Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Beirut

For one person, living costs are similar in Budapest and in Beirut: $1,621 and $1,644 a month, rent and utilities included.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Beirut
Learn more

Beirut Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Beirut

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,644

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Beirut

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,621 in Budapest versus $1,644 in Beirut.

Budapest $1,621
Beirut $1,644

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,555 in Budapest versus $2,637 in Beirut.

Budapest $2,555
Beirut $2,637

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,489 in Budapest versus $3,629 in Beirut.

Budapest $3,489
Beirut $3,629

Living in Budapest costs roughly 1% less than in Beirut, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Budapest 21% above, Beirut 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$12.14 LBP 1.1M

15.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$70.1 LBP 6.3M

-13.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$9.84 LBP 880.6K

1.22%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$4.45 LBP 398.4K

-24.04%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$2.39 LBP 214.0K

-10.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.90 LBP 80.7K

107.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$4.86 LBP 435.3K

-22.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$4.83 LBP 432.7K

-26.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$2.00 LBP 179.3K

-43.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$0.84 LBP 75.2K

119.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$2.34 LBP 209.4K

2.14%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$3.55 LBP 318.0K

7.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$11.02 LBP 986.7K

2.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$10.76 LBP 963.3K

-37.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$14.62 LBP 1.3M

0.48%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$3.13 LBP 280.3K

-41.21%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.71 LBP 153.0K

17.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.68 LBP 150.7K

40.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$1.52 LBP 135.7K

148.03%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$1.24 LBP 111.2K

-22.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$1.59 LBP 142.4K

-35.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.21 LBP 108.6K

28.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.68 LBP 61.1K

-2.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$3.06 LBP 273.5K

160.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$10.91 LBP 976.2K

-44.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$1.33 LBP 119.2K

-2.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$2.59 LBP 232.0K

-19.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$2.26 LBP 202.7K

-33.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$76.0 LBP 6.8M

-63.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$4.93 LBP 441.5K

-33.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$2.20 LBP 196.6K

-40.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$22.38 LBP 2.0M

-11.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.05 LBP 93.6K

72.38%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$54.0K LBP 4.8B

-45.71%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$32.8K LBP 2.9B

4.07%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$231 LBP 20.6M

-26.34%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$22.10 LBP 2.0M

8.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$37.83 LBP 3.4M

-38.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$85.5 LBP 7.7M

-22.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$34.08 LBP 3.1M

-43.72%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$10.02 LBP 896.8K

-4.99%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$678 LBP 60.7M

-20.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$10.6K LBP 951.6M

56.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$66.5 LBP 6.0M

52.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$48.54 LBP 4.3M

-11.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$138 LBP 12.3M

-18.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$118 LBP 10.6M

0.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$944 LBP 84.5M

-14.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$488 LBP 43.7M

28.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$2,203 LBP 197.2M

-29.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$1,059 LBP 94.8M

10.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$3,927 LBP 351.5M

43.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,848 LBP 165.4M

114.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$703 LBP 62.9M

131.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

-41.55%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Beirut: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Beirut

$488 29.5% 22.4% $141

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Beirut

$277 16.7% 7.4% $19

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Beirut

$227 13.7% 1.3% $3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Beirut

$291 17.6% 33.7% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Beirut

$167 10.1% 1.4% $2.3

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Beirut

$106 6.4% 23.8% $20

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Beirut

$101 6.1% 133% $58

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $805 in Budapest and $944 in Beirut. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Budapest pays 131% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $60.0 in Budapest vs $70.0 in Beirut for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $277 per month, with Budapest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇱🇧 Beirut

🕒 Local time

08:14 8:14 AM

09:14 9:14 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

1,916,100 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.96 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LBP, 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).

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,381 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.96 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Beirut 2,040 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Beirut

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 Beirut: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Budapest is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 131% 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 $944 in Beirut. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,621 per month in Budapest versus $1,644 in Beirut – a 1% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Budapest runs roughly 175% less than in Beirut. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,621 in Budapest versus $1,644 in Beirut, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Budapest but tight or insufficient in Beirut. The gap between the two cities makes Budapest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Budapest is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Beirut, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Budapest and Beirut 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 Budapest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Beirut. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.