Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aja and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Aja: $455 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Aja
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Aja Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index

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Aja

🇪🇬 Egypt

$455

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aja and in Budapest

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Aja and in Budapest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $455 per month in Aja vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Aja $455
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $723 per month in Aja vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Aja $723
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $990 per month in Aja vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Aja $990
Budapest $3,429

Aja is about 72% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Aja sits 66% below the global median, while Budapest is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.34 E£232

$13.94 Ft 4,503

-68.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.32 E£711

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

-78.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.21 E£278

$10.19 Ft 3,291

-48.87%

Cappuccino

$1.33 E£71.2

$3.26 Ft 1,055

-59.20%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 E£15.81

$2.14 Ft 690

-85.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.10 E£5.49

$1.78 Ft 577

-94.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.30 E£69.2

$3.71 Ft 1,198

-64.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 E£163

$3.77 Ft 1,217

-19.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 E£50.0

$1.15 Ft 371

-18.26%

White Bread (500g)

$0.69 E£36.83

$1.79 Ft 578

-61.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.67 E£35.58

$2.49 Ft 804

-73.09%

Eggs

$1.12 E£59.6

$3.90 Ft 1,261

-71.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.30 E£176

$11.10 Ft 3,587

-70.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.37 E£233

$6.62 Ft 2,139

-33.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.81 E£417

$14.69 Ft 4,745

-46.83%

Apples (1kg)

$1.42 E£76.1

$1.83 Ft 591

-22.40%

Banana (1kg)

$0.72 E£38.37

$2.05 Ft 661

-64.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.47 E£25.06

$2.37 Ft 765

-80.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.37 E£19.60

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-90.51%

Potato (1kg)

$0.29 E£15.31

$0.99 Ft 320

-70.71%

Onion (1kg)

$0.32 E£17.22

$1.00 Ft 322

-68.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 E£15.76

$1.58 Ft 511

-81.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£11.61

$0.67 Ft 216

-67.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.00 E£107

$7.96 Ft 2,572

-74.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.13 E£327

$6.22 Ft 2,009

-1.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 E£69.0

$1.27 Ft 411

1.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 E£96.1

$2.03 Ft 654

-11.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.16 E£8.69

$1.52 Ft 490

-89.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£20.96

$3.31 Ft 1,070

-88.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.18 E£9.51

$1.37 Ft 442

-86.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.31 E£70.0

$19.83 Ft 6,406

-93.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.39 E£20.98

$1.82 Ft 589

-78.57%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$31.8K E£1.7M

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

6.56%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$28.0K E£1.5M

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

-17.06%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$17.21 E£919

$171 Ft 55.3K

-89.94%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$6.25 E£334

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-73.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.72 E£733

$23.29 Ft 7,526

-41.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.63 E£941

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-73.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$2.97 E£159

$9.30 Ft 3,004

-68.06%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$97.8 E£5,225

$533 Ft 172.3K

-81.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,838 E£98.1K

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-89.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.13 E£1,022

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-80.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.56 E£2,486

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

7.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 E£6,807

$110 Ft 35.7K

15.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.5 E£3,392

$119 Ft 38.4K

-46.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$123 E£6,563

$830 Ft 268.3K

-85.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$75.4 E£4,026

$622 Ft 200.9K

-87.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$244 E£13.0K

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

-84.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$133 E£7,110

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

-88.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$684 E£36.5K

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-88.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$327 E£17.5K

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

-91.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

6.45

151.32%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Aja: October 12, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Aja

$121 26.6%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 113% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Aja

$116 25.4%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 45.1% $52

Eating Out

Aja

$80 17.7%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 177% $143

Accommodation & Living

Aja

$75 16.6%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 725% $547

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aja

$37 8.2%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 486% $181

Sport & Entertainment

Aja

$24 5.2%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 266% $63

Getting Around

Aja

$1.9 * 0.4%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 2192% $42

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $123 in Aja versus $830 in Budapest. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $13.00 in Aja versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $121 vs $258 – making Aja the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Aja

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

14:25 2:25 PM

13:25 1:25 PM

1 h behind Aja

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

47,013

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Aja Budapest 2,120 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Aja
Budapest

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Aja vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Budapest costs about 255% more than Aja, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $683 per month in Aja and $2,428 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Aja, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $455 in Aja and $1,619 in Budapest. That's a gap of about 255%.

Kindergarten costs $97.8 per month in Aja and $533 in Budapest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Aja, where all-in costs run around $455, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Aja it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Aja costs $455 versus $1,619 in Budapest. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Aja. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Budapest makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.