Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ar-rass and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Ar-rass: $1,154 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Ar-rass
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Ar-rass Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Ar-rass

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,154

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ar-rass 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 Ar-rass and in Budapest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,154 in Ar-rass versus $1,619 in Budapest.

Ar-rass $1,154
Budapest $1,619

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,690 in Ar-rass versus $2,524 in Budapest.

Ar-rass $1,690
Budapest $2,524

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,226 in Ar-rass versus $3,429 in Budapest.

Ar-rass $2,226
Budapest $3,429

Living in Ar-rass costs roughly 29% less than in Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ar-rass is 15% below, Budapest is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.16 SAR 23.12

$13.94 Ft 4,503

-55.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.47 SAR 141

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

-38.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.90 SAR 29.65

$10.19 Ft 3,291

-22.47%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.89 SAR 7.07

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 SAR 8.58

Cappuccino

$3.25 SAR 12.18

$3.26 Ft 1,055

-0.31%

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

$0.91 SAR 3.41

$2.14 Ft 690

-57.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 SAR 0.98

$1.78 Ft 577

-85.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 SAR 6.81

$1.15 Ft 371

57.39%

White Bread (500g)

$0.39 SAR 1.45

$1.79 Ft 578

-78.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 SAR 7.19

$2.49 Ft 804

-22.89%

Eggs

$3.60 SAR 13.52

$3.90 Ft 1,261

-7.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.00 SAR 26.28

$11.10 Ft 3,587

-36.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.05 SAR 30.20

$6.62 Ft 2,139

21.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 SAR 47.99

$14.69 Ft 4,745

-12.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 SAR 8.41

$1.83 Ft 591

22.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 SAR 6.60

$2.05 Ft 661

-14.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 SAR 5.91

$2.37 Ft 765

-33.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 SAR 5.89

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-59.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 SAR 4.37

$0.99 Ft 320

17.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 SAR 5.11

$1.00 Ft 322

36.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 SAR 4.79

$1.58 Ft 511

-18.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 SAR 2.14

$0.67 Ft 216

-14.93%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.26 SAR 12.24

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 SAR 7.46

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 SAR 8.49

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.53 SAR 28.27

$7.96 Ft 2,572

-5.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 SAR 3.69

$1.52 Ft 490

-35.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.39 SAR 129

$28.02 Ft 9,053

22.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 SAR 9.72

$3.31 Ft 1,070

-21.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 SAR 7.02

$1.37 Ft 442

36.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.84 SAR 44.42

$19.83 Ft 6,406

-40.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 SAR 2.44

$1.82 Ft 589

-64.29%

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

$43.1K SAR 161.7K

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

44.66%

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

$20.9K SAR 78.3K

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

-38.32%

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

$110 SAR 414

$171 Ft 55.3K

-35.56%

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

$23.87 SAR 89.6

$23.51 Ft 7,596

1.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.0 SAR 221

$23.29 Ft 7,526

153.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.88 SAR 168

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-33.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$13.43 SAR 50.4

$9.30 Ft 3,004

44.41%

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

$425 SAR 1,595

$533 Ft 172.3K

-20.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,688 SAR 32.6K

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-48.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.84 SAR 161

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-56.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.4 SAR 234

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

43.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 SAR 360

$110 Ft 35.7K

-12.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.6 SAR 329

$119 Ft 38.4K

-26.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$579 SAR 2,174

$830 Ft 268.3K

-30.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 SAR 1,480

$622 Ft 200.9K

-36.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$388 SAR 1,456

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

-75.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$563 SAR 2,111

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

-51.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,625 SAR 9,851

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-54.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,188 SAR 4,460

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

-69.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,765 SAR 6,622

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

6.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

6.45

-14.11%

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

Last update for Ar-rass: October 12, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ar-rass

$394 34.2%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 57.7% $228

Groceries & Markets

Ar-rass

$198 17.1%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 30.4% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ar-rass

$193 16.7%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 12.9% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Ar-rass

$130 11.3%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 28.9% $38

Eating Out

Ar-rass

$117 10.1%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 91.2% $106

Sport & Entertainment

Ar-rass

$72 6.2%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 20% $14

Getting Around

Ar-rass

$50 4.4%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 12% $6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $579 in Ar-rass and $830 in Budapest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ar-rass pays 7% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37.00 in Ar-rass vs $61.0 in Budapest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $258 per month, with Ar-rass cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Ar-rass

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

17:43 5:43 PM

16:43 4:43 PM

1 h behind Ar-rass

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,359

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ar-rass Budapest 3,220 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Ar-rass
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

Ar-rass vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ar-rass and Budapest differ by about 40% in total monthly costs ($1,154 vs $1,619 including rent). Ar-rass is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 7% higher in Ar-rass, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $579 in Ar-rass versus $830 in Budapest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $425 in Ar-rass versus $533 in Budapest. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Budapest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,154 in Ar-rass versus $1,619 in Budapest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ar-rass but tight or insufficient in Budapest. The gap between the two cities makes Ar-rass the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Ar-rass and Budapest are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ar-rass gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Budapest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.