Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Paramaribo

For one person, living is cheaper in Paramaribo: $1,002 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Paramaribo
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Paramaribo Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Paramaribo

🇸🇷 Suriname

$1,002

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Paramaribo

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $1,002 in Paramaribo, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
Paramaribo $1,002

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $1,659 in Paramaribo, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
Paramaribo $1,659

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $2,316 in Paramaribo, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
Paramaribo $2,316

Budapest costs about 62% more than Paramaribo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while Paramaribo is 26% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$13.42 SRD 506

3.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$52.8 SRD 1,989

15.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$10.82 SRD 408

-5.82%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$2.86 SRD 108

13.99%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$1.41 SRD 53.3

51.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$0.88 SRD 32.98

102.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$2.66 SRD 100

39.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$3.87 SRD 146

-2.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.75 SRD 65.8

-34.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$1.41 SRD 53.1

26.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.65 SRD 62.3

50.91%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$3.12 SRD 118

25.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$11.77 SRD 444

-5.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$6.13 SRD 231

7.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$10.24 SRD 386

43.46%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$4.78 SRD 180

-61.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$3.01 SRD 113

-31.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$3.67 SRD 138

-35.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$6.01 SRD 226

-35.11%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$1.32 SRD 49.65

-25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$1.99 SRD 74.9

-49.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$1.53 SRD 57.7

3.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$1.44 SRD 54.1

-53.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$5.66 SRD 213

40.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$8.07 SRD 304

-22.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$2.09 SRD 78.8

-39.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$3.78 SRD 142

-46.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$0.78 SRD 29.23

94.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$2.15 SRD 81.0

53.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$1.54 SRD 58.0

-11.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$7.19 SRD 271

175.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$1.19 SRD 44.76

52.94%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$25.5K SRD 959.6K

16.97%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$25.3K SRD 952.9K

33.66%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$37.49 SRD 1,412

356.44%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$25.86 SRD 974

-9.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$30.23 SRD 1,139

-22.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$13.51 SRD 509

399.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

$20.20 SRD 761

-6.49%

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$5.15 SRD 194

80.58%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$63.1 SRD 2,378

744.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$1,777 SRD 66.9K

843.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$33.60 SRD 1,266

196.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$20.88 SRD 787

108.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$68.3 SRD 2,571

61.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$103 SRD 3,873

15.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$480 SRD 18.1K

72.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$266 SRD 10.0K

133.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$939 SRD 35.4K

69.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$499 SRD 18.8K

134.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$461 SRD 17.3K

1166.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$396 SRD 14.9K

882.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

$282 SRD 10.6K

485.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

-59.69%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Paramaribo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Paramaribo

$266 26.6% 57.2% $356

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Paramaribo

$300 29.9% 16.1% $42

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Paramaribo

$204 20.4% 8.3% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Paramaribo

$94 9.3% 57.1% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Paramaribo

$102 10.1% 39.4% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Paramaribo

$24 2.4% 72.4% $62

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Paramaribo

$13 * 1.3% 70.7% $31

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $830 in Budapest versus $480 in Paramaribo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 485% higher in Budapest, 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 $61.0 in Budapest versus $53.0 in Paramaribo. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Budapest vs $300 in Paramaribo – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇸🇷 Paramaribo

🕒 Local time

22:40 10:40 PM

17:40 5:40 PM

5 h behind Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

242,946 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Surinamese Dollar SRD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 SRD = 2.65 USD

100 SRD = 2.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SRD, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Surinamese Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 37.67 SRD (100 SRD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 42.35 SRD (100 SRD = 2.36 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Paramaribo 8,350 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Paramaribo

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 Paramaribo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 62%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,428 per month in Budapest and $1,503 in Paramaribo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Paramaribo, 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 $61.0 in Budapest and $53.0 in Paramaribo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 16% cheaper in Budapest – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Paramaribo, where all-in costs run around $1,002, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Paramaribo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Paramaribo – 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 Paramaribo. 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.