Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Koh Tao

For one person, living is cheaper in Koh Tao: $1,038 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 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 Koh Tao
Learn more

Koh Tao Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Koh Tao

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,038

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Koh Tao

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $1,038 in Koh Tao, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Koh Tao $1,038

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $1,702 in Koh Tao, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Koh Tao $1,702

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $2,367 in Koh Tao, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Koh Tao $2,367

Budapest costs about 56% more than Koh Tao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Koh Tao is 23% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$3.75 ฿126

273.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$27.47 ฿920

119.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$7.44 ฿249

33.87%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$2.29 ฿76.7

47.60%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$0.74 ฿24.85

187.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.42 ฿14.14

345.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$2.11 ฿70.5

77.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$3.16 ฿106

12.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$1.56 ฿52.3

-27.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$1.31 ฿43.93

40.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$1.43 ฿47.89

67.13%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$2.08 ฿69.6

84.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$18.59 ฿623

-39.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$3.11 ฿104

116.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$10.34 ฿346

42.07%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$2.70 ฿90.5

-31.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.54 ฿51.7

30.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$2.16 ฿72.5

9.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$1.95 ฿65.2

93.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$1.43 ฿48.03

-32.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$1.26 ฿42.12

-18.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.06 ฿35.35

47.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.51 ฿17.19

29.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$4.06 ฿136

96.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$17.40 ฿583

-65.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$1.67 ฿56.0

-22.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$2.63 ฿88.0

-20.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$1.97 ฿65.9

-23.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$2.62 ฿87.6

25.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.91 ฿30.50

42.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$3.48 ฿117

468.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.29 ฿43.27

40.31%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$23.8K ฿796.9K

23.20%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$24.3K ฿813.9K

40.31%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$96.6 ฿3,235

75.87%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$11.14 ฿373

115.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$16.85 ฿564

38.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$54.6 ฿1,827

21.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$11.61 ฿389

65.20%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$7.88 ฿264

20.81%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$547 ฿18.3K

-1.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$11.4K ฿383.3K

45.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$62.7 ฿2,100

61.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$28.43 ฿952

51.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$96.2 ฿3,220

17.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$88.2 ฿2,952

34.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$535 ฿17.9K

50.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$354 ฿11.9K

77.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$1,533 ฿51.3K

1.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$897 ฿30.0K

30.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$2,660 ฿89.0K

111.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,917 ฿64.2K

106.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

5.57

15.44%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Koh Tao: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Koh Tao

$354 34% 43.7% $275

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Koh Tao

$252 24.2% 2.2% $5.7

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Koh Tao

$101 9.7% 54.8% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Koh Tao

$125 12% 42.7% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Koh Tao

$124 11.9% 26.7% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Koh Tao

$70 6.8% 17.6% $15

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Koh Tao

$15 * 1.5% 65.3% $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 $535 in Koh Tao. 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 $60.0 in Budapest versus $27.00 in Koh Tao. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $252 – making Koh Tao the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇹🇭 Koh Tao

🕒 Local time

13:20 1:20 PM

18:20 6:20 PM

5 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

1,382

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, 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).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Koh Tao 8,490 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Koh Tao

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 Koh Tao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 56%, 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 $1,557 in Koh Tao. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Koh Tao, 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 $27.00 in Koh Tao. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 2% 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 Koh Tao, where all-in costs run around $1,038, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Koh Tao it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Koh Tao – 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 Koh Tao. 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.