Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Mbabane

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbabane: $756 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Mbabane
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Mbabane Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Mbabane

🇸🇿 Eswatini

$756

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Mbabane

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

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $756 in Mbabane, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Mbabane $756

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $1,214 in Mbabane, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Mbabane $1,214

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $1,672 in Mbabane, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Mbabane $1,672

Budapest costs about 118% more than Mbabane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Mbabane is 44% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,407

$10.17 SZL 166

34.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.6K

$33.37 SZL 546

81.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,239

$6.02 SZL 98.5

66.45%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,075

$2.61 SZL 42.67

27.59%

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

$2.12 Ft 684

$1.11 SZL 18.21

90.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 581

$0.57 SZL 9.27

215.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,166

$2.08 SZL 34.07

73.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,160

$2.35 SZL 38.51

52.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 361

$1.52 SZL 24.94

-26.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 623

$0.85 SZL 13.90

127.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.67 SZL 27.40

49.10%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,275

$1.78 SZL 29.19

121.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,646

$10.87 SZL 178

3.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,177

$5.61 SZL 91.8

19.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,670

$5.22 SZL 85.5

176.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 601

$1.75 SZL 28.60

6.29%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 658

$0.66 SZL 10.80

209.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 740

$1.21 SZL 19.75

89.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,290

$1.41 SZL 23.04

182.98%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 304

$1.25 SZL 20.50

-24.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 330

$1.48 SZL 24.30

-31.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 534

$0.67 SZL 10.94

146.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$0.77 SZL 12.57

-11.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,526

$2.77 SZL 45.40

181.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,946

$6.13 SZL 100

-1.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 418

$1.60 SZL 26.12

-19.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 655

$1.64 SZL 26.79

23.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 484

$0.74 SZL 12.09

102.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,769

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,085

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 444

$1.43 SZL 23.38

-4.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,451

$3.09 SZL 50.6

545.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 603

$1.33 SZL 21.74

39.85%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

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

$178 Ft 57.6K

$65.2 SZL 1,067

173.22%

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

$23.58 Ft 7,623

$37.37 SZL 612

-36.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,797

$26.65 SZL 436

-9.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.5K

$22.34 SZL 366

211.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,505

$3.08 SZL 50.4

452.92%

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,388

$3.52 SZL 57.6

197.73%

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

$625 Ft 202.1K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$6,211 SZL 101.7K

216.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.0K

$34.83 SZL 570

192.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.0K

$15.14 SZL 248

186.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.5K

$69.4 SZL 1,136

58.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.0K

$54.4 SZL 890

121.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 273.3K

$267 SZL 4,371

216.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.4K

$176 SZL 2,888

261.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 520.1K

$451 SZL 7,383

256.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 393.5K

$357 SZL 5,845

240.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

$488 SZL 7,992

1037.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

$363 SZL 5,938

974.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 557.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

7.25

-12.55%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Mbabane: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Mbabane

$176 23.3% 72.4% $462

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Mbabane

$181 23.9% 30.5% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Mbabane

$129 17.1% 42.8% $97

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Mbabane

$153 20.2% 30.6% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Mbabane

$78 10.3% 53.8% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Mbabane

$29 3.9% 67.6% $61

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Mbabane

$10 * 1.3% 76.7% $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 $267 in Mbabane. 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 $33 in Mbabane. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $181 – making Mbabane the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇸🇿 Mbabane

🕒 Local time

22:35 10:35 PM

23:35 11:35 PM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

94,874 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Eswatini Lilangeni SZL L

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.76 EUR

100 SZL = 6.11 USD

100 SZL = 5.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SZL, 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 = 2.76 EUR).

Eswatini Lilangeni exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.37 SZL (100 SZL = 6.11 USD). 1 EUR = 18.38 SZL (100 SZL = 5.44 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Mbabane 8,300 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Mbabane

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 Mbabane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 118%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,471 per month in Budapest and $1,135 in Mbabane. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mbabane, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $267 there versus $845 in Budapest.

Groceries cost about 44% more in Budapest, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest and $33 in Mbabane. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Budapest has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $756 in Mbabane to $1,647 in Budapest. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.