🇭🇺
Budapest
Hungary
Thermal baths, ruin bars and the Danube at sunset.
🇪🇸
Malaga
Spain
Costa del Sol sunshine with a growing creative scene.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇭🇺 Budapest
€800–1,050 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇪🇸 Malaga
€850–1,150 / month
Best for
🇭🇺 Budapest
- Students with a tight or mid-range budget
- Those looking for a very active social life
- People who want to travel frequently around Europe
Best for
🇪🇸 Malaga
- Students who prioritise climate and beach
- Those who want excellent quality of life
- People who want to travel frequently around Europe
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Very Affordable
Cost of Living
Moderate
Very High
Nightlife
Moderate
Fair
Weather
Excellent
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
High
Iconic
Student Life
Very Active
Plentiful
Housing
Tight
Well-Regarded
University Reputation
Well-Regarded
Student insights
🇭🇺 Budapest
- Excellent value for money
- One of the best nightlife scenes in Europe
- Large Erasmus community
Student insights
🇪🇸 Malaga
- Exceptional climate all year round
- Direct access to urban beaches
- Very good international flight connections
Student voice — 🇭🇺 Budapest
“Budapest is a brilliant city for Erasmus.”
Student voice — 🇪🇸 Malaga
“I did my Erasmus in Málaga and went to Madrid. Málaga was much better.”
🇭🇺 Budapest
Pros
- Excellent value for money
- One of the best nightlife scenes in Europe
- Large Erasmus community
- Ideal location for travelling
- Relatively accessible accommodation
Cons
- Long, cold winters
- University prestige lower than major Western capitals
- Local language difficult for many students
- Fewer international professional opportunities
- Some infrastructure can feel less modern than Western Europe
🇪🇸 Malaga
Pros
- Exceptional climate all year round
- Direct access to urban beaches
- Very good international flight connections
- Modern and increasingly international city
- Excellent quality of life
Cons
- Expensive and competitive housing
- Strong tourist pressure
- Less university atmosphere than other Erasmus destinations
- Higher cost of living than Granada or Seville
- Less feeling of a unified student community
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.