Hungary now pays the third most in the EU for marketers!
As inflation and the rising cost of living continue to squeeze household budgets across Europe, a new study reveals that Hungary has emerged as one of the continent’s most rewarding places for marketing professionals.
Hungary has become a marketer’s paradise
According to new, comprehensive research by Reboot Online, based on over 120,000 marketing job listings across Europe, Hungary now ranks third in Europe for marketing salaries when adjusted for cost of living—surpassing both the UK and Sweden. The analysis compared salaries, living costs, company size and the prevalence of remote work to determine where marketers enjoy the best overall compensation.
Hungarian marketing professionals earn an average annual salary of EUR 46,868, which translates to EUR 32,759 after rent and utilities—around EUR 6,000 above the European average of EUR 26,179. This places Hungary firmly among the top three, just behind Poland and Romania.
Debrecen Leads on Earnings
Regionally, Debrecen tops the list for the highest marketing salaries in Hungary, with professionals earning an average of EUR 78,614 before living costs—well above the capital, Budapest, where the average stands at EUR 46,519. Marketing Managers in Debrecen are the country’s top earners (EUR 111,614), while in Budapest, Marketing Executives command the highest pay (EUR 92,548), followed by PPC Managers (EUR 69,264) and Communications Executives (EUR 68,097).
The study also found that Hungary slightly exceeds the European average for remote job availability, with 25.06% of marketing roles offering remote options, compared to the continental average of 23.71%.
Poland and Romania take the top spots
Across Europe, Poland ranks first for marketing salaries adjusted for cost of living. With an average salary of EUR 53,525 and relatively low living expenses, Polish marketers retain an impressive EUR 36,795 after costs. Romania comes in second, where professionals take home EUR 35,815 after expenses. Hungary, Sweden (EUR 32,571) and Finland (EUR 29,780) round out the top five.
Ireland named the worst for marketers
At the other end of the scale, Ireland ranks as Europe’s least rewarding market for marketers. Despite an average salary of EUR 47,113, the country’s high cost of living slashes take-home pay to just EUR 15,996. Other low-ranking countries include Luxembourg (EUR 16,786), the Netherlands (EUR 19,179), Germany (EUR 22,640) and the UK (EUR 22,920).
Small firms pay more than big corporations
Interestingly, smaller companies appear to reward their marketing staff more generously than large corporations. Businesses with between 2 and 10 employees offer the highest average salaries (EUR 52,968), while firms employing 5,001 to 10,000 people pay the least (EUR 46,218).
Reboot Online’s Managing Director, Zoë Blogg, commented:
“Marketers may assume the best salaries are in Western Europe, but when you factor in rent, utilities and inflation, the picture shifts completely. The data shows how much location and company size still influence take-home pay, even in a remote-first world.”
The UK’s transparency problem
The report also highlighted that UK marketing job postings are the least transparent about pay, with only 15.57% disclosing salary details—the lowest rate in Europe. In contrast, Denmark leads with 27.85%. Still, the UK remains a major player in the job market, hosting the largest number of marketing-related vacancies in more than half of the roles analysed.
As Europe’s marketing landscape continues to evolve, Hungary’s strong showing underscores the growing appeal of Central and Eastern Europe for professionals seeking high pay, affordability and a better work–life balance.
That is pretty interesting, particularly considering the incessant droning on we’re made to endure about how Hungarians are oh-so “poor” and have a low purchasing power.
That said, the figures do not include commissions. In Western Europe, marketers often work on commission so, while they have a low base salary, they can earn unlimited commissions (sometimes there is a cap, but rarely) on the sales they close. These numbers are therefore misleading.
What even the graphic make fails to make clear is these are clearly salaries adjusted using ‘purchasing power parity’. There’s absolutely no way a marketing executive in Ireland has a mere 15,000 Euros left of their annual salary after accounting for expenses (if they did, they wouldn’t be able to feed and clothe themselves in Ireland, let alone own a car and go on holiday). It’s more like 50,000 Euros in ‘real’ money, but Ireland being such an expensive country it’s an ‘adjusted’ 15k indicating they don’t live all that well despite the high headline salary.
A realistic conclusion can however be drawn, namely that it appears marketing executives are very well compensated in the region by local standards and lower living costs mean that, overall, they can afford to live well on their income. These PPP comparisons don’t (or can’t) account for the fact that many costs, like the price of a new car, clothing, an item of furniture from Ikea or a foreign holiday are essentially the same for everyone (apart from VAT differences) and a lower unadjusted salary means you’re less able to afford this stuff.