Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Battambang

For one person, living is cheaper in Battambang: $650 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Battambang
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Battambang Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Battambang

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$650

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Battambang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,621 in Budapest versus $650 in Battambang.

Budapest $1,621
Battambang $650

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,555 in Budapest versus $1,040 in Battambang.

Budapest $2,555
Battambang $1,040

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,489 in Budapest versus $1,429 in Battambang.

Budapest $3,489
Battambang $1,429

Living in Budapest is roughly 149% more expensive than in Battambang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Budapest is 21% above, Battambang is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$2.44 ៛9,904

473.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$17.77 ៛72.1K

239.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$6.19 ៛25.1K

60.90%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$1.35 ៛5,464

150.37%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$0.68 ៛2,748

213.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.52 ៛2,115

259.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$0.84 ៛3,423

346.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$2.30 ៛9,335

55.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$2.20 ៛8,929

-48.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$1.02 ៛4,129

80.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$0.99 ៛4,011

141.41%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$1.68 ៛6,818

127.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$14.88 ៛60.3K

-23.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$2.44 ៛9,885

176.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$9.26 ៛37.6K

58.64%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$3.96 ៛16.1K

-53.54%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.28 ៛5,202

57.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$4.19 ៛17.0K

-43.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$2.18 ៛8,860

72.94%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$1.57 ៛6,358

-38.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$1.15 ៛4,661

-10.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$0.73 ៛2,951

113.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.74 ៛2,996

-10.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$1.87 ៛7,582

325.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$11.16 ៛45.3K

-46.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$0.60 ៛2,442

116.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$0.98 ៛3,987

112.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$0.90 ៛3,657

266.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.89 ៛3,622

46.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$4.87 ៛19.8K

306.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.25 ៛5,063

44.80%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$34.8K ៛141.2M

-15.78%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$34.1K ៛138.2M

0.13%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$63.7 ៛258.4K

166.78%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$2.77 ៛11.2K

765.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$24.60 ៛99.8K

-4.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$22.59 ៛91.6K

193.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$4.89 ៛19.8K

94.68%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$91.1 ៛369.3K

489.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$3,931 ៛15.9M

322.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$20.04 ៛81.3K

405.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$24.47 ៛99.3K

75.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$92.2 ៛373.9K

22.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$44.66 ៛181.1K

165.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$221 ៛894.9K

264.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$151 ៛613.7K

315.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$433 ៛1.8M

257.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$327 ៛1.3M

257.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$199 ៛807.6K

716.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

7.25

-11.31%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Battambang: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Battambang

$151 23% 76% $478

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Battambang

$229 34.7% 11.2% $29

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Battambang

$68 10.3% 69.7% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Battambang

$91 13.8% 58.1% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Battambang

$82 12.4% 51.7% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Battambang

$32 4.9% 62.1% $53

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Battambang

$5.4 * 0.8% 87.6% $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 $805 in Budapest and $221 in Battambang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Budapest pays 716% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $60.0 in Budapest vs $18.00 in Battambang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $229 per month, with Battambang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇰🇭 Battambang

🕒 Local time

13:17 1:17 PM

18:17 6:17 PM

5 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

196,709

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, 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).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4,056 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD). 1 EUR = 4,545 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Budapest Battambang 8,500 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Battambang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Battambang wins on cost – living expenses run 149% lower than in Budapest. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Battambang the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 716% higher in Budapest, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $805 in Budapest versus $221 in Battambang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $537 in Budapest versus $91.1 in Battambang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Battambang – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $60.0 in Budapest. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $650 in Battambang versus $1,621 in Budapest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Battambang but tight or insufficient in Budapest. The gap between the two cities makes Battambang the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Battambang delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $650 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Battambang hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Budapest and Battambang 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 Battambang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 149% less than in Budapest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.