Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Chilanga

For one person, living is cheaper in Chilanga: $567 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Chilanga
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Chilanga Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Chilanga

🇿🇲 Zambia

$567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Chilanga

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

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $567 in Chilanga, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Chilanga $567

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $906 in Chilanga, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Chilanga $906

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $1,246 in Chilanga, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Chilanga $1,246

Budapest costs about 191% more than Chilanga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Chilanga is 58% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,419

$5.32 ZMW 108

156.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.7K

$30.11 ZMW 608

101.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,248

$5.05 ZMW 102

98.42%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,078

$2.82 ZMW 56.9

18.09%

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

$2.12 Ft 686

$0.77 ZMW 15.62

175.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 583

$0.48 ZMW 9.71

275.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,169

$1.26 ZMW 25.49

186.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,163

$2.26 ZMW 45.68

58.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 362

$1.72 ZMW 34.85

-34.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.17 ZMW 23.62

64.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 806

$2.09 ZMW 42.27

19.14%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,278

$1.97 ZMW 39.72

100.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,656

$9.95 ZMW 201

13.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,183

$6.37 ZMW 129

5.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,682

$6.47 ZMW 131

123.18%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 603

$3.25 ZMW 65.7

-42.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 660

$2.43 ZMW 49.15

-16.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 742

$3.19 ZMW 64.4

-28.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,294

$1.53 ZMW 31.01

160.78%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 305

$2.50 ZMW 50.5

-62.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 331

$1.77 ZMW 35.76

-42.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 536

$1.13 ZMW 22.92

46.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$0.72 ZMW 14.65

-5.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,533

$3.03 ZMW 61.1

157.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,952

$9.64 ZMW 195

-37.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 419

$1.44 ZMW 29.17

-10.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 656

$2.29 ZMW 46.31

-11.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 485

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,792

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,088

$2.40 ZMW 48.43

40.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 445

$1.52 ZMW 30.69

-9.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,468

$5.08 ZMW 103

292.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 604

$1.50 ZMW 30.36

24.00%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$7,342 ZMW 148.4K

288.38%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$25.1K ZMW 506.7K

33.13%

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

$178 Ft 57.8K

$71.2 ZMW 1,439

150.31%

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

$23.58 Ft 7,643

$10.62 ZMW 215

122.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,817

$53.5 ZMW 1,080

-54.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.6K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,520

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,397

$6.04 ZMW 122

73.51%

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

$625 Ft 202.6K

$146 ZMW 2,944

329.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$20.1K ZMW 406.0K

-2.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.1K

$24.66 ZMW 498

313.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.1K

$17.26 ZMW 349

151.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.6K

$45.15 ZMW 912

143.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.1K

$66.6 ZMW 1,345

81.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 274.0K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 521.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 394.5K

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 559.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

-78.14%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chilanga: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Chilanga

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Chilanga

$233 41.1% 10.4% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Chilanga

$135 23.9% 40.1% $91

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Chilanga

$107 19% 51.2% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Chilanga

$69 12.2% 59.1% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Chilanga

$12 * 2.1% 86.7% $79

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Chilanga

$10 * 1.8% 76.9% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest versus $30 in Chilanga. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $233 – making Chilanga the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇿🇲 Chilanga

🕒 Local time

05:40 5:40 AM

06:40 6:40 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

107,051

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 ZMW = 4.95 USD

100 ZMW = 4.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZMW, 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).

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 20.21 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.95 USD). 1 EUR = 22.69 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.41 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Budapest Chilanga 7,070 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Chilanga

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 Chilanga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 191%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,471 per month in Budapest and $850 in Chilanga. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest and $30 in Chilanga. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 12% more in Budapest, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Chilanga, where all-in costs run around $567, than in Budapest at $1,647. In Chilanga it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chilanga costs $567 versus $1,647 in Budapest. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.