Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and El Faiyum

For one person, living is cheaper in El Faiyum: $451 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 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
22

Cost of Living Index in El Faiyum
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El Faiyum Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

El Faiyum

🇪🇬 Egypt

$451

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in El Faiyum

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $451 in El Faiyum, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
El Faiyum $451

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $716 in El Faiyum, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
El Faiyum $716

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $982 in El Faiyum, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
El Faiyum $982

Budapest costs about 260% more than El Faiyum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while El Faiyum is 66% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$2.24 E£117

524.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$13.21 E£691

356.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$3.35 E£175

197.31%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$1.23 E£64.3

174.80%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$0.28 E£14.47

660.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.09 E£4.62

1977.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$0.92 E£48.18

307.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$2.25 E£118

58.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$0.76 E£40.00

48.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$0.67 E£35.23

174.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$0.58 E£30.26

312.07%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$1.19 E£62.3

221.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$3.12 E£163

263.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$4.26 E£223

58.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$6.74 E£352

117.95%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$1.49 E£77.9

23.49%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$0.62 E£32.33

224.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$0.52 E£27.44

353.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$0.33 E£17.15

1042.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$0.24 E£12.49

300.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$0.32 E£16.96

221.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$0.27 E£14.27

477.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.20 E£10.36

230.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$1.76 E£92.1

352.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$5.81 E£304

3.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$1.25 E£65.5

4.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$2.03 E£106

2.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$0.06 E£3.06

2400.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$5.62 E£294

391.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$0.39 E£20.52

746.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.30 E£15.90

333.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$1.28 E£66.7

1445.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$0.44 E£23.27

311.36%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$32.0K E£1.7M

-8.39%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$26.9K E£1.4M

26.79%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$14.10 E£738

1105.25%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$7.04 E£368

240.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$13.45 E£703

74.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$28.17 E£1,474

135.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$2.30 E£120

313.91%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$23.39 E£1,224

2194.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$870 E£45.5K

1809.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$34.39 E£1,799

194.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$45.13 E£2,361

-4.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$131 E£6,837

-13.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$56.6 E£2,964

109.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$171 E£8,934

371.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$82.5 E£4,317

662.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$269 E£14.1K

475.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$158 E£8,281

637.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$442 E£23.1K

1170.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$233 E£12.2K

1600.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$70.3 E£3,679

2211.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

7.17%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for El Faiyum: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

El Faiyum

$83 18.5% 86.9% $547

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

El Faiyum

$114 25.6% 55.7% $144

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

El Faiyum

$53 12% 76.2% $171

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

El Faiyum

$35 7.8% 84.1% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

El Faiyum

$120 27% 29% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

El Faiyum

$33 7.4% 61.6% $53

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

El Faiyum

$7.8 1.7% 82.1% $36

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $171 in El Faiyum. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 2212% higher in Budapest, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60.0 in Budapest versus $13.00 in El Faiyum. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $114 – making El Faiyum the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇪🇬 El Faiyum

🕒 Local time

11:48 11:48 AM

12:48 12:48 PM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

306,393

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.71 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, 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).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.32 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.63 EGP (100 EGP = 1.71 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Budapest El Faiyum 2,260 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

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El Faiyum

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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 El Faiyum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 260%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,432 per month in Budapest and $676 in El Faiyum. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 391% less in El Faiyum. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $537 per month in Budapest and $23.39 in El Faiyum. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in El Faiyum, where all-in costs run around $451, than in Budapest at $1,621. In El Faiyum it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward El Faiyum – 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 El Faiyum. 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.