Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Ibb

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibb: $897 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Ibb
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Ibb Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Ibb

🇾🇪 Yemen

$897

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Ibb

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $897 in Ibb, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Ibb $897

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $1,452 in Ibb, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Ibb $1,452

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $2,008 in Ibb, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Ibb $2,008

Budapest costs about 81% more than Ibb, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Ibb is 33% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$6.26 YER 1,475

123.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$19.41 YER 4,576

210.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$8.87 YER 2,092

12.29%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 YER 484

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 YER 605

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$3.75 YER 885

-9.87%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$1.18 YER 277

80.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.48 YER 113

289.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$2.01 YER 473

-43.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$1.02 YER 240

80.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$2.08 YER 492

14.90%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$3.60 YER 850

6.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$14.13 YER 3,332

-19.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$8.44 YER 1,990

-20.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$18.96 YER 4,470

-22.52%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$3.45 YER 814

-46.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.05 YER 246

91.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$2.16 YER 509

9.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$1.73 YER 407

117.92%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$1.47 YER 346

-34.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$1.37 YER 322

-24.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$0.87 YER 205

79.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.68 YER 160

-2.94%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.52 YER 594

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 YER 424

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 YER 609

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$3.89 YER 918

104.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$2.13 YER 503

54.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$2.56 YER 604

-49.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$7.20 YER 1,698

174.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$2.07 YER 487

-12.56%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$16.8K YER 4.0M

74.72%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$34.5K YER 8.1M

-1.19%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$62.5 YER 14.7K

171.95%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$16.18 YER 3,816

48.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$29.80 YER 7,026

-21.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$6.10 YER 1,439

56.07%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$25.06 YER 5,908

2041.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$2,150 YER 507.0K

672.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$29.77 YER 7,021

240.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$121 YER 28.5K

-64.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$47.55 YER 11.2K

137.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$40.23 YER 9,486

195.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$315 YER 74.4K

155.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$251 YER 59.2K

150.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$755 YER 177.9K

105.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$635 YER 149.7K

83.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$365 YER 86.1K

345.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

11.25

-42.84%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Ibb: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Ibb

$251 28.7% 60.1% $378

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Ibb

$254 29% 1.4% $3.6

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Ibb

$128 14.6% 42.8% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Ibb

$108 12.4% 50.1% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Ibb

$107 12.2% 36.6% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Ibb

$12 * 1.4% 85.7% $73

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Ibb

$15 * 1.7% 65.6% $28

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $315 in Ibb. 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 345% 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 $19.00 in Ibb. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $254 – making Ibb the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇾🇪 Ibb

🕒 Local time

09:28 9:28 AM

10:28 10:28 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

208,844

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

YER, 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).

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 264 YER (1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Budapest Ibb 4,390 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Budapest vs Ibb: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 81%, 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 $1,346 in Ibb. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ibb, 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 $60.0 in Budapest and $19.00 in Ibb. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 1% 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 $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Ibb, where all-in costs run around $897, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Ibb it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Ibb – 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 Ibb. 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.