Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Qalyub

For one person, living is cheaper in Qalyub: $447 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Qalyub
Learn more

Qalyub Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Qalyub

🇪🇬 Egypt

$447

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Qalyub

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $447 in Qalyub, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
Qalyub $447

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $733 in Qalyub, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
Qalyub $733

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $1,018 in Qalyub, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
Qalyub $1,018

Budapest costs about 262% more than Qalyub, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while Qalyub is 67% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$4.34 E£232

221.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$18.63 E£995

228.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$4.64 E£248

119.61%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$1.25 E£66.8

160.80%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$0.32 E£17.15

568.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$0.11 E£5.96

1518.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$1.35 E£71.8

174.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$2.24 E£120

68.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$0.81 E£43.07

41.98%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$0.68 E£36.26

163.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$0.61 E£32.43

308.20%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$1.17 E£62.6

233.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$3.95 E£211

181.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$4.33 E£231

52.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$8.94 E£477

64.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$1.57 E£84.0

16.56%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$0.72 E£38.69

184.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$0.57 E£30.18

315.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$0.33 E£17.36

1081.82%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$0.26 E£13.89

280.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$0.30 E£15.95

233.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$0.25 E£13.24

532.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$0.21 E£11.22

219.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$1.89 E£101

321.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$5.82 E£311

6.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$1.20 E£63.8

5.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$2.11 E£113

-3.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$0.20 E£10.49

660.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$0.36 E£19.34

819.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$0.20 E£10.52

585.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$1.20 E£64.3

1552.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$0.42 E£22.40

333.33%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$31.7K E£1.7M

-6.11%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$26.5K E£1.4M

27.61%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$14.08 E£752

1115.34%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$6.67 E£356

252.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$13.41 E£716

73.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$16.24 E£867

315.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

$0.97 E£51.8

1847.42%

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$2.79 E£149

233.33%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$86.2 E£4,601

518.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$2,085 E£111.4K

703.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$33.01 E£1,763

201.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$45.24 E£2,416

-3.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$114 E£6,111

-3.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$56.1 E£2,993

112.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$131 E£6,973

535.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$75.3 E£4,020

726.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$255 E£13.6K

525.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$143 E£7,630

719.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$770 E£41.1K

657.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$358 E£19.1K

985.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

16.21

-60.21%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Qalyub: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Qalyub

$75 16.8% 87.9% $547

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Qalyub

$125 28% 51.5% $133

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Qalyub

$77 17.1% 65.7% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Qalyub

$34 7.6% 84.3% $184

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Qalyub

$112 25% 33.2% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Qalyub

$22 4.9% 74.7% $64

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Qalyub

$2.1 * 0.5% 95.2% $42

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 $131 in Qalyub. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Budapest versus $19.00 in Qalyub. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $125 – making Qalyub the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇪🇬 Qalyub

🕒 Local time

03:35 3:35 AM

04:35 4:35 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

109,000

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, 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).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Budapest Qalyub 2,190 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Qalyub

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 Qalyub: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 262%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,428 per month in Budapest and $671 in Qalyub. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Qalyub, 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 $19.00 in Qalyub. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 106% more in Budapest, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Qalyub, where all-in costs run around $447, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Qalyub it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Qalyub – 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 Qalyub. 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.