Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Benghazi

For one person, living is cheaper in Benghazi: $421 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 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
20

Cost of Living Index in Benghazi
Learn more

Benghazi Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Benghazi

🇱🇾 Libya

$421

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Benghazi

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

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $421 in Benghazi, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Benghazi $421

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $711 in Benghazi, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Benghazi $711

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $1,002 in Benghazi, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Benghazi $1,002

Budapest costs about 292% more than Benghazi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Benghazi is 69% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,407

$2.47 LYD 15.79

451.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.6K

$12.33 LYD 78.9

391.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,239

$2.37 LYD 15.17

322.78%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 LYD 13.13

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 LYD 2.43

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,075

$0.64 LYD 4.10

420.31%

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

$2.12 Ft 684

$0.43 LYD 2.74

393.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 581

$0.14 LYD 0.88

1185.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,166

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,160

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 361

$0.77 LYD 4.92

45.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 623

$0.18 LYD 1.18

972.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.41 LYD 9.04

76.60%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,275

$1.65 LYD 10.58

138.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,646

$6.55 LYD 41.87

72.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,177

$2.74 LYD 17.56

145.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,670

$11.34 LYD 72.5

27.34%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 601

$2.26 LYD 14.45

-17.70%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 658

$1.73 LYD 11.07

17.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 740

$1.15 LYD 7.37

99.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,290

$0.75 LYD 4.81

432.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 304

$0.85 LYD 5.46

10.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 330

$0.64 LYD 4.08

59.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 534

$0.37 LYD 2.40

345.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$0.21 LYD 1.34

223.81%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.32 LYD 14.83

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 LYD 3.37

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 LYD 5.22

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,526

$1.82 LYD 11.67

329.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,946

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 418

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 655

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 484

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,769

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,085

$1.54 LYD 9.86

118.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 444

$0.32 LYD 2.06

328.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,451

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 603

$0.02 LYD 0.12

9200.00%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$12.5K LYD 79.8K

128.67%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$14.9K LYD 95.5K

123.56%

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

$178 Ft 57.6K

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

$23.58 Ft 7,623

$4.36 LYD 27.87

440.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,797

$18.52 LYD 118

30.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.5K

$17.25 LYD 110

303.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,505

$3.85 LYD 24.60

342.34%

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,388

$6.39 LYD 40.86

64.01%

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

$625 Ft 202.1K

$78.7 LYD 503

694.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$346 LYD 2,214

5573.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.0K

$42.28 LYD 270

141.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.0K

$34.73 LYD 222

24.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.5K

$43.53 LYD 278

152.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.0K

$69.1 LYD 442

74.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 273.3K

$190 LYD 1,217

344.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.4K

$115 LYD 737

454.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 520.1K

$435 LYD 2,782

269.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 393.5K

$261 LYD 1,667

366.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 557.5K

$269 LYD 1,719

541.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Benghazi: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Benghazi

$115 27.4% 82% $523

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Benghazi

$127 30.2% 51.1% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Benghazi

$23 * 5.4% 89.9% $203

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Benghazi

$37 8.8% 83.3% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Benghazi

$85 20.3% 49.5% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Benghazi

$30 7.1% 66.9% $61

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Benghazi

$3.2 * 0.8% 92.7% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $845 in Budapest versus $190 in Benghazi. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Budapest are about 6.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest versus $12 in Benghazi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $127 – making Benghazi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇱🇾 Benghazi

🕒 Local time

19:30 7:30 PM

20:30 8:30 PM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

631,555

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 6.4 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.19 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Benghazi 1,710 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Benghazi

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 Benghazi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,647 in Budapest, $421 in Benghazi – Benghazi comes out roughly 74% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,471 per month in Budapest and $631 in Benghazi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Benghazi, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $190 there versus $845 in Budapest.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,647 in Budapest and $421 in Benghazi. That makes Benghazi about 74% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $625 per month in Budapest and $79 in Benghazi. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Benghazi, where all-in costs run around $421, than in Budapest at $1,647. In Benghazi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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