Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Kollam

For one person, living is cheaper in Kollam: $270 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
13

Cost of Living Index in Kollam
Learn more

Kollam Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Kollam

🇮🇳 India

$270

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Kollam

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

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $270 in Kollam, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Kollam $270

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $434 in Kollam, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Kollam $434

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $599 in Kollam, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Kollam $599

Budapest costs about 510% more than Kollam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Kollam is 80% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,419

$1.03 ₹97.7

1223.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.7K

$6.32 ₹597

859.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,248

$3.10 ₹293

223.23%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,078

$1.41 ₹133

136.17%

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

$2.12 Ft 686

$0.34 ₹31.73

523.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 583

$0.12 ₹11.53

1400.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,169

$1.28 ₹121

182.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,163

$1.89 ₹178

89.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 362

$0.61 ₹57.6

83.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 624

$0.49 ₹46.36

293.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 806

$0.50 ₹47.58

398.00%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,278

$0.85 ₹80.3

363.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,656

$3.61 ₹341

212.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,183

$2.06 ₹194

226.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,682

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 603

$1.66 ₹157

12.05%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 660

$0.60 ₹57.0

240.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 742

$0.73 ₹69.0

213.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,294

$0.38 ₹35.76

950.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 305

$0.37 ₹35.40

154.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 331

$0.39 ₹36.63

161.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 536

$0.63 ₹59.7

161.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$0.25 ₹23.36

172.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,533

$5.08 ₹480

53.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,952

$2.57 ₹243

134.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 419

$1.47 ₹139

-12.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 656

$2.72 ₹257

-25.74%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$3.53 ₹333

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 485

$0.14 ₹13.28

971.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,792

$6.96 ₹658

289.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,088

$1.43 ₹135

134.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 445

$0.33 ₹31.30

315.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,468

$2.13 ₹201

837.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 604

$1.13 ₹107

64.60%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$11.2K ₹1.1M

153.85%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$16.7K ₹1.6M

99.63%

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

$178 Ft 57.8K

$18.54 ₹1,751

861.00%

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

$23.58 Ft 7,643

$3.01 ₹284

683.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,817

$6.09 ₹575

296.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.6K

$13.74 ₹1,298

407.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,520

$10.57 ₹999

61.12%

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,397

$1.61 ₹152

550.93%

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

$625 Ft 202.6K

$21.21 ₹2,003

2847.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$2,663 ₹251.6K

637.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.1K

$16.49 ₹1,557

518.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.1K

$24.15 ₹2,281

79.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.6K

$25.43 ₹2,402

331.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.1K

$24.26 ₹2,292

397.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 274.0K

$83.0 ₹7,836

919.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.9K

$48.18 ₹4,551

1224.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 521.5K

$184 ₹17.4K

775.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 394.5K

$116 ₹11.0K

946.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

$865 ₹81.7K

542.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

$455 ₹43.0K

756.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 559.0K

$520 ₹49.1K

231.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

9.13

-30.56%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Kollam: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Kollam

$48 17.8% 92.5% $590

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Kollam

$80 29.5% 69.4% $180

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Kollam

$28 10.2% 87.8% $198

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Kollam

$47 17.2% 78.8% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Kollam

$41 15.1% 76% $129

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Kollam

$17 6.3% 81.3% $74

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Kollam

$11 3.9% 75.5% $33

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $845 in Budapest versus $83 in Kollam. 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 3.3 times higher, 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 $61 in Budapest versus $6 in Kollam. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $80 – making Kollam the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇮🇳 Kollam

🕒 Local time

13:05 1:05 PM

17:35 5:35 PM

4 h 30 min ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

367,107

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.59 USD

1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, 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).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 94.47 INR (100 INR = 1.06 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Budapest Kollam 6,880 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

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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 Kollam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 510%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,471 per month in Budapest and $405 in Kollam. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kollam, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $83 there versus $845 in Budapest.

Public transport costs about 74% less in Kollam. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $625 per month in Budapest and $21 in Kollam. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Kollam, where all-in costs run around $270, than in Budapest at $1,647. In Kollam it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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