Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Maseru

For one person, living is cheaper in Maseru: $667 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Maseru
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Maseru Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Maseru

🇱🇸 Lesotho

$667

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Maseru

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

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $667 in Maseru, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Maseru $667

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $1,121 in Maseru, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Maseru $1,121

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $1,575 in Maseru, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Maseru $1,575

Budapest costs about 147% more than Maseru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Maseru is 51% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,407

$8.99 LSL 149

51.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.6K

$24.12 LSL 401

151.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,239

$8.50 LSL 141

17.88%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,075

$1.95 LSL 32.48

70.77%

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

$2.12 Ft 684

$1.08 LSL 17.99

96.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 581

$0.82 LSL 13.62

119.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,166

$1.83 LSL 30.40

97.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,160

$2.47 LSL 41.05

45.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 361

$1.18 LSL 19.56

-5.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 623

$0.85 LSL 14.14

127.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.82 LSL 30.32

36.81%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,275

$1.49 LSL 24.83

164.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,646

$6.73 LSL 112

67.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,177

$6.16 LSL 102

9.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,670

$6.10 LSL 101

136.72%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 601

$1.89 LSL 31.47

-1.59%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 658

$2.27 LSL 37.70

-10.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 740

$2.79 LSL 46.34

-17.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,290

$2.45 LSL 40.73

62.86%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 304

$1.60 LSL 26.57

-41.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 330

$1.66 LSL 27.54

-38.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 534

$1.52 LSL 25.32

8.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$0.77 LSL 12.76

-11.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,526

$4.97 LSL 82.6

57.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,946

$7.42 LSL 123

-18.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 418

$1.03 LSL 17.07

25.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 655

$1.47 LSL 24.35

37.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 484

$0.80 LSL 13.29

87.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,769

$29.49 LSL 490

-8.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,085

$0.74 LSL 12.32

354.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 444

$0.64 LSL 10.56

114.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,451

$3.58 LSL 59.6

457.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 603

$1.35 LSL 22.38

37.78%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$21.1K LSL 350.3K

35.30%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$16.4K LSL 272.1K

103.89%

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

$178 Ft 57.6K

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

$23.58 Ft 7,623

$14.22 LSL 236

65.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,797

$38.93 LSL 647

-38.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.5K

$23.21 LSL 386

200.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,505

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,388

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

$625 Ft 202.1K

$51.4 LSL 854

1117.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$1,161 LSL 19.3K

1592.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.0K

$47.03 LSL 782

116.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.0K

$54.7 LSL 909

-20.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.5K

$102 LSL 1,703

7.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.0K

$152 LSL 2,532

-20.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 273.3K

$94.2 LSL 1,566

797.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.4K

$55.1 LSL 916

1057.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 520.1K

$428 LSL 7,120

275.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 393.5K

$171 LSL 2,838

612.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

$389 LSL 6,471

1326.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

$523 LSL 8,690

645.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 557.5K

$625 LSL 10.4K

176.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

8.5

-25.41%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Maseru: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Maseru

$55 8.3% 91.4% $583

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Maseru

$196 29.3% 24.7% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Maseru

$53 * 8% 76.5% $173

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Maseru

$143 21.4% 35.2% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Maseru

$160 24.1% 5.2% $8.7

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Maseru

$23 * 3.5% 74.4% $67

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Maseru

$37 5.5% 15.5% $6.7

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 $94 in Maseru. 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 2.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest versus $24 in Maseru. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $196 – making Maseru the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇱🇸 Maseru

🕒 Local time

18:38 6:38 PM

19:38 7:38 PM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

227,880 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Lesotho Loti LSL L

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 LSL = 6.02 USD

100 LSL = 5.35 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LSL, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Lesotho Loti exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.62 LSL (100 LSL = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.68 LSL (100 LSL = 5.35 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Budapest Maseru 8,580 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
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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 Maseru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 147%, 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 $1,000 in Maseru. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Maseru, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $94 there versus $845 in Budapest.

Public transport costs about 8% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $625 per month in Budapest and $51 in Maseru. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Maseru, where all-in costs run around $667, than in Budapest at $1,647. In Maseru it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Maseru. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Budapest makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.