Taking the bus is usually the cheapest way to travel from Salzburg to Vienna; however, taking the train is not significantly more expensive on average. Generally speaking, buses are cheaper than trains when booked close to the travel date. Buses traveling from Salzburg to Vienna depart from Salzburg's Lastenstrasse bus station and take approximately 2:22 h to arrive at Vienna's Hütteldorf bus station. Over 30 buses travel from Salzburg to Vienna every day, with the earliest bus departing Salzburg at 5:52 a.m. Flixbus is the main bus company that travels from Salzburg to Vienna.

Both the bus and train take approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes to travel from Vienna to Salzburg. Both buses and trains travel directly from Vienna to Salzburg multiple times per day. The fastest bus traveling from Salzburg to Vienna is approximately 10 minutes faster than the fastest train. Trains traveling from Salzburg to Vienna depart from Salzburg Hbf and arrive at either Vienna's Westbahnhof or Hauptbahnhof. Buses depart from Salzburg's Lastenstrasse bus station and arrive at Vienna's Hütteldorf bus station. Both ÖBB and Westbahn operate trains from Sazlburg to Vienna, while Flixbus is the main bus company traveling this route.

Taking the train is the most popular way to travel from Salzburg to Vienna. Since buses and trains take the same amount of time to travel from Salzburg to Vienna and are approximately the same price, most people choose the comfort of traveling from Salzburg to Vienna by train. Both ÖBB and Westbahn travel from Salzburg to Vienna multiple times per day, with the first train departing Salzburg Hbf at 8:00 a.m. Usually, 7 trains travel from Salzburg to Vienna every day.