Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Himeji

For one person, living is cheaper in Himeji: $1,283 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Budapest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Himeji
Learn more

Himeji Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Himeji

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,283

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Himeji

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

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Budapest vs $1,283 in Himeji, rent included.

Budapest $1,641
Himeji $1,283

A couple spends around $2,562 per month in Budapest vs $2,047 in Himeji, rent included.

Budapest $2,562
Himeji $2,047

A family of three spends $3,483 per month in Budapest vs $2,811 in Himeji, rent included.

Budapest $3,483
Himeji $2,811

Budapest costs about 28% more than Himeji, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Himeji is 5% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.04 Ft 4,536

$8.46 ¥1,336

65.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

$31.07 ¥4,909

96.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 Ft 3,351

$5.11 ¥807

102.94%

Cappuccino

$3.46 Ft 1,117

$2.35 ¥371

47.23%

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

$2.07 Ft 669

$1.24 ¥196

66.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 Ft 572

$0.82 ¥129

115.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 Ft 1,191

$3.20 ¥505

15.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 Ft 1,229

$3.06 ¥483

24.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 Ft 374

$1.56 ¥247

-25.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 Ft 598

$1.48 ¥233

25.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 Ft 776

$4.12 ¥650

-41.75%

Eggs

$3.99 Ft 1,289

$2.18 ¥344

83.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 Ft 3,683

$15.50 ¥2,449

-26.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.87 Ft 2,221

$6.78 ¥1,072

1.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.49 Ft 4,682

$16.88 ¥2,667

-14.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.88 Ft 607

$8.37 ¥1,323

-77.54%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 Ft 693

$2.97 ¥470

-27.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 Ft 744

$5.06 ¥799

-54.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.04 Ft 1,304

$7.86 ¥1,241

-48.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 329

$3.90 ¥617

-73.85%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$4.70 ¥743

-78.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 510

$1.12 ¥177

41.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 225

$0.89 ¥141

-21.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.03 Ft 2,594

$3.87 ¥611

107.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 Ft 1,997

$9.74 ¥1,539

-36.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 Ft 401

$2.61 ¥412

-52.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 Ft 666

$2.10 ¥332

-1.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 Ft 513

$1.44 ¥228

10.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

$53.0 ¥8,373

-48.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 Ft 1,110

$3.13 ¥494

9.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 Ft 431

$2.82 ¥446

-52.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.45 Ft 6,607

$15.45 ¥2,441

32.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.07 ¥168

80.37%

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

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

$21.5K ¥3.4M

35.48%

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

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

$15.1K ¥2.4M

130.00%

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

$175 Ft 56.4K

$118 ¥18.6K

48.44%

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

$23.62 Ft 7,631

$23.44 ¥3,704

0.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.60 Ft 7,625

$31.67 ¥5,003

-25.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

$52.6 ¥8,314

30.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

Cinema Ticket

$10.31 Ft 3,333

$11.36 ¥1,795

-9.24%

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

$535 Ft 172.9K

$564 ¥89.1K

-5.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$14.7K ¥2.3M

14.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

$49.92 ¥7,886

100.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

$35.51 ¥5,611

21.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 Ft 36.1K

$61.6 ¥9,739

81.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$99.2 ¥15.7K

19.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 Ft 268.8K

$541 ¥85.4K

53.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 203.3K

$328 ¥51.8K

91.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

$1,100 ¥173.8K

44.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

$729 ¥115.2K

64.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

$4,304 ¥680.0K

32.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

$1,725 ¥272.5K

128.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

2.02

219.31%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Himeji: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.4%

Himeji

$328 25.6% 47.9% $301

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$262 16%

Himeji

$379 29.5% 44.8% $117

Eating Out

Budapest

$226 13.8%

Himeji

$142 11% 37.5% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$222 13.5%

Himeji

$173 13.5% 22.1% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.3%

Himeji

$111 8.6% 34.1% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.5%

Himeji

$75 5.9% 15.8% $14

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Himeji

$76 5.9% 72.9% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $832 in Budapest versus $541 in Himeji. 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 $31.00 in Himeji. Groceries tell a different story – $262 in Budapest vs $379 in Himeji – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇯🇵 Himeji

🕒 Local time

02:22 2:22 AM

09:22 9:22 AM

7 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

535,571

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Himeji 8,850 km ≈ 12 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 Himeji: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 28%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,461 per month in Budapest and $1,925 in Himeji. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 93% less in Himeji. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $535 per month in Budapest and $564 in Himeji. 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 Himeji, where all-in costs run around $1,283, than in Budapest at $1,641. In Himeji it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Himeji – 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 Himeji. 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.