Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Bel Air

For one person, living is cheaper in Bel Air: $590 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 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
29

Cost of Living Index in Bel Air
Learn more

Bel Air Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Bel Air

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$590

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Bel Air

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,619 in Budapest versus $590 in Bel Air.

Budapest $1,619
Bel Air $590

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,524 in Budapest versus $995 in Bel Air.

Budapest $2,524
Bel Air $995

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,429 in Budapest versus $1,400 in Bel Air.

Budapest $3,429
Bel Air $1,400

Living in Budapest is roughly 174% more expensive than in Bel Air, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Budapest is 20% above, Bel Air is 56% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$5.67 MUR 267

145.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$37.95 MUR 1,786

61.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$7.19 MUR 338

41.72%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$1.03 MUR 48.47

216.50%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$1.07 MUR 50.2

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$0.59 MUR 27.62

201.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$1.62 MUR 76.1

129.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$3.13 MUR 148

20.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.62 MUR 76.1

-29.01%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$0.78 MUR 36.67

129.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.15 MUR 54.1

116.52%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$2.54 MUR 120

53.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$5.29 MUR 249

109.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$6.30 MUR 296

5.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$11.14 MUR 525

31.87%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$2.75 MUR 130

-33.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$2.61 MUR 123

-21.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$1.38 MUR 65.1

71.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$3.02 MUR 142

29.14%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$1.00 MUR 46.93

-1.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$0.93 MUR 43.84

7.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$0.69 MUR 32.37

128.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$0.90 MUR 42.48

-25.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$6.25 MUR 294

27.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$8.37 MUR 394

-25.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$1.60 MUR 75.5

-20.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$2.27 MUR 107

-10.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$4.32 MUR 204

-23.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$3.13 MUR 147

-56.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$21.19 MUR 998

-6.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$1.35 MUR 63.6

34.81%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$35.8K MUR 1.7M

-16.68%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$30.7K MUR 1.4M

10.11%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$45.32 MUR 2,134

277.58%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$10.72 MUR 505

119.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$28.55 MUR 1,344

-18.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$6.40 MUR 301

45.31%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$128 MUR 6,039

315.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$7,491 MUR 352.7K

123.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$77.1 MUR 3,629

29.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$72.3 MUR 3,403

-39.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$118 MUR 5,568

-6.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$76.6 MUR 3,604

55.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

6.67

-3.30%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Bel Air: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Bel Air

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Bel Air

$217 36.9% 15.8% $41

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Bel Air

$100 17% 55.1% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Bel Air

$85 14.3% 61.2% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Bel Air

$155 26.3% 7.6% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Bel Air

$13 * 2.2% 85.1% $73

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Bel Air

$20 * 3.4% 54.9% $24

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $61.0 in Budapest vs $38.00 in Bel Air for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $217 per month, with Bel Air cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇲🇺 Bel Air

🕒 Local time

16:45 4:45 PM

18:45 6:45 PM

2 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

17,600

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MUR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 47.08 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.93 MUR (100 MUR = 1.89 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Bel Air 8,470 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Bel Air

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 Bel Air: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bel Air wins on cost – living expenses run 174% lower than in Budapest. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bel Air the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,428 in Budapest and $885 in Bel Air 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% 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 $590 in Bel Air – a 174% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $590 in Bel Air versus $1,619 in Budapest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bel Air but tight or insufficient in Budapest. The gap between the two cities makes Bel Air the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bel Air delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $590 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bel Air hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Budapest and Bel Air 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 Bel Air gentler on the wallet – expenses run 174% less than in Budapest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.