an average net salary of around €1,177.
But you don’t take “average” to the bank. You take net.
- Hungary is known for its low flat-rate personal income tax, which can be attractive.
- Poland has a progressive tax system, but also offers tax relief for young professionals (the “zero-PIT for youth” if you’re under 26), which can dramatically increase your net pay.
For this comparison, let’s look at the average net salary for all jobs, which already accounts for taxes:
- Warsaw Average Net Salary: €1,621 / month
- Budapest Average Net Salary: €1,177 / month
Warsaw has a clear lead. But what happens when we spend it?
🏠 The Cost of Living: Where Your Money Really Goes
This is where the story changes. Your biggest expense will be rent.
- Estimated Monthly Costs (without rent): The day-to-day costs (food, transport, utilities) are surprisingly similar.
- Warsaw: €744 / month
- Budapest: €724 / month
- Rent (The Big One): Let’s look at a 1-bedroom apartment in the city center.
- Warsaw: €675 – €1,100 / month
- Budapest: €450 – €700 / month (based on general market data)
📊 The Final Calculation: Who Wins?
Let’s use the average net salaries and a mid-range rent (e.g., €850 for Warsaw, €575 for Budapest) plus the monthly costs.
| Metric | Warsaw, Poland | Budapest, Hungary |
| Avg. Net Salary | €1,621 | €1,177 |
| Monthly Costs (No Rent) | – €744 | – €724 |
| Mid-Range Rent (1-Bed) | – €850 | – €575 |
| Money Left Over | €27 | – €122 |
Wait, what just happened?
Based on these averages, the high salary in Warsaw is almost completely consumed by its high rent and living costs, leaving you with very little left over. The lower salary in Budapest seems to be below what’s needed to cover the average costs, which suggests a high-earner/low-earner gap.
Let’s re-run this using a junior developer salary from Poland (e.g., 9,000 PLN net, approx. €2,100) and a more realistic junior dev salary in Budapest (e.g., €1,500 net).
| Metric | Warsaw (Junior Dev) | Budapest (Junior Dev) |
| Est. Net Salary | €2,100 | €1,500 |
| Monthly Costs (No Rent) | – €744 | – €724 |
| Mid-Range Rent (1-Bed) | – €850 | – €575 |
| Money Left Over | €506 | €201 |
This is the real story. The strong tech salaries for jobs in Poland do outpace the high cost of living, leaving you with significantly more disposable income than in Budapest, where the salary-to-cost ratio is tighter.
Conclusion: Do Your Own Math
Don’t trust generic “average” salaries. The jobs in EU tech market is hot, and developer salaries are often much higher than the national average.
The only way to know for sure is to get a real offer. A good recruitment agency, get-talent.eu in Europe can give you a precise “gross-to-net” calculation for your specific offer, and you can use sites like Numbeo to check the current rent prices.
Warsaw may win on paper, but only an offer in hand tells the true story.
References
- Paritydeals: Convert your salary between Hungary and Poland
- Restless Voyager: Cost of living in Warsaw (2024)
- Itentio IT Recruitment: C# .NET Developer Salary in Poland 2024