🇭🇺
Budapest
Hungary
Thermal baths, ruin bars and the Danube at sunset.
🇭🇷
Zagreb
Croatia
Compact Croatian capital with friendly locals and a strong café culture.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇭🇺 Budapest
€800–1,050 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇭🇷 Zagreb
€700–1,000 / 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
🇭🇷 Zagreb
- Students looking for a friendly, underrated destination
- Those with a mid-range budget
- People who want an authentic Central/Southeastern European experience
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Very Affordable
Cost of Living
Affordable
Very High
Nightlife
Moderate
Fair
Weather
Good
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
High
Iconic
Student Life
Very Active
Plentiful
Housing
Comfortable
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
🇭🇷 Zagreb
- Friendly, welcoming locals
- Reasonable cost of living
- Compact, easy-to-navigate centre
Student voice — 🇭🇺 Budapest
“Budapest is a brilliant city for Erasmus.”
Student voice — 🇭🇷 Zagreb
“Zagreb is the most welcoming city I've lived in.”
🇭🇺 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
🇭🇷 Zagreb
Pros
- Friendly, welcoming locals
- Reasonable cost of living
- Compact, easy-to-navigate centre
- Strong café and outdoor culture
- Easy access to the Croatian coast
Cons
- Smaller Erasmus community
- Less famous than other European capitals
- Cold winters
- Fewer international flight connections
- Croatian language barrier outside university
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.