Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Aomori

For one person, living is cheaper in Aomori: $1,197 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Aomori
Learn more

Aomori Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Aomori

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,197

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Aomori

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,641 in Budapest versus $1,197 in Aomori.

Budapest $1,641
Aomori $1,197

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,562 in Budapest versus $1,893 in Aomori.

Budapest $2,562
Aomori $1,893

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,483 in Budapest versus $2,589 in Aomori.

Budapest $3,483
Aomori $2,589

Living in Budapest is roughly 37% more expensive than in Aomori, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Budapest is 21% above, Aomori is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.04 Ft 4,536

$6.44 ¥1,018

118.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

$31.48 ¥4,974

93.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 Ft 3,351

$5.09 ¥805

103.73%

Cappuccino

$3.46 Ft 1,117

$3.12 ¥493

10.90%

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

$2.07 Ft 669

$1.19 ¥187

73.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 Ft 572

$0.79 ¥124

124.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 Ft 1,191

$2.69 ¥425

37.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 Ft 1,229

$3.23 ¥510

17.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 Ft 374

$1.47 ¥232

-21.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 Ft 598

$1.54 ¥244

20.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 Ft 776

$4.08 ¥645

-41.18%

Eggs

$3.99 Ft 1,289

$2.10 ¥332

90.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 Ft 3,683

$10.27 ¥1,623

11.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.87 Ft 2,221

$6.66 ¥1,052

3.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.49 Ft 4,682

$16.32 ¥2,578

-11.21%

Apples (1kg)

$1.88 Ft 607

$3.67 ¥580

-48.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 Ft 693

$2.26 ¥356

-5.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 Ft 744

$2.90 ¥458

-20.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.04 Ft 1,304

$4.09 ¥646

-1.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 329

$2.45 ¥386

-58.37%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$2.57 ¥405

-61.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 510

$1.29 ¥204

22.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 225

$0.80 ¥127

-12.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.03 Ft 2,594

$4.00 ¥631

100.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 Ft 1,997

$6.60 ¥1,042

-6.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 Ft 401

$1.81 ¥285

-31.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 Ft 666

$2.10 ¥332

-1.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 Ft 513

$1.46 ¥231

8.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

$53.5 ¥8,451

-48.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 Ft 1,110

$3.07 ¥485

11.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 Ft 431

$2.90 ¥458

-54.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.45 Ft 6,607

$18.51 ¥2,925

10.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.01 ¥160

91.09%

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

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

$21.7K ¥3.4M

34.46%

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

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

$15.4K ¥2.4M

124.84%

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

$175 Ft 56.4K

$132 ¥20.9K

31.88%

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

$23.62 Ft 7,631

$24.30 ¥3,839

-2.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.60 Ft 7,625

$31.31 ¥4,947

-24.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

$53.0 ¥8,375

29.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

Cinema Ticket

$10.31 Ft 3,333

$12.04 ¥1,902

-14.37%

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

$535 Ft 172.9K

$511 ¥80.7K

4.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$12.7K ¥2.0M

32.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

$50.5 ¥7,970

97.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

$31.64 ¥4,999

36.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 Ft 36.1K

$61.5 ¥9,708

81.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$89.4 ¥14.1K

33.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 Ft 268.8K

$539 ¥85.1K

54.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 203.3K

$333 ¥52.5K

89.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

$1,114 ¥176.0K

42.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

$743 ¥117.4K

61.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

$4,143 ¥654.5K

38.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

$1,774 ¥280.2K

122.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

2.21

191.86%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Aomori: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.4%

Aomori

$333 27.8% 47.2% $297

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$262 16%

Aomori

$286 23.9% 9.1% $24

Eating Out

Budapest

$226 13.8%

Aomori

$132 11% 41.7% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$222 13.5%

Aomori

$188 15.7% 15.2% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.3%

Aomori

$105 8.8% 37.7% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.5%

Aomori

$77 6.4% 13.8% $12

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Aomori

$77 6.4% 74.9% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $832 in Budapest and $539 in Aomori. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in Budapest vs $31.00 in Aomori. Groceries flip the comparison at $262 vs $286, with Budapest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇯🇵 Aomori

🕒 Local time

16:15 4:15 PM

23:15 11:15 PM

7 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

275,192

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, 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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Aomori 8,640 km ≈ 11 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 Aomori: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Budapest and Aomori differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($1,641 vs $1,197 including rent). Aomori is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,461 in Budapest and $1,795 in Aomori 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: $832 in Budapest versus $539 in Aomori. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $535 in Budapest versus $511 in Aomori. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Budapest pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,197 in Aomori versus $1,641 in Budapest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Aomori but tight or insufficient in Budapest. The gap between the two cities makes Aomori 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.

Safety-wise, Budapest and Aomori 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 Aomori gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Budapest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.