Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Al-Qusayr

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-Qusayr: $639 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Al-Qusayr
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Al-Qusayr Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Al-Qusayr

🇸🇾 Syria

$639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Al-Qusayr

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,619 in Budapest versus $639 in Al-Qusayr.

Budapest $1,619
Al-Qusayr $639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,524 in Budapest versus $1,012 in Al-Qusayr.

Budapest $2,524
Al-Qusayr $1,012

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,429 in Budapest versus $1,385 in Al-Qusayr.

Budapest $3,429
Al-Qusayr $1,385

Living in Budapest is roughly 153% more expensive than in Al-Qusayr, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Budapest is 20% above, Al-Qusayr is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$9.84 SYP 1,196

41.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$42.27 SYP 5,137

44.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$7.12 SYP 866

43.12%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$3.64 SYP 442

-10.44%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$2.22 SYP 269

-3.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$0.83 SYP 101

114.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$1.96 SYP 238

89.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$3.96 SYP 481

-4.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.10 SYP 134

4.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$0.41 SYP 49.91

336.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.50 SYP 183

66.00%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$1.61 SYP 196

142.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$3.94 SYP 478

181.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$5.66 SYP 688

16.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$13.54 SYP 1,646

8.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$1.03 SYP 125

77.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$1.42 SYP 173

44.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$1.14 SYP 139

107.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$1.05 SYP 128

271.43%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$0.80 SYP 97.1

23.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$0.74 SYP 90.1

35.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$0.44 SYP 53.0

259.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$0.66 SYP 79.6

1.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$2.71 SYP 330

193.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$6.06 SYP 737

2.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$1.09 SYP 132

16.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$2.82 SYP 343

-28.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$0.98 SYP 119

237.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$1.50 SYP 182

-8.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$7.60 SYP 924

160.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$3.58 SYP 435

-49.16%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$15.1K SYP 1.8M

96.73%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$19.0K SYP 2.3M

77.96%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$138 SYP 16.7K

24.18%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$9.90 SYP 1,203

137.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$45.56 SYP 5,536

-48.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$5.61 SYP 682

65.78%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$65.6 SYP 7,973

712.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$1,800 SYP 218.7K

831.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$28.15 SYP 3,420

253.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$39.64 SYP 4,817

9.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$60.5 SYP 7,356

82.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$58.8 SYP 7,139

102.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

14.25

-54.74%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Al-Qusayr: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Al-Qusayr

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Al-Qusayr

$169 26.4% 34.7% $89

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Al-Qusayr

$174 27.2% 22.2% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Al-Qusayr

$193 30.2% 11.3% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Al-Qusayr

$84 13.2% 49.8% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Al-Qusayr

$11 * 1.8% 87% $75

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Al-Qusayr

$8.5 * 1.3% 80.9% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $61.0 in Budapest vs $42.00 in Al-Qusayr for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $169 per month, with Al-Qusayr cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇸🇾 Al-Qusayr

🕒 Local time

20:19 8:19 PM

21:19 9:19 PM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

29,818

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SYP, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 137 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Al-Qusayr 2,050 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

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Budapest
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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

Budapest vs Al-Qusayr: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al-Qusayr is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 153% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,428 in Budapest and $959 in Al-Qusayr 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 53% higher in Budapest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,619 per month in Budapest versus $639 in Al-Qusayr – a 153% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $639 in Al-Qusayr versus $1,619 in Budapest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Al-Qusayr but tight or insufficient in Budapest. The gap between the two cities makes Al-Qusayr the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Al-Qusayr is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Budapest, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Budapest and Al-Qusayr 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 Al-Qusayr gentler on the wallet – expenses run 153% less than in Budapest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.