Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Bandar Seri Begawan

For one person, living is cheaper in Bandar Seri Begawan: $1,193 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Bandar Seri Begawan
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Bandar Seri Begawan Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Bandar Seri Begawan

🇧🇳 Brunei

$1,193

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Bandar Seri Begawan

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 Bandar Seri Begawan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $1,193 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Bandar Seri Begawan $1,193

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $1,725 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Bandar Seri Begawan $1,725

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $2,257 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Bandar Seri Begawan $2,257

Budapest costs about 36% more than Bandar Seri Begawan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Bandar Seri Begawan is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$3.84 BND 4.91

264.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$27.17 BND 34.78

122.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$6.13 BND 7.84

62.48%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.90 BND 2.44

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 BND 2.96

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$3.88 BND 4.97

-12.89%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$0.95 BND 1.22

124.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.53 BND 0.68

252.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$1.84 BND 2.36

-38.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$1.70 BND 2.18

8.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$1.24 BND 1.58

92.74%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$2.01 BND 2.58

90.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$9.26 BND 11.85

22.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$4.39 BND 5.63

53.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$10.63 BND 13.61

38.19%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$3.19 BND 4.09

-42.32%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$2.18 BND 2.79

-7.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$2.86 BND 3.66

-17.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$2.59 BND 3.31

45.56%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$1.75 BND 2.24

-45.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$2.08 BND 2.67

-50.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$3.61 BND 4.62

-56.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.93 BND 1.19

-29.03%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$23.07 BND 29.54

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.39 BND 4.35

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$15.45 BND 19.78

-48.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$0.82 BND 1.05

82.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$0.82 BND 1.05

3267.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$3.82 BND 4.89

-13.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$3.42 BND 4.38

-61.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$11.89 BND 15.22

66.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$0.39 BND 0.50

364.10%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$43.7K BND 56.0K

-32.96%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$36.2K BND 46.3K

-5.72%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$60.7 BND 77.7

180.20%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$21.58 BND 27.63

11.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$65.4 BND 83.8

-64.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$45.10 BND 57.7

46.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$6.96 BND 8.91

175.57%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$5.34 BND 6.84

78.28%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$214 BND 273

151.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$9,857 BND 12.6K

68.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$75.2 BND 96.3

34.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$92.5 BND 118

-53.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$104 BND 133

8.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$73.3 BND 93.8

62.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$734 BND 939

9.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$469 BND 601

34.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$1,125 BND 1,440

37.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$692 BND 885

68.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$3,106 BND 3,977

80.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$2,298 BND 2,942

72.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$1,755 BND 2,247

-7.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

3.88

65.72%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Bandar Seri Begawan: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$469 40% 25.4% $160

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$218 18.6% 15.2% $39

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$102 8.7% 54.7% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$148 12.6% 32.1% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$155 13.2% 8.3% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$56 4.8% 34.6% $29

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$25 2.1% 42.4% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $734 in Bandar Seri Begawan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 8% higher in Bandar Seri Begawan, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60.0 in Budapest versus $27.00 in Bandar Seri Begawan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $218 – making Bandar Seri Begawan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇧🇳 Bandar Seri Begawan

🕒 Local time

13:38 1:38 PM

19:38 7:38 PM

6 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

50,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Brunei Dollar BND $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

1 BND = 0.781 USD

1 BND = 0.697 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BND, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

Brunei Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 BND (1 BND = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.43 BND (1 BND = 0.697 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Bandar Seri Begawan 10,050 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Bandar Seri Begawan

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 Bandar Seri Begawan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 36%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,432 per month in Budapest and $1,789 in Bandar Seri Begawan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bandar Seri Begawan, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,621 in Budapest and $1,193 in Bandar Seri Begawan. That's a gap of about 36%.

Public transport costs about 3267% less in Bandar Seri Begawan. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Bandar Seri Begawan, where all-in costs run around $1,193, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Bandar Seri Begawan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Bandar Seri Begawan – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Bandar Seri Begawan. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Budapest makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.