Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Brakpan

For one person, living is cheaper in Brakpan: $1,103 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Brakpan
Learn more

Brakpan Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Brakpan

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,103

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Brakpan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,647 in Budapest versus $1,103 in Brakpan.

Budapest $1,647
Brakpan $1,103

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,567 in Budapest versus $1,655 in Brakpan.

Budapest $2,567
Brakpan $1,655

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,488 in Budapest versus $2,207 in Brakpan.

Budapest $3,488
Brakpan $2,207

Living in Budapest is roughly 49% more expensive than in Brakpan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Budapest is 22% above, Brakpan is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,419

$8.98 R 148

51.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.7K

$34.49 R 568

75.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,248

$5.40 R 89.0

85.56%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,078

$2.39 R 39.40

39.33%

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

$2.12 Ft 686

$1.04 R 17.07

103.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 583

$0.78 R 12.88

130.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,169

$2.26 R 37.25

59.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,163

$2.57 R 42.35

39.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 362

$1.13 R 18.68

-0.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.15 R 18.92

67.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 806

$1.35 R 22.24

84.44%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,278

$2.31 R 38.11

70.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,656

$10.54 R 174

7.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,183

$4.63 R 76.3

45.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,682

$7.91 R 130

82.55%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 603

$1.56 R 25.65

19.23%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 660

$1.60 R 26.32

27.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 742

$1.37 R 22.55

67.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,294

$1.44 R 23.68

177.08%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 305

$1.39 R 22.92

-32.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 331

$1.27 R 20.85

-19.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 536

$0.99 R 16.35

66.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$0.88 R 14.43

-22.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,533

$3.22 R 53.1

142.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,952

$4.69 R 77.4

28.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 419

$1.03 R 16.98

25.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 656

$1.38 R 22.76

46.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 485

$1.65 R 27.27

-9.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,792

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,088

$0.84 R 13.85

300.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 445

$0.67 R 11.08

104.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,468

$10.16 R 167

96.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 604

$1.53 R 25.15

21.57%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$37.2K R 612.2K

-23.25%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$33.7K R 555.6K

-1.00%

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

$178 Ft 57.8K

$151 R 2,491

17.88%

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

$23.58 Ft 7,643

$33.06 R 545

-28.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,817

$52.5 R 865

-54.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.6K

$32.47 R 535

114.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,520

$10.73 R 177

58.71%

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,397

$7.78 R 128

34.70%

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

$625 Ft 202.6K

$204 R 3,360

206.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$5,811 R 95.8K

238.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.1K

$52.9 R 871

92.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.1K

$28.79 R 474

50.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.6K

$108 R 1,786

1.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.1K

$94.7 R 1,560

27.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 274.0K

$399 R 6,569

112.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.9K

$355 R 5,848

79.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 521.5K

$489 R 8,058

229.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 394.5K

$633 R 10.4K

92.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

$668 R 11.0K

731.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

$577 R 9,509

575.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 559.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

10.92

-41.94%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Brakpan: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Brakpan

$355 32.2% 44.4% $283

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Brakpan

$184 16.7% 29% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Brakpan

$237 21.5% 4.8% $11

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Brakpan

$140 12.7% 36.1% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Brakpan

$128 11.6% 24.3% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Brakpan

$48 4.4% 47% $43

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Brakpan

$11 * 1% 75% $33

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 $845 in Budapest and $399 in Brakpan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Budapest vs $34 in Brakpan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $184 per month, with Brakpan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇿🇦 Brakpan

🕒 Local time

07:17 7:17 AM

08:17 8:17 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

305,692

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 324 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 364 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Brakpan 8,250 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Brakpan

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 Brakpan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brakpan wins on cost – living expenses run 33% lower than in Budapest. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Brakpan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,471 in Budapest and $1,655 in Brakpan 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $845 in Budapest versus $399 in Brakpan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $625 in Budapest versus $204 in Brakpan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Brakpan – a meal for two runs $34 versus $61 in Budapest. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Brakpan is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.