Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Ndola

For one person, living is cheaper in Ndola: $700 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Ndola
Learn more

Ndola Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Ndola

🇿🇲 Zambia

$700

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Ndola

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

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $700 in Ndola, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Ndola $700

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $1,694 in Ndola, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Ndola $1,694

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $2,689 in Ndola, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Ndola $2,689

Budapest costs about 135% more than Ndola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Ndola is 48% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,407

$5.51 ZMW 112

147.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.6K

$29.25 ZMW 593

107.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,239

$4.90 ZMW 99.3

104.49%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,075

$2.68 ZMW 54.4

24.25%

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

$2.12 Ft 684

$0.50 ZMW 10.16

324.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 581

$0.24 ZMW 4.84

650.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,166

$1.21 ZMW 24.46

198.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,160

$2.16 ZMW 43.71

66.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 361

$1.58 ZMW 31.94

-29.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 623

$1.17 ZMW 23.66

64.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$2.10 ZMW 42.50

18.57%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,275

$1.61 ZMW 32.58

144.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,646

$9.96 ZMW 202

13.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,177

$6.21 ZMW 126

8.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,670

$6.44 ZMW 131

124.22%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 601

$1.44 ZMW 29.29

29.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 658

$2.34 ZMW 47.50

-12.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 740

$3.19 ZMW 64.7

-28.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,290

$1.55 ZMW 31.51

157.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 304

$2.49 ZMW 50.5

-62.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 330

$1.83 ZMW 37.11

-44.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 534

$1.15 ZMW 23.31

43.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$0.56 ZMW 11.44

21.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,526

$2.88 ZMW 58.4

171.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,946

$9.94 ZMW 201

-39.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 418

$1.42 ZMW 28.88

-9.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 655

$2.23 ZMW 45.25

-9.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 484

$0.77 ZMW 15.51

94.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,769

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,085

$2.42 ZMW 48.96

38.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 444

$1.50 ZMW 30.35

-8.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,451

$5.04 ZMW 102

296.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 603

$1.32 ZMW 26.83

40.91%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$7,474 ZMW 151.5K

281.50%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$24.8K ZMW 501.8K

34.83%

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

$178 Ft 57.6K

$69.8 ZMW 1,416

155.11%

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

$23.58 Ft 7,623

$10.63 ZMW 216

121.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,797

$53.8 ZMW 1,090

-55.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.5K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,505

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,388

$6.04 ZMW 122

73.51%

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

$625 Ft 202.1K

$147 ZMW 2,986

324.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$20.3K ZMW 411.2K

-3.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.0K

$24.47 ZMW 496

316.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.0K

$17.37 ZMW 352

149.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.5K

$45.04 ZMW 913

143.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.0K

$65.7 ZMW 1,332

83.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 273.3K

$176 ZMW 3,563

380.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.4K

$149 ZMW 3,025

327.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 520.1K

$371 ZMW 7,525

333.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 393.5K

$1,483 ZMW 30.1K

-17.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 557.5K

$602 ZMW 12.2K

186.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

-78.14%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Ndola: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Ndola

$149 21.3% 76.6% $489

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Ndola

$218 31.2% 16% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Ndola

$134 19.2% 40.6% $92

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Ndola

$104 14.9% 52.6% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Ndola

$69 9.8% 59.4% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Ndola

$12 * 1.7% 86.7% $79

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Ndola

$13 * 1.9% 70.1% $30

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 $176 in Ndola. 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 2.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest versus $29 in Ndola. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $218 – making Ndola the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇿🇲 Ndola

🕒 Local time

02:26 2:26 AM

03:26 3:26 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

455,194

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.76 EUR

100 ZMW = 4.93 USD

100 ZMW = 4.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZMW, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.76 EUR).

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 20.27 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.93 USD). 1 EUR = 22.75 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.39 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Ndola 6,790 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Ndola

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 Ndola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 135%, 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 $1,050 in Ndola. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ndola, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $176 there versus $845 in Budapest.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest and $29 in Ndola. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 19% more in Budapest, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Ndola, where all-in costs run around $700, than in Budapest at $1,647. In Ndola it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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