Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Jeffreys Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in Jeffreys Bay: $1,045 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Jeffreys Bay
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Jeffreys Bay Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Jeffreys Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,045

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Jeffreys Bay

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

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $1,045 in Jeffreys Bay, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Jeffreys Bay $1,045

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $1,628 in Jeffreys Bay, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Jeffreys Bay $1,628

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $2,212 in Jeffreys Bay, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Jeffreys Bay $2,212

Budapest costs about 58% more than Jeffreys Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Jeffreys Bay is 23% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,419

$9.25 R 152

47.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.7K

$27.34 R 450

121.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,248

$5.83 R 96.0

71.87%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,078

$1.82 R 30.03

82.97%

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

$2.12 Ft 686

$0.77 R 12.71

175.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 583

$0.69 R 11.32

160.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,169

$1.98 R 32.56

82.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,163

$1.97 R 32.49

82.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 362

$1.17 R 19.33

-4.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.05 R 17.27

83.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 806

$1.43 R 23.53

74.13%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,278

$2.79 R 46.02

41.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,656

$6.59 R 109

71.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,183

$5.01 R 82.6

34.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,682

$7.31 R 121

97.54%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 603

$2.10 R 34.53

-11.43%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 660

$1.47 R 24.21

38.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 742

$1.62 R 26.62

41.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,294

$1.72 R 28.34

131.98%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 305

$1.66 R 27.41

-43.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 331

$1.18 R 19.46

-13.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 536

$1.22 R 20.12

35.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$0.97 R 16.01

-29.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,533

$3.31 R 54.5

135.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,952

$3.85 R 63.5

56.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 419

$1.27 R 20.99

1.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 656

$1.79 R 29.52

12.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 485

$1.66 R 27.33

-9.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,792

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,088

$0.85 R 13.97

295.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 445

$0.49 R 8.09

179.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,468

$8.37 R 138

138.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 604

$1.41 R 23.24

31.91%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$21.4K R 352.4K

33.33%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$17.3K R 284.5K

93.37%

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

$178 Ft 57.8K

$122 R 2,015

45.74%

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

$23.58 Ft 7,643

$33.96 R 560

-30.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,817

$45.43 R 749

-46.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.6K

$32.31 R 532

115.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,520

$6.06 R 99.9

181.02%

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,397

$3.02 R 49.83

247.02%

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

$625 Ft 202.6K

$138 R 2,276

352.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$6,195 R 102.1K

217.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.1K

$71.3 R 1,175

43.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.1K

$39.75 R 655

9.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.6K

$110 R 1,814

-0.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.1K

$98.1 R 1,616

23.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 274.0K

$426 R 7,019

98.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.9K

$336 R 5,545

89.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 521.5K

$720 R 11.9K

123.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 394.5K

$718 R 11.8K

69.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

$678 R 11.2K

718.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

$673 R 11.1K

479.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 559.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

11.94

-46.90%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Jeffreys Bay: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Jeffreys Bay

$336 32.2% 47.3% $302

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Jeffreys Bay

$182 17.4% 30% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Jeffreys Bay

$202 19.3% 10.7% $24

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Jeffreys Bay

$133 12.7% 39.5% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Jeffreys Bay

$144 13.8% 15.1% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Jeffreys Bay

$38 3.7% 57.7% $52

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Jeffreys Bay

$9.9 * 1% 77.1% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $845 in Budapest versus $426 in Jeffreys Bay. 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 in Budapest versus $27 in Jeffreys Bay. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $182 – making Jeffreys Bay the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇿🇦 Jeffreys Bay

🕒 Local time

06:08 6:08 AM

07:08 7:08 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

27,107

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 324 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 364 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Jeffreys Bay 9,090 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Jeffreys Bay

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 Jeffreys Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 58%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,471 per month in Budapest and $1,567 in Jeffreys Bay. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Jeffreys Bay, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $426 there versus $845 in Budapest.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest and $27 in Jeffreys Bay. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 43% more in Budapest, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Jeffreys Bay, where all-in costs run around $1,045, than in Budapest at $1,647. In Jeffreys Bay it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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