Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and El Mahalla El Kubra

For one person, living is cheaper in El Mahalla El Kubra: $413 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in El Mahalla El Kubra
Learn more

El Mahalla El Kubra Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

El Mahalla El Kubra

🇪🇬 Egypt

$413

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in El Mahalla El Kubra

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $413 in El Mahalla El Kubra, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
El Mahalla El Kubra $413

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $675 in El Mahalla El Kubra, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
El Mahalla El Kubra $675

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $938 in El Mahalla El Kubra, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
El Mahalla El Kubra $938

Budapest costs about 292% more than El Mahalla El Kubra, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while El Mahalla El Kubra is 69% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,521

$4.20 E£225

231.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.9K

$14.02 E£749

336.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,304

$3.11 E£166

227.65%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,059

$1.29 E£69.0

152.71%

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

$2.14 Ft 693

$0.32 E£17.17

568.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 579

$0.12 E£6.34

1383.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,203

$1.31 E£70.2

183.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,222

$2.83 E£151

33.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 372

$0.88 E£46.87

30.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 580

$0.28 E£14.95

539.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 807

$0.55 E£29.40

352.73%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,266

$1.14 E£61.0

242.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,602

$2.93 E£156

278.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,147

$3.97 E£212

66.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,764

$7.43 E£397

97.71%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 594

$1.51 E£80.6

21.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 664

$0.63 E£33.91

225.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 769

$0.49 E£26.01

383.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,265

$0.35 E£18.96

1014.29%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 322

$0.26 E£13.92

280.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 323

$0.30 E£15.86

233.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 513

$0.25 E£13.30

532.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 217

$0.20 E£10.76

235.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,582

$1.87 E£100.0

325.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,017

$5.80 E£310

7.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 413

$1.20 E£64.4

5.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 657

$2.23 E£119

-8.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 492

$0.18 E£9.53

744.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,089

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,074

$0.32 E£16.96

934.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 444

$0.45 E£24.18

204.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,432

$0.92 E£49.22

2055.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 591

$0.41 E£21.83

343.90%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.7M

$32.2K E£1.7M

-7.46%

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

$33.8K Ft 11.0M

$23.5K E£1.3M

43.76%

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

$171 Ft 55.5K

$14.03 E£750

1119.67%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,627

$3.94 E£211

496.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,556

$8.64 E£462

169.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.9K

$17.43 E£932

287.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,129

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,016

$2.87 E£153

224.04%

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

$533 Ft 173.0K

$31.91 E£1,705

1571.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$2,098 E£112.1K

698.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.3K

$17.40 E£930

472.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.1K

$44.37 E£2,371

-1.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.8K

$101 E£5,371

9.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$56.6 E£3,022

110.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 269.4K

$122 E£6,526

580.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 201.7K

$77.6 E£4,147

701.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 516.9K

$268 E£14.3K

494.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 379.6K

$163 E£8,698

619.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$767 E£41.0K

660.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$350 E£18.7K

1009.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 535.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

21.33

-69.76%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for El Mahalla El Kubra: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$78 18.8% 87.5% $544

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$111 26.9% 56.9% $147

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$72 17.6% 67.5% $151

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$27 6.5% 87.8% $191

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$98 23.9% 41.2% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$23 5.6% 73.1% $63

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$3.3 * 0.8% 92.6% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $830 in Budapest versus $122 in El Mahalla El Kubra. 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 $14.00 in El Mahalla El Kubra. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $111 – making El Mahalla El Kubra the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇪🇬 El Mahalla El Kubra

🕒 Local time

22:00 10:00 PM

23:00 11:00 PM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

431,052

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.08 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 324 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 53.44 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 59.84 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Budapest El Mahalla El Kubra 2,110 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
El Mahalla El Kubra

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 El Mahalla El Kubra: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 292%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,428 per month in Budapest and $619 in El Mahalla El Kubra. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in El Mahalla El Kubra, 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 $14.00 in El Mahalla El Kubra. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 132% more in Budapest, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in El Mahalla El Kubra, where all-in costs run around $413, than in Budapest at $1,619. In El Mahalla El Kubra it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward El Mahalla El Kubra – 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 Mahalla El Kubra. 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.