Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Benghazi and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Benghazi: $421 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Benghazi
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Benghazi Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index

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Benghazi

🇱🇾 Libya

$421

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $421 per month in Benghazi vs $1,647 in Budapest, rent included.

Benghazi $421
Budapest $1,647

A couple spends around $711 per month in Benghazi vs $2,567 in Budapest, rent included.

Benghazi $711
Budapest $2,567

A family of three spends $1,002 per month in Benghazi vs $3,488 in Budapest, rent included.

Benghazi $1,002
Budapest $3,488

Benghazi is about 74% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Benghazi sits 69% below the global median, while Budapest is 22% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.47 LYD 15.79

$13.63 Ft 4,407

-81.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 LYD 78.9

$60.7 Ft 19.6K

-79.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.37 LYD 15.17

$10.02 Ft 3,239

-76.35%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 LYD 13.13

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 LYD 2.43

Cappuccino

$0.64 LYD 4.10

$3.33 Ft 1,075

-80.78%

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

$0.43 LYD 2.74

$2.12 Ft 684

-79.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.14 LYD 0.88

$1.80 Ft 581

-92.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,166

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,160

Milk (1 liter)

$0.77 LYD 4.92

$1.12 Ft 361

-31.25%

White Bread (500g)

$0.18 LYD 1.18

$1.93 Ft 623

-90.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.41 LYD 9.04

$2.49 Ft 804

-43.37%

Eggs

$1.65 LYD 10.58

$3.94 Ft 1,275

-58.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.55 LYD 41.87

$11.28 Ft 3,646

-41.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.74 LYD 17.56

$6.73 Ft 2,177

-59.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.34 LYD 72.5

$14.44 Ft 4,670

-21.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 LYD 14.45

$1.86 Ft 601

21.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 LYD 11.07

$2.04 Ft 658

-15.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.15 LYD 7.37

$2.29 Ft 740

-49.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.75 LYD 4.81

$3.99 Ft 1,290

-81.20%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 LYD 5.46

$0.94 Ft 304

-9.57%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 LYD 4.08

$1.02 Ft 330

-37.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.37 LYD 2.40

$1.65 Ft 534

-77.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 LYD 1.34

$0.68 Ft 221

-69.12%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.32 LYD 14.83

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 LYD 3.37

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 LYD 5.22

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.82 LYD 11.67

$7.81 Ft 2,526

-76.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,946

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 418

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 655

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 484

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,769

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.54 LYD 9.86

$3.36 Ft 1,085

-54.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 LYD 2.06

$1.37 Ft 444

-76.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,451

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.02 LYD 0.12

$1.86 Ft 603

-98.92%

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

$12.5K LYD 79.8K

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

-56.27%

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

$14.9K LYD 95.5K

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

-55.27%

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

$178 Ft 57.6K

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

$4.36 LYD 27.87

$23.58 Ft 7,623

-81.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.52 LYD 118

$24.12 Ft 7,797

-23.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.25 LYD 110

$69.7 Ft 22.5K

-75.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.85 LYD 24.60

$17.03 Ft 5,505

-77.39%

Cinema Ticket

$6.39 LYD 40.86

$10.48 Ft 3,388

-39.03%

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

$78.7 LYD 503

$625 Ft 202.1K

-87.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$346 LYD 2,214

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

-98.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.28 LYD 270

$102 Ft 33.0K

-58.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.73 LYD 222

$43.41 Ft 14.0K

-20.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$43.53 LYD 278

$110 Ft 35.5K

-60.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.1 LYD 442

$121 Ft 39.0K

-42.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$190 LYD 1,217

$845 Ft 273.3K

-77.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$115 LYD 737

$638 Ft 206.4K

-81.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$435 LYD 2,782

$1,609 Ft 520.1K

-72.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$261 LYD 1,667

$1,217 Ft 393.5K

-78.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$269 LYD 1,719

$1,724 Ft 557.5K

-84.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

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

Last update for Benghazi: November 1, 2026

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Benghazi

$127 30.2%

Budapest

$260 15.8% 105% $133

Accommodation & Living

Benghazi

$115 27.4%

Budapest

$638 38.8% 454% $523

Clothing & Footwear

Benghazi

$85 20.3%

Budapest

$169 10.3% 98.2% $84

Eating Out

Benghazi

$37 8.8%

Budapest

$220 13.4% 497% $183

Sport & Entertainment

Benghazi

$30 7.1%

Budapest

$91 5.5% 202% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Benghazi

$23 * 5.4%

Budapest

$226 13.7% 887% $203

Getting Around

Benghazi

$3.2 * 0.8%

Budapest

$43 2.6% 1276% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $190 in Benghazi versus $845 in Budapest. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Budapest are about 6.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $12 in Benghazi versus $61 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $127 vs $260 – making Benghazi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇾 Benghazi

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

20:21 8:21 PM

19:21 7:21 PM

1 h behind Benghazi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

631,555

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to LYD – Libyan Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇾 Libyan Dinar (ل.د)

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 6.4 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.19 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to LYD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Benghazi Budapest 1,710 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Benghazi
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

Benghazi vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $421 in Benghazi, $1,647 in Budapest – Benghazi comes out roughly 74% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $631 per month in Benghazi and $2,471 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Benghazi, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $190 there versus $845 in Budapest.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $421 in Benghazi and $1,647 in Budapest. That makes Benghazi about 74% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $79 per month in Benghazi and $625 in Budapest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Benghazi, where all-in costs run around $421, than in Budapest at $1,647. In Benghazi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Benghazi – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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