Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Phnom Penh

For one person, living is cheaper in Phnom Penh: $1,037 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Phnom Penh
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Phnom Penh Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Phnom Penh

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$1,037

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Phnom Penh

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $1,037 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Phnom Penh $1,037

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $1,654 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Phnom Penh $1,654

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $2,271 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Phnom Penh $2,271

Budapest costs about 56% more than Phnom Penh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Phnom Penh is 23% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,555

$4.08 ៛16.5K

242.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.7K

$39.62 ៛160.5K

52.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,244

$6.91 ៛28.0K

44.14%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,102

$3.02 ៛12.2K

11.92%

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

$2.13 Ft 693

$1.87 ៛7,572

13.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 609

$0.61 ៛2,484

206.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,222

$0.98 ៛3,964

282.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,163

$2.94 ៛11.9K

21.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 369

$2.17 ៛8,802

-47.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 600

$1.61 ៛6,506

14.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$1.07 ៛4,316

123.36%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,246

$1.73 ៛7,023

121.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,689

$14.96 ៛60.6K

-24.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,194

$4.07 ៛16.5K

65.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,784

$9.25 ៛37.5K

58.81%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 598

$3.87 ៛15.7K

-52.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 654

$1.70 ៛6,879

18.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$4.30 ៛17.4K

-45.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,227

$2.13 ៛8,646

77.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 314

$1.62 ៛6,549

-40.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 335

$1.28 ៛5,172

-19.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.15 ៛4,656

35.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.77 ៛3,099

-14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,594

$1.95 ៛7,883

308.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,956

$11.20 ៛45.4K

-46.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 422

$1.03 ៛4,165

26.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 677

$1.79 ៛7,263

16.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 490

$0.47 ៛1,900

219.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,991

$9.74 ៛39.4K

183.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,075

$1.10 ៛4,455

200.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.98 ៛3,954

32.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,442

$5.15 ៛20.9K

284.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.35 ៛5,484

34.07%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.6M

$35.5K ៛143.9M

-17.47%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$43.9K ៛177.6M

-22.22%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$106 ៛431.3K

59.58%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,809

$7.39 ៛29.9K

224.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,628

$25.24 ៛102.2K

-7.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$40.80 ៛165.2K

62.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,245

$10.94 ៛44.3K

75.32%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,101

$4.97 ៛20.1K

91.55%

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

$537 Ft 174.8K

$665 ៛2.7M

-19.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$11.0K ៛44.5M

51.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$27.67 ៛112.1K

266.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$24.26 ៛98.2K

77.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$89.8 ៛363.6K

25.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.7K

$59.1 ៛239.3K

100.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.2K

$639 ៛2.6M

26.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.9K

$370 ៛1.5M

70.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.6K

$1,148 ៛4.7M

34.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 380.1K

$803 ៛3.3M

45.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$2,883 ៛11.7M

94.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,488 ៛6.0M

166.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.5K

$330 ៛1.3M

392.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

8.07

-20.32%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Phnom Penh: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Phnom Penh

$370 35.9% 41.3% $260

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Phnom Penh

$252 24.5% 2.3% $5.9

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Phnom Penh

$110 10.7% 50.8% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Phnom Penh

$139 13.5% 36% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Phnom Penh

$90 8.8% 46.6% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Phnom Penh

$51 4.9% 40.5% $35

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Phnom Penh

$18 1.7% 59.5% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $639 in Phnom Penh. 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 392% 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 $60.0 in Budapest versus $40.00 in Phnom Penh. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $252 – making Phnom Penh the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇰🇭 Phnom Penh

🕒 Local time

04:48 4:48 AM

09:48 9:48 AM

5 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

2,009,264 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 326 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4,050 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD). 1 EUR = 4,542 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Budapest Phnom Penh 8,750 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Phnom Penh

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 Phnom Penh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 56%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,432 per month in Budapest and $1,556 in Phnom Penh. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phnom Penh, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 183% less in Phnom Penh. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $537 per month in Budapest and $665 in Phnom Penh. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phnom Penh, where all-in costs run around $1,037, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Phnom Penh it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Phnom Penh – 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 Phnom Penh. 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.