Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Costa Rica

Name: Costa Rica
Address: CR

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,621 a month against $1,735 in Costa Rica, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. The total is higher in Costa Rica despite lower rent and utilities.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Costa Rica
Learn more

Costa Rica Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,735

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Budapest is 18.6% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 6.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Budapest is 13.6% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 5.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$11.78 ₡5,312

18.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$55.5 ₡25.0K

8.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$10.72 ₡4,831

-7.09%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$4.49 ₡2,023

-24.72%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$2.33 ₡1,051

-8.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$1.81 ₡815

3.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$3.23 ₡1,455

16.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$4.42 ₡1,992

-19.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$2.30 ₡1,037

-50.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$3.55 ₡1,600

-48.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$2.71 ₡1,221

-11.81%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$4.05 ₡1,825

-5.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$9.92 ₡4,473

14.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$10.49 ₡4,729

-35.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$13.56 ₡6,111

8.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$5.13 ₡2,312

-64.13%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.68 ₡758

19.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$3.63 ₡1,639

-34.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$3.24 ₡1,463

16.36%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$3.40 ₡1,534

-71.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$3.09 ₡1,394

-66.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.11 ₡501

40.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$2.64 ₡1,192

-75.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$5.43 ₡2,446

46.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$15.63 ₡7,048

-61.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$2.75 ₡1,238

-52.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$3.27 ₡1,472

-36.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$1.07 ₡480

40.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$65.3 ₡29.4K

-57.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$2.18 ₡981

51.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$2.03 ₡916

-35.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$8.82 ₡3,977

124.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.53 ₡688

18.30%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$32.8K ₡14.8M

-10.52%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$36.0K ₡16.2M

-5.19%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$93.4 ₡42.1K

81.95%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$30.19 ₡13.6K

-20.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$57.1 ₡25.7K

-58.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$65.1 ₡29.3K

1.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$22.13 ₡9,976

-13.33%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$8.09 ₡3,645

17.68%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$740 ₡333.8K

-27.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$12.6K ₡5.7M

32.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$75.5 ₡34.0K

34.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$54.6 ₡24.6K

-21.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$127 ₡57.4K

-11.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$107 ₡48.3K

10.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$833 ₡375.3K

-3.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$641 ₡289.1K

-1.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$1,776 ₡800.8K

-12.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$1,191 ₡536.9K

-2.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$2,437 ₡1.1M

130.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,631 ₡735.2K

143.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$1,033 ₡465.8K

57.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

9.56

-32.74%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Costa Rica: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Costa Rica

$641 36.7% 1.9% $12

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Costa Rica

$379 21.7% 47.1% $121

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Costa Rica

$222 12.7% 1.1% $2.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Costa Rica

$181 10.3% 16.9% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Costa Rica

$164 9.4% 3% $5

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Costa Rica

$81 4.6% 4.7% $4

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Costa Rica

$82 4.7% 88.6% $38

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

🕒 Local time

14:27 2:27 PM

06:27 6:27 AM

8 h behind Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

5,044,197

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, 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).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Costa Rica 10,160 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Costa Rica

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

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