Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Arzamas

For one person, living is cheaper in Arzamas: $1,046 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Arzamas
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Arzamas Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Arzamas

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,046

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Arzamas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,619 in Budapest versus $1,046 in Arzamas.

Budapest $1,619
Arzamas $1,046

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,524 in Budapest versus $1,613 in Arzamas.

Budapest $2,524
Arzamas $1,613

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,429 in Budapest versus $2,180 in Arzamas.

Budapest $3,429
Arzamas $2,180

Living in Budapest is roughly 55% more expensive than in Arzamas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Budapest is 20% above, Arzamas is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$10.13 ₽846

37.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$34.19 ₽2,853

79.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$6.83 ₽570

49.19%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$2.74 ₽229

18.98%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$1.06 ₽88.3

101.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$0.52 ₽43.61

242.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$1.85 ₽154

100.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$2.82 ₽235

33.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.10 ₽91.8

4.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$0.65 ₽54.1

175.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.33 ₽111

87.22%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$1.77 ₽147

120.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$9.77 ₽815

13.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$5.87 ₽490

12.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$12.33 ₽1,029

19.14%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$1.71 ₽143

7.02%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$1.66 ₽139

23.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$1.79 ₽149

32.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$2.94 ₽246

32.65%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$0.67 ₽56.2

47.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$0.52 ₽43.63

92.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$1.46 ₽122

8.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$0.70 ₽58.6

-4.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$3.38 ₽282

135.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$6.60 ₽551

-5.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$1.09 ₽90.8

16.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$2.03 ₽170

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$0.55 ₽46.05

176.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$2.21 ₽184

49.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$0.34 ₽28.04

302.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$6.49 ₽542

205.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$0.84 ₽70.4

116.67%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$35.8K ₽3.0M

-16.69%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$27.7K ₽2.3M

21.90%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$134 ₽11.2K

27.82%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$6.62 ₽553

255.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$8.25 ₽689

182.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$32.02 ₽2,672

110.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

$20.36 ₽1,699

-7.22%

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$6.66 ₽556

39.64%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$381 ₽31.8K

39.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$6,116 ₽510.4K

173.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$85.8 ₽7,161

16.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$51.7 ₽4,318

-15.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$123 ₽10.3K

-10.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$108 ₽9,050

9.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$302 ₽25.2K

175.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$318 ₽26.6K

95.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$474 ₽39.5K

236.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$562 ₽46.9K

108.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$2,064 ₽172.3K

182.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$1,375 ₽114.8K

182.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

21.45

-69.93%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Arzamas: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Arzamas

$318 30.4% 48.8% $304

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Arzamas

$206 19.7% 20.1% $52

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Arzamas

$156 14.9% 30.2% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Arzamas

$149 14.2% 31.7% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Arzamas

$166 15.9% 0.9% $1.6

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Arzamas

$45 4.3% 47.4% $41

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Arzamas

$6.1 * 0.6% 86.2% $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 $830 in Budapest and $302 in Arzamas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in Budapest vs $34.00 in Arzamas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $206 per month, with Arzamas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇷🇺 Arzamas

🕒 Local time

07:03 7:03 AM

08:03 8:03 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

103,396

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 RUB = 1.2 USD

100 RUB = 1.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 83.46 RUB (100 RUB = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 93.83 RUB (100 RUB = 1.07 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Arzamas 1,910 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Arzamas

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 Arzamas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Budapest and Arzamas differ by about 55% in total monthly costs ($1,619 vs $1,046 including rent). Arzamas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,428 in Budapest and $1,569 in Arzamas 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 $302 in Arzamas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% 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 $1,046 in Arzamas – a 55% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,046 in Arzamas versus $1,619 in Budapest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Arzamas but tight or insufficient in Budapest. The gap between the two cities makes Arzamas 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 Arzamas 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 Arzamas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Budapest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.