Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bentota and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bentota: $777 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Bentota
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Bentota Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Bentota

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$777

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $777 in Bentota versus $1,647 in Budapest.

Bentota $777
Budapest $1,647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $896 in Bentota versus $2,567 in Budapest.

Bentota $896
Budapest $2,567

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,014 in Bentota versus $3,488 in Budapest.

Bentota $1,014
Budapest $3,488

Living in Bentota costs roughly 53% less than in Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bentota is 42% below, Budapest is 22% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.78 LKR 1,257

$13.63 Ft 4,407

-72.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.00 LKR 3,991

$60.7 Ft 19.6K

-80.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.36 LKR 2,446

$10.02 Ft 3,239

-26.55%

Cappuccino

$2.47 LKR 822

$3.33 Ft 1,075

-25.83%

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

$0.71 LKR 236

$2.12 Ft 684

-66.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 LKR 83.0

$1.80 Ft 581

-86.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 LKR 728

$3.61 Ft 1,166

-39.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 LKR 1,030

$3.59 Ft 1,160

-13.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 LKR 523

$1.12 Ft 361

40.18%

White Bread (500g)

$0.52 LKR 174

$1.93 Ft 623

-73.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 LKR 267

$2.49 Ft 804

-67.87%

Eggs

$1.65 LKR 549

$3.94 Ft 1,275

-58.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.18 LKR 5,047

$11.28 Ft 3,646

34.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.36 LKR 1,118

$6.73 Ft 2,177

-50.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.47 LKR 1,487

$14.44 Ft 4,670

-69.04%

Apples (1kg)

$6.76 LKR 2,246

$1.86 Ft 601

263.44%

Banana (1kg)

$0.76 LKR 254

$2.04 Ft 658

-62.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.08 LKR 1,355

$2.29 Ft 740

78.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.86 LKR 287

$3.99 Ft 1,290

-78.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 LKR 357

$0.94 Ft 304

13.83%

Onion (1kg)

$0.82 LKR 274

$1.02 Ft 330

-19.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 LKR 402

$1.65 Ft 534

-26.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 LKR 139

$0.68 Ft 221

-38.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.06 LKR 3,346

$7.81 Ft 2,526

28.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.69 LKR 4,552

$6.02 Ft 1,946

127.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 LKR 630

$1.29 Ft 418

47.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 LKR 956

$2.02 Ft 655

42.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 LKR 62.4

$1.50 Ft 484

-87.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,769

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 LKR 126

$3.36 Ft 1,085

-88.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 LKR 96.3

$1.37 Ft 444

-78.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 LKR 308

$19.96 Ft 6,451

-95.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 LKR 461

$1.86 Ft 603

-25.27%

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

$44.0K LKR 14.6M

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

54.46%

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

$45.0K LKR 15.0M

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

34.77%

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

$57.4 LKR 19.1K

$178 Ft 57.6K

-67.81%

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

$2.32 LKR 770

$23.58 Ft 7,623

-90.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.88 LKR 2,951

$24.12 Ft 7,797

-63.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.5K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,505

Cinema Ticket

$4.59 LKR 1,525

$10.48 Ft 3,388

-56.20%

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

$40.65 LKR 13.5K

$625 Ft 202.1K

-93.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.4K LKR 5.8M

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

-11.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.34 LKR 6,099

$102 Ft 33.0K

-82.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.33 LKR 5,761

$43.41 Ft 14.0K

-60.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

$110 Ft 35.5K

-29.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.51 LKR 13.8K

$121 Ft 39.0K

-65.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$546 LKR 181.6K

$845 Ft 273.3K

-35.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$302 LKR 100.3K

$638 Ft 206.4K

-52.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 520.1K

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)

$1,724 Ft 557.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.5

6.34

97.16%

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

Last update for Bentota: October 31, 2026

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bentota

$302 38.8%

Budapest

$638 38.8% 112% $337

Groceries & Markets

Bentota

$223 28.7%

Budapest

$260 15.8% 16.6% $37

Eating Out

Bentota

$103 13.2%

Budapest

$220 13.4% 114% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Bentota

$70 9%

Budapest

$169 10.3% 143% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bentota

$69 8.8%

Budapest

$226 13.7% 230% $157

Sport & Entertainment

Bentota

$9.2 * 1.2%

Budapest

$91 5.5% 888% $81

Getting Around

Bentota

$2.6 * 0.3%

Budapest

$43 2.6% 1580% $41

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 $546 in Bentota and $845 in Budapest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $12 in Bentota vs $61 in Budapest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $260 per month, with Bentota cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Bentota

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

02:26 2:26 AM

21:56 9:56 PM

4 h 30 min behind Bentota

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,000

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 373 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 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 = 2.76 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bentota Budapest 7,330 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Bentota
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

Bentota vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bentota is about 53% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,166 in Bentota and $2,471 in Budapest to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $546 in Bentota versus $845 in Budapest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Budapest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $777 per month in Bentota versus $1,647 in Budapest – Bentota is about 53% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $777 in Bentota versus $1,647 in Budapest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bentota but tight or insufficient in Budapest. The gap between the two cities makes Bentota 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.