Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Benoni and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Benoni: $1,073 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
Learn more

Benoni Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index

Jump to prices

Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,073

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,073 in Benoni versus $1,647 in Budapest.

Benoni $1,073
Budapest $1,647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,326 in Benoni versus $2,567 in Budapest.

Benoni $1,326
Budapest $2,567

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,580 in Benoni versus $3,488 in Budapest.

Benoni $1,580
Budapest $3,488

Living in Benoni costs roughly 35% less than in Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Benoni is 21% below, Budapest is 22% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.00 R 164

$13.63 Ft 4,407

-26.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.51 R 598

$60.7 Ft 19.6K

-39.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 R 93.5

$10.02 Ft 3,239

-43.11%

Cappuccino

$2.34 R 38.41

$3.33 Ft 1,075

-29.73%

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

$1.13 R 18.46

$2.12 Ft 684

-46.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 R 14.49

$1.80 Ft 581

-51.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 R 40.15

$3.61 Ft 1,166

-32.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 R 45.54

$3.59 Ft 1,160

-22.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R 18.77

$1.12 Ft 361

2.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 R 17.86

$1.93 Ft 623

-43.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.35

$2.49 Ft 804

-28.11%

Eggs

$2.49 R 40.85

$3.94 Ft 1,275

-36.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.20 R 134

$11.28 Ft 3,646

-27.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.93 R 80.8

$6.73 Ft 2,177

-26.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.52 R 123

$14.44 Ft 4,670

-47.92%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 R 28.94

$1.86 Ft 601

-4.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 R 27.11

$2.04 Ft 658

-19.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 R 29.45

$2.29 Ft 740

-21.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.71

$3.99 Ft 1,290

-60.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 R 18.30

$0.94 Ft 304

19.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 R 19.83

$1.02 Ft 330

18.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 R 19.21

$1.65 Ft 534

-29.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 R 21.21

$0.68 Ft 221

89.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.38 R 55.4

$7.81 Ft 2,526

-56.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.14 R 84.3

$6.02 Ft 1,946

-14.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 R 24.77

$1.29 Ft 418

17.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 R 30.81

$2.02 Ft 655

-6.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 484

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,769

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.67

$3.36 Ft 1,085

-91.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.20

$1.37 Ft 444

-32.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.39 R 236

$19.96 Ft 6,451

-27.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 R 24.55

$1.86 Ft 603

-19.35%

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

$35.5K R 581.2K

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

24.40%

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

$34.2K R 559.7K

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

2.33%

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

$197 R 3,225

$178 Ft 57.6K

10.48%

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

$38.50 R 631

$23.58 Ft 7,623

63.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.99 R 606

$24.12 Ft 7,797

53.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.89 R 293

$69.7 Ft 22.5K

-74.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,505

Cinema Ticket

$7.28 R 119

$10.48 Ft 3,388

-30.53%

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

$239 R 3,908

$625 Ft 202.1K

-61.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,708 R 126.3K

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

-60.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 R 875

$102 Ft 33.0K

-47.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.92 R 523

$43.41 Ft 14.0K

-26.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.1 R 1,526

$110 Ft 35.5K

-15.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.7 R 1,355

$121 Ft 39.0K

-31.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$391 R 6,399

$845 Ft 273.3K

-53.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$302 R 4,942

$638 Ft 206.4K

-52.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$491 R 8,040

$1,609 Ft 520.1K

-69.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 393.5K

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)

$2,034 R 33.3K

$1,724 Ft 557.5K

17.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.91

6.34

72.08%

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

Last update for Benoni: November 1, 2026

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Benoni

$302 28.1%

Budapest

$638 38.8% 112% $337

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Benoni

$272 25.4%

Budapest

$226 13.7% 17.1% $46

Groceries & Markets

Benoni

$193 18%

Budapest

$260 15.8% 34.8% $67

Eating Out

Benoni

$151 14.1%

Budapest

$220 13.4% 45.5% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Benoni

$118 11%

Budapest

$169 10.3% 43.9% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Benoni

$32 3%

Budapest

$91 5.5% 179% $58

Getting Around

Benoni

$4.9 * 0.5%

Budapest

$43 2.6% 781% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $391 in Benoni and $845 in Budapest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Benoni pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Benoni vs $61 in Budapest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $193 vs $260 per month, with Benoni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Benoni

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

19:52 7:52 PM

18:52 6:52 PM

1 h behind Benoni

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

158,777

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.43 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 ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Benoni Budapest 8,250 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Benoni
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

Benoni vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,073 in Benoni and $1,647 in Budapest, so Benoni is about 35% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 18% higher in Benoni, 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: $391 in Benoni versus $845 in Budapest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Budapest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,073 per month in Benoni versus $1,647 in Budapest – Benoni is about 35% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Benoni gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Benoni and Budapest are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.