Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Gaborone

For one person, living is cheaper in Gaborone: $838 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Gaborone
Learn more

Gaborone Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Gaborone

🇧🇼 Botswana

$838

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Gaborone

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

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $838 in Gaborone, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Gaborone $838

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $1,292 in Gaborone, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Gaborone $1,292

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $1,747 in Gaborone, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Gaborone $1,747

Budapest costs about 97% more than Gaborone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Gaborone is 38% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,407

$11.00 P 147

23.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.6K

$28.59 P 381

112.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,239

$5.75 P 76.7

74.26%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,075

$2.26 P 30.17

47.35%

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

$2.12 Ft 684

$0.73 P 9.78

190.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 581

$0.43 P 5.77

318.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,166

$2.04 P 27.19

76.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,160

$2.59 P 34.48

38.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 361

$1.48 P 19.68

-24.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 623

$0.84 P 11.25

129.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.80 P 23.95

38.33%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,275

$2.45 P 32.60

60.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,646

$6.48 P 86.4

74.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,177

$4.41 P 58.7

52.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,670

$5.01 P 66.8

188.22%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 601

$1.65 P 22.06

12.73%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 658

$1.46 P 19.43

39.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 740

$2.00 P 26.64

14.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,290

$1.60 P 21.32

149.38%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 304

$1.35 P 17.99

-30.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 330

$1.21 P 16.06

-15.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 534

$1.29 P 17.13

27.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$0.88 P 11.79

-22.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,526

$3.72 P 49.63

109.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,946

$4.22 P 56.2

42.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 418

$1.45 P 19.33

-11.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 655

$1.72 P 22.93

17.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 484

$0.66 P 8.81

127.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,769

$29.63 P 395

-8.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,085

$0.63 P 8.41

433.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 444

$2.51 P 33.43

-45.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,451

$2.91 P 38.84

585.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 603

$1.37 P 18.24

35.77%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$30.5K P 406.1K

-6.42%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$20.0K P 267.0K

66.61%

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

$178 Ft 57.6K

$59.4 P 792

199.90%

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

$23.58 Ft 7,623

$14.85 P 198

58.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,797

$44.18 P 589

-45.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.5K

$33.18 P 442

109.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,505

$16.15 P 215

5.45%

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,388

$6.18 P 82.4

69.58%

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

$625 Ft 202.1K

$126 P 1,675

397.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$5,136 P 68.5K

282.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.0K

$47.50 P 633

114.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.0K

$16.63 P 222

161.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.5K

$73.2 P 976

50.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.0K

$77.9 P 1,038

54.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 273.3K

$352 P 4,696

139.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.4K

$208 P 2,775

206.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 520.1K

$540 P 7,201

197.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 393.5K

$347 P 4,625

250.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

$2,042 P 27.2K

172.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

$1,251 P 16.7K

211.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 557.5K

$453 P 6,042

280.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

11.33

-44.04%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Gaborone: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Gaborone

$208 24.8% 67.4% $430

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Gaborone

$171 20.4% 34.2% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Gaborone

$118 14.1% 47.6% $107

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Gaborone

$152 18.2% 30.7% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Gaborone

$97 11.6% 42.7% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Gaborone

$46 5.4% 49.7% $45

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Gaborone

$45 5.4% 4.9% $2.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $845 in Budapest versus $352 in Gaborone. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Budapest are about 3.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest versus $29 in Gaborone. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $171 – making Gaborone the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇧🇼 Gaborone

🕒 Local time

21:56 9:56 PM

22:56 10:56 PM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

231,626 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Botswana Pula BWP P

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.76 EUR

100 BWP = 7.5 USD

100 BWP = 6.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BWP, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.76 EUR).

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 13.33 BWP (100 BWP = 7.5 USD). 1 EUR = 14.96 BWP (100 BWP = 6.68 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Budapest Gaborone 8,050 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Gaborone

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 Gaborone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 97%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,471 per month in Budapest and $1,257 in Gaborone. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Gaborone, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $352 there versus $845 in Budapest.

Public transport costs about 8% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $625 per month in Budapest and $126 in Gaborone. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Gaborone, where all-in costs run around $838, than in Budapest at $1,647. In Gaborone it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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