Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Jeddah

For one person, living is cheaper in Jeddah: $1,360 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Jeddah
Learn more

Jeddah Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Jeddah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,360

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Jeddah

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $1,360 in Jeddah, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Jeddah $1,360

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $2,168 in Jeddah, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Jeddah $2,168

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $2,975 in Jeddah, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Jeddah $2,975

Budapest costs about 19% more than Jeddah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Budapest and Jeddah sit above the global median – Budapest by 21%, Jeddah by 2%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$6.04 SAR 22.68

131.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$79.8 SAR 300

-24.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$8.75 SAR 32.85

13.83%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.43 SAR 9.11

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 SAR 9.88

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$3.77 SAR 14.16

-10.34%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$0.97 SAR 3.65

119.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.24 SAR 0.90

679.17%

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

$1.67 SAR 6.28

-32.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$1.33 SAR 4.99

38.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$2.37 SAR 8.89

0.84%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$2.48 SAR 9.31

54.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$6.36 SAR 23.89

78.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$8.00 SAR 30.02

-15.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$13.31 SAR 49.98

10.37%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$2.10 SAR 7.90

-12.38%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.77 SAR 6.63

13.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.54 SAR 5.80

53.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$1.69 SAR 6.36

123.08%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$1.13 SAR 4.26

-15.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$1.29 SAR 4.85

-20.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.12 SAR 4.22

39.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.50 SAR 1.87

32.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.23 SAR 15.90

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 SAR 6.92

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 SAR 9.70

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$6.86 SAR 25.77

16.03%

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

$0.89 SAR 3.35

68.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$55.5 SAR 208

-50.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$3.11 SAR 11.69

6.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$1.77 SAR 6.65

-26.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$14.12 SAR 53.0

40.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$0.59 SAR 2.21

206.78%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$47.7K SAR 179.0K

-38.47%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$21.4K SAR 80.4K

59.25%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$90.3 SAR 339

88.15%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$39.04 SAR 147

-38.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$67.9 SAR 255

-65.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$79.6 SAR 299

-16.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$38.23 SAR 144

-49.83%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$12.04 SAR 45.22

-20.93%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$757 SAR 2,841

-29.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$16.3K SAR 61.1K

2.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$73.8 SAR 277

37.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$56.0 SAR 210

-23.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$101 SAR 380

11.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$94.3 SAR 354

25.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$790 SAR 2,966

1.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$535 SAR 2,009

17.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$1,418 SAR 5,323

9.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$817 SAR 3,070

42.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$1,777 SAR 6,673

216.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,143 SAR 4,291

247.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$1,646 SAR 6,180

-1.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

5.39

19.29%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Jeddah: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Jeddah

$535 38.8% 15% $94

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Jeddah

$201 14.6% 22.1% $57

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Jeddah

$125 9% 44.4% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Jeddah

$197 14.3% 9.2% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Jeddah

$146 10.6% 13.4% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Jeddah

$104 7.5% 21.6% $18

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Jeddah

$71 5.2% 63.5% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $790 in Jeddah. 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 1% higher in Jeddah, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60.0 in Budapest versus $80.0 in Jeddah. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Budapest vs $201 in Jeddah – so Jeddah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇸🇦 Jeddah

🕒 Local time

09:01 9:01 AM

10:01 10:01 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

3,430,697

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, 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).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Budapest Jeddah 3,400 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Jeddah

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 Jeddah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 19%, 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 $2,040 in Jeddah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 101% less in Jeddah. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $537 per month in Budapest and $757 in Jeddah. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Jeddah, where all-in costs run around $1,360, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Jeddah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Jeddah – 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 Jeddah. 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.