Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Cuauhtémoc

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuauhtémoc: $1,133 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Cuauhtémoc
Learn more

Cuauhtémoc Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Cuauhtémoc

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,133

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Cuauhtémoc

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

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Budapest vs $1,133 in Cuauhtémoc, rent included.

Budapest $1,641
Cuauhtémoc $1,133

A couple spends around $2,562 per month in Budapest vs $1,825 in Cuauhtémoc, rent included.

Budapest $2,562
Cuauhtémoc $1,825

A family of three spends $3,483 per month in Budapest vs $2,517 in Cuauhtémoc, rent included.

Budapest $3,483
Cuauhtémoc $2,517

Budapest costs about 45% more than Cuauhtémoc, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Cuauhtémoc is 16% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.04 Ft 4,536

$11.03 MX$204

27.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

$44.20 MX$817

37.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 Ft 3,351

$8.32 MX$154

24.64%

Cappuccino

$3.46 Ft 1,117

$3.51 MX$64.9

-1.42%

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

$2.07 Ft 669

$1.40 MX$25.79

47.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 Ft 572

$1.06 MX$19.65

66.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 Ft 1,191

$2.49 MX$45.98

48.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 Ft 1,229

$3.91 MX$72.3

-2.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 Ft 374

$1.58 MX$29.15

-26.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 Ft 598

$2.67 MX$49.41

-30.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 Ft 776

$1.65 MX$30.58

45.45%

Eggs

$3.99 Ft 1,289

$2.42 MX$44.72

64.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 Ft 3,683

$8.06 MX$149

41.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.87 Ft 2,221

$8.23 MX$152

-16.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.49 Ft 4,682

$11.42 MX$211

26.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.88 Ft 607

$2.81 MX$51.8

-33.10%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 Ft 693

$1.51 MX$27.90

41.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 Ft 744

$1.93 MX$35.75

19.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.04 Ft 1,304

$1.83 MX$33.84

120.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 329

$2.01 MX$37.06

-49.25%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$1.81 MX$33.47

-45.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 510

$1.42 MX$26.20

11.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 225

$1.09 MX$20.14

-35.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.03 Ft 2,594

$4.47 MX$82.6

79.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 Ft 1,997

$10.53 MX$195

-41.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 Ft 401

$1.82 MX$33.71

-31.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 Ft 666

$3.09 MX$57.0

-33.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 Ft 513

$0.67 MX$12.46

137.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 Ft 1,110

$2.67 MX$49.30

28.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 Ft 431

$1.93 MX$35.58

-31.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.45 Ft 6,607

$10.95 MX$202

86.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.45 MX$26.74

33.10%

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

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

$21.5K MX$397.0K

35.62%

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

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

$24.5K MX$453.0K

41.66%

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

$175 Ft 56.4K

$58.5 MX$1,080

198.70%

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

$23.62 Ft 7,631

$22.66 MX$419

4.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.60 Ft 7,625

$29.34 MX$542

-19.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

$33.58 MX$621

105.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

$19.88 MX$367

-3.12%

Cinema Ticket

$10.31 Ft 3,333

$5.24 MX$96.8

96.76%

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

$535 Ft 172.9K

$218 MX$4,023

145.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$4,546 MX$84.0K

270.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

$55.4 MX$1,023

80.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

$41.12 MX$760

5.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 Ft 36.1K

$102 MX$1,876

10.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$90.0 MX$1,664

32.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 Ft 268.8K

$601 MX$11.1K

38.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 203.3K

$385 MX$7,114

63.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

$1,056 MX$19.5K

50.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

$758 MX$14.0K

57.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

$1,904 MX$35.2K

200.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

$1,153 MX$21.3K

242.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

11.3

-42.92%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cuauhtémoc: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.4%

Cuauhtémoc

$385 34% 38.8% $244

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$262 16%

Cuauhtémoc

$263 23.2% 0.5% $1.4

Eating Out

Budapest

$226 13.8%

Cuauhtémoc

$185 16.4% 18.1% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$222 13.5%

Cuauhtémoc

$110 9.8% 50.2% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.3%

Cuauhtémoc

$130 11.4% 22.9% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.5%

Cuauhtémoc

$44 3.9% 50.8% $45

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Cuauhtémoc

$15 * 1.3% 65.9% $29

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $832 in Budapest versus $601 in Cuauhtémoc. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Budapest versus $44.00 in Cuauhtémoc. Groceries tell a different story – $262 in Budapest vs $263 in Cuauhtémoc – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇲🇽 Cuauhtémoc

🕒 Local time

15:09 3:09 PM

07:09 7:09 AM

8 h behind Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

545,884

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Cuauhtémoc 10,360 km ≈ 13 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 Cuauhtémoc: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 45%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,461 per month in Budapest and $1,699 in Cuauhtémoc. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cuauhtémoc, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Budapest and $44.00 in Cuauhtémoc. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 1% cheaper in Budapest – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cuauhtémoc, where all-in costs run around $1,133, than in Budapest at $1,641. In Cuauhtémoc it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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