Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Poipet

For one person, living is cheaper in Poipet: $514 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Budapest
🇭🇺 Hungary
$1,619
/mo nomad
Poipet
🇰🇭 Cambodia
$514
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Poipet

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $514 in Poipet, rent included.

  • Budapest $1,619
  • Poipet $514

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $808 in Poipet, rent included.

  • Budapest $2,524
  • Poipet $808

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $1,102 in Poipet, rent included.

  • Budapest $3,429
  • Poipet $1,102

Budapest costs about 215% more than Poipet, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while Poipet is 62% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Budapest
Poipet
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$13.94 Ft 4,503
$2.44 ៛9,901
471.31%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$61.2 Ft 19.8K
$20.36 ៛82.7K
200.69%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.19 Ft 3,291
$5.92 ៛24.0K
72.13%
Cappuccino
$3.26 Ft 1,055
$1.62 ៛6,593
101.23%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.14 Ft 690
$0.66 ៛2,687
224.24%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.78 Ft 577
$0.46 ៛1,854
286.96%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.71 Ft 1,198
$1.03 ៛4,178
260.19%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.77 Ft 1,217
$1.99 ៛8,078
89.45%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Budapest
Poipet
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.15 Ft 371
$2.20 ៛8,947
-47.73%
White Bread (500g)
$1.79 Ft 578
$1.69 ៛6,880
5.92%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.49 Ft 804
$0.95 ៛3,842
162.11%
Eggs
$3.90 Ft 1,261
$1.69 ៛6,849
130.77%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$11.10 Ft 3,587
$15.61 ៛63.4K
-28.89%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.62 Ft 2,139
$2.90 ៛11.8K
128.28%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$14.69 Ft 4,745
$10.22 ៛41.5K
43.74%
Apples (1kg)
$1.83 Ft 591
$4.19 ៛17.0K
-56.32%
Banana (1kg)
$2.05 Ft 661
$1.21 ៛4,929
69.42%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.37 Ft 765
$3.72 ៛15.1K
-36.29%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.90 Ft 1,260
$1.10 ៛4,465
254.55%
Potato (1kg)
$0.99 Ft 320
$1.33 ៛5,388
-25.56%
Onion (1kg)
$1.00 Ft 322
$1.07 ៛4,365
-6.54%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.58 Ft 511
$1.37 ៛5,549
15.33%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.67 Ft 216
$0.76 ៛3,070
-11.84%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$7.96 Ft 2,572
$1.35 ៛5,500
489.63%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.22 Ft 2,009
$7.69 ៛31.2K
-19.12%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.27 Ft 411
$1.04 ៛4,204
22.12%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.03 Ft 654
$2.23 ៛9,064
-8.97%
🚌 Getting Around
Budapest
Poipet
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.52 Ft 490
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$28.02 Ft 9,053
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.31 Ft 1,070
$1.97 ៛8,012
68.02%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.37 Ft 442
$1.02 ៛4,139
34.31%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$19.83 Ft 6,406
$5.10 ៛20.7K
288.82%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.82 Ft 589
$1.25 ៛5,086
45.60%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$29.8K Ft 9.6M
$25.0K ៛101.6M
19.09%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$33.8K Ft 10.9M
$22.6K ៛92.0M
49.31%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Budapest
Poipet
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$171 Ft 55.3K
$101 ៛410.4K
69.34%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.51 Ft 7,596
$5.74 ៛23.3K
309.58%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$23.29 Ft 7,526
$15.57 ៛63.2K
49.58%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Budapest
Poipet
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$67.5 Ft 21.8K
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.89 Ft 6,104
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$9.30 Ft 3,004
$4.98 ៛20.2K
86.75%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Budapest
Poipet
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$533 Ft 172.3K
$284 ៛1.2M
87.55%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$16.8K Ft 5.4M
$4,389 ៛17.8M
281.79%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Budapest
Poipet
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$99.6 Ft 32.2K
$26.59 ៛108.0K
274.61%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$43.49 Ft 14.0K
$13.15 ៛53.4K
230.72%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$110 Ft 35.7K
$68.6 ៛278.7K
60.83%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$119 Ft 38.4K
$44.16 ៛179.4K
169.41%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Budapest
Poipet
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$830 Ft 268.3K
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$622 Ft 200.9K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,594 Ft 514.9K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,170 Ft 378.1K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$5,832 Ft 1.9M
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,889 Ft 1.3M
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Budapest
Poipet
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,651 Ft 533.4K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
6.45
9.2
-29.89%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Poipet: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Budapest
$622
Poipet
- * 100%
Groceries & Markets
Budapest
$258
Poipet
$236 8.6% $22
Eating Out
Budapest
$223
Poipet
$70 68.5% $153
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Budapest
$218
Poipet
$122 43.9% $96
Clothing & Footwear
Budapest
$168
Poipet
$69 59% $99
Sport & Entertainment
Budapest
$86
Poipet
$10 * 88.4% $76
Getting Around
Budapest
$44
Poipet
$7.1 * 84% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Budapest versus $20.00 in Poipet. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $236 – making Poipet the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇭🇺 Budapest
🇰🇭 Poipet
🕒 Local time
20:44 8:44 PM
01:44 1:44 AM
5 h ahead of Budapest
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,686,222 Capital
98,934
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4,062 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD). 1 EUR = 4,567 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Budapest Poipet 8,410 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Budapest
  • Poipet

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 Poipet: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Poipet cheaper than Budapest?
Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 215%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,428 per month in Budapest and $771 in Poipet. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Is eating out cheaper in Budapest or in Poipet?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Budapest and $20.00 in Poipet. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
How do food prices compare in Budapest and in Poipet?
Groceries cost about 9% more in Budapest, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Budapest or in Poipet?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Poipet, where all-in costs run around $514, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Poipet it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Budapest or Poipet more family-friendly?
Families tend to lean toward Poipet – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.
Which city is safer, Budapest or Poipet?
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.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Poipet. 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.

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