Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Belem

For one person, living is cheaper in Belem: $937 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Belem
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Belem Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Belem

🇧🇷 Brazil

$937

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Belem

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,621 in Budapest versus $937 in Belem.

Budapest $1,621
Belem $937

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,555 in Budapest versus $1,424 in Belem.

Budapest $2,555
Belem $1,424

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,489 in Budapest versus $1,911 in Belem.

Budapest $3,489
Belem $1,911

Living in Budapest is roughly 73% more expensive than in Belem, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Budapest is 21% above, Belem is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$4.94 R$24.66

183.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$20.41 R$102

195.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$6.80 R$33.96

46.47%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$1.90 R$9.48

77.89%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$1.06 R$5.28

100.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.51 R$2.56

266.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$1.59 R$7.91

135.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$2.36 R$11.80

51.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$1.40 R$7.01

-19.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$2.48 R$12.40

-25.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$1.32 R$6.59

81.06%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$2.14 R$10.71

78.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$9.20 R$45.91

23.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$4.53 R$22.64

48.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$7.55 R$37.70

94.57%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$2.30 R$11.49

-20.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.43 R$7.15

40.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.49 R$7.42

58.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$1.75 R$8.73

115.43%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$1.09 R$5.45

-11.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$0.63 R$3.14

63.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.29 R$6.45

20.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$1.43 R$7.13

-53.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$2.65 R$13.21

200.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$9.94 R$49.60

-39.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$1.45 R$7.25

-10.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$5.07 R$25.31

-58.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$0.97 R$4.82

54.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$34.73 R$173

-20.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$1.17 R$5.86

182.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$1.17 R$5.83

11.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$8.36 R$41.71

136.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.32 R$6.57

37.12%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$23.9K R$119.3K

22.73%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$32.5K R$162.3K

4.89%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$98.6 R$492

72.42%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$11.52 R$57.5

108.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$31.16 R$156

-24.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$21.62 R$108

206.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$39.31 R$196

-51.21%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$7.82 R$39.04

21.74%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$111 R$556

382.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$3,464 R$17.3K

379.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$32.02 R$160

216.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$45.64 R$228

-5.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$83.2 R$415

35.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$66.9 R$334

77.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$529 R$2,642

52.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$290 R$1,450

116.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$889 R$4,436

74.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$538 R$2,684

117.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$2,003 R$9,997

180.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,403 R$7,005

182.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$422 R$2,105

285.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

11.48

-43.99%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Belem: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Belem

$290 30.8% 53.8% $339

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Belem

$225 23.8% 12.8% $33

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Belem

$102 10.8% 54.7% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Belem

$141 15% 35% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Belem

$103 10.9% 39.4% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Belem

$37 4% 56.3% $48

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Belem

$46 4.8% 5% $2.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $805 in Budapest and $529 in Belem. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Budapest pays 286% 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 $20.00 in Belem for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $225 per month, with Belem cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇧🇷 Belem

🕒 Local time

07:22 7:22 AM

02:22 2:22 AM

5 h behind Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

1,303,403

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, 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).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.6 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Between locations

Budapest Belem 8,470 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
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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 Belem: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Belem is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 73% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 286% 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 $529 in Belem. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Belem runs roughly 26% less than in Budapest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $537 in Budapest versus $111 in Belem. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $937 in Belem versus $1,621 in Budapest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Belem but tight or insufficient in Budapest. The gap between the two cities makes Belem the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Budapest and Belem 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 Belem gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Budapest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.