Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Alga

For one person, living is cheaper in Alga: $871 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Alga
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Alga Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Alga

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$871

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Alga

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 Alga actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,619 in Budapest versus $871 in Alga.

Budapest $1,619
Alga $871

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,524 in Budapest versus $1,401 in Alga.

Budapest $2,524
Alga $1,401

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,429 in Budapest versus $1,930 in Alga.

Budapest $3,429
Alga $1,930

Living in Budapest is roughly 86% more expensive than in Alga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Budapest is 20% above, Alga is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$10.07 ₸4,552

38.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$36.09 ₸16.3K

69.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$8.54 ₸3,860

19.32%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$2.00 ₸906

63.00%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$0.95 ₸427

125.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$0.55 ₸249

223.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$1.31 ₸594

183.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$2.25 ₸1,017

67.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.45 ₸654

-20.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$0.41 ₸185

336.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.58 ₸713

57.59%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$1.89 ₸854

106.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$9.14 ₸4,132

21.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$5.81 ₸2,625

13.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$8.27 ₸3,738

77.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$1.61 ₸726

13.66%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$2.15 ₸973

-4.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$2.39 ₸1,079

-0.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$2.22 ₸1,003

75.68%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$0.61 ₸276

62.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$0.54 ₸244

85.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$1.23 ₸555

28.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$0.97 ₸439

-30.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$2.49 ₸1,126

219.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$7.87 ₸3,555

-20.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$1.19 ₸540

6.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$1.98 ₸894

2.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$0.19 ₸87.9

700.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

$14.78 ₸6,681

89.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$1.03 ₸468

221.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$0.76 ₸344

80.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$6.76 ₸3,058

193.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$0.72 ₸327

152.78%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$24.4K ₸11.0M

22.06%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$34.5K ₸15.6M

-1.93%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$72.2 ₸32.6K

137.17%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$9.64 ₸4,359

143.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$17.95 ₸8,116

29.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$40.61 ₸18.4K

66.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$4.50 ₸2,032

106.67%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$154 ₸69.7K

246.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$4,813 ₸2.2M

248.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$60.4 ₸27.3K

64.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$44.94 ₸20.3K

-3.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$88.7 ₸40.1K

24.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$93.5 ₸42.3K

27.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$390 ₸176.2K

113.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$224 ₸101.3K

177.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$641 ₸289.6K

148.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$451 ₸203.9K

159.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$918 ₸415.0K

535.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$903 ₸408.1K

330.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

19.25

-66.49%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Alga: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Alga

$224 25.7% 64% $398

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Alga

$200 23% 22.3% $58

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Alga

$147 16.9% 34% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Alga

$100 11.5% 54.2% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Alga

$129 14.9% 22.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Alga

$50 5.7% 42.4% $37

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Alga

$20 2.3% 53.9% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $830 in Budapest and $390 in Alga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in Budapest vs $36.00 in Alga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $200 per month, with Alga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇰🇿 Alga

🕒 Local time

11:33 11:33 AM

15:33 3:33 PM

4 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 452 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 508 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Between locations

Budapest Alga 4,280 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Alga

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 Alga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alga wins on cost – living expenses run 86% lower than in Budapest. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Alga the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,428 in Budapest and $1,307 in Alga 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: $830 in Budapest versus $390 in Alga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,619 per month in Budapest versus $871 in Alga – a 86% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Alga runs roughly 90% less than in Budapest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $871 in Alga versus $1,619 in Budapest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Alga but tight or insufficient in Budapest. The gap between the two cities makes Alga the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Alga delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $871 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Alga hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Budapest and Alga 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 Alga gentler on the wallet – expenses run 86% less than in Budapest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.