Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Kempton Park

For one person, living is cheaper in Kempton Park: $1,215 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Kempton Park
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Kempton Park Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Kempton Park

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,215

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Kempton Park

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

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $1,215 in Kempton Park, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Kempton Park $1,215

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $1,862 in Kempton Park, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Kempton Park $1,862

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $2,509 in Kempton Park, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Kempton Park $2,509

Budapest costs about 36% more than Kempton Park, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Kempton Park is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,419

$8.97 R 148

51.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.7K

$36.00 R 593

68.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,248

$5.85 R 96.5

71.28%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,078

$2.44 R 40.28

36.48%

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

$2.12 Ft 686

$1.03 R 16.98

105.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 583

$0.80 R 13.17

125.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,169

$2.36 R 38.97

52.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,163

$2.73 R 44.97

31.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 362

$1.36 R 22.49

-17.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.08 R 17.81

78.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 806

$1.77 R 29.10

40.68%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,278

$2.53 R 41.70

55.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,656

$8.59 R 142

31.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,183

$5.09 R 83.8

32.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,682

$8.99 R 148

60.62%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 603

$1.95 R 32.06

-4.62%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 660

$1.65 R 27.20

23.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 742

$1.79 R 29.58

27.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,294

$1.93 R 31.87

106.74%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 305

$1.64 R 27.06

-42.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 331

$1.73 R 28.52

-41.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 536

$1.23 R 20.25

34.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$1.28 R 21.06

-46.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,533

$3.19 R 52.5

144.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,952

$5.42 R 89.4

11.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 419

$1.68 R 27.64

-23.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 656

$2.31 R 38.01

-12.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 485

$1.78 R 29.39

-15.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,792

$60.6 R 998

-55.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,088

$0.29 R 4.76

1058.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 445

$0.80 R 13.20

71.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,468

$14.40 R 237

38.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 604

$1.53 R 25.17

21.57%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$35.6K R 586.6K

-19.89%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$34.7K R 572.2K

-3.87%

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

$178 Ft 57.8K

$179 R 2,956

-0.66%

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

$23.58 Ft 7,643

$38.01 R 626

-37.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,817

$37.39 R 616

-35.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.6K

$36.99 R 610

88.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,520

$11.70 R 193

45.56%

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,397

$8.64 R 142

21.30%

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

$625 Ft 202.6K

$259 R 4,275

140.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$7,750 R 127.7K

153.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.1K

$53.6 R 884

90.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.1K

$32.10 R 529

35.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.6K

$93.2 R 1,535

17.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.1K

$83.0 R 1,367

45.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 274.0K

$306 R 5,037

176.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.9K

$364 R 6,001

75.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 521.5K

$740 R 12.2K

117.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 394.5K

$733 R 12.1K

65.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

$853 R 14.1K

550.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

$761 R 12.5K

412.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 559.0K

$635 R 10.5K

171.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

11.25

-43.64%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Kempton Park: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Kempton Park

$364 30% 43% $274

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Kempton Park

$209 17.2% 19.6% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Kempton Park

$255 21% 12.8% $29

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Kempton Park

$143 11.8% 34.8% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Kempton Park

$118 9.7% 30.3% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Kempton Park

$54 4.5% 40.1% $36

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Kempton Park

$72 5.9% 66.2% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $845 in Budapest versus $306 in Kempton Park. 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 2.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest versus $36 in Kempton Park. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $209 – making Kempton Park the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇿🇦 Kempton Park

🕒 Local time

11:04 11:04 AM

12:04 12:04 PM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

💱 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 = 5.4 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 = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Budapest Kempton Park 8,240 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Kempton Park: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 36%, 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 $1,823 in Kempton Park. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kempton Park, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $306 there versus $845 in Budapest.

Public transport costs about 55% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $625 per month in Budapest and $259 in Kempton Park. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,647 in Budapest and $1,215 in Kempton Park. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Kempton Park – 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 Kempton Park. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Budapest makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.