Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Piedras Negras

For one person, living is cheaper in Piedras Negras: $1,137 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Piedras Negras
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Piedras Negras Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Piedras Negras

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,137

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Piedras Negras

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $1,137 in Piedras Negras, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
Piedras Negras $1,137

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $1,838 in Piedras Negras, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
Piedras Negras $1,838

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $2,539 in Piedras Negras, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
Piedras Negras $2,539

Budapest costs about 42% more than Piedras Negras, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while Piedras Negras is 16% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$11.12 MX$205

25.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$44.57 MX$824

37.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$8.45 MX$156

20.59%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$3.63 MX$67.1

-10.19%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$1.42 MX$26.26

50.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$1.00 MX$18.50

78.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$2.53 MX$46.72

46.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$4.05 MX$74.9

-6.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.66 MX$30.69

-30.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$2.53 MX$46.83

-29.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.71 MX$31.52

45.61%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$2.45 MX$45.35

59.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$8.36 MX$155

32.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$8.11 MX$150

-18.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$11.28 MX$209

30.23%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$2.76 MX$51.1

-33.70%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$1.59 MX$29.34

28.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$1.88 MX$34.68

26.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$1.82 MX$33.67

114.29%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$1.99 MX$36.84

-50.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$1.80 MX$33.24

-44.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$1.48 MX$27.36

6.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$1.08 MX$19.96

-37.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$4.50 MX$83.1

76.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$10.60 MX$196

-41.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$1.81 MX$33.37

-29.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$3.12 MX$57.7

-34.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$0.68 MX$12.55

123.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$2.66 MX$49.22

24.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$2.25 MX$41.56

-39.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$11.14 MX$206

78.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$1.33 MX$24.65

36.84%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$20.8K MX$385.2K

42.96%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$24.0K MX$443.9K

40.74%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$49.75 MX$919

243.96%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$22.89 MX$423

2.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$29.83 MX$551

-21.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$34.41 MX$636

96.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

$20.06 MX$371

-5.83%

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$5.31 MX$98.0

75.14%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$221 MX$4,089

141.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$4,069 MX$75.2K

311.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$55.1 MX$1,018

80.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$40.69 MX$752

6.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$100 MX$1,854

10.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$90.7 MX$1,675

31.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$596 MX$11.0K

39.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$393 MX$7,263

58.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$1,039 MX$19.2K

53.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$776 MX$14.3K

50.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$1,876 MX$34.7K

210.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$1,173 MX$21.7K

231.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

$1,618 MX$29.9K

2.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

11.3

-42.92%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Piedras Negras: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Piedras Negras

$393 34.6% 36.8% $229

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Piedras Negras

$263 23.1% 2% $5.1

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Piedras Negras

$188 16.6% 15.6% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Piedras Negras

$102 9% 53% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Piedras Negras

$129 11.3% 23% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Piedras Negras

$45 4% 47.7% $41

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Piedras Negras

$17 * 1.5% 62.4% $28

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 $596 in Piedras Negras. 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 2% 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 $45.00 in Piedras Negras. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Budapest vs $263 in Piedras Negras – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇲🇽 Piedras Negras

🕒 Local time

06:57 6:57 AM

23:57 11:57 PM

7 h behind Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

173,959

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Piedras Negras 9,610 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Piedras Negras

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 Piedras Negras: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 42%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,428 per month in Budapest and $1,706 in Piedras Negras. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Piedras Negras, 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 $45.00 in Piedras Negras. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 2% cheaper in Budapest – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Piedras Negras, where all-in costs run around $1,137, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Piedras Negras it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Piedras Negras – 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 Piedras Negras. 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.