Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Salekhard

For one person, living is cheaper in Salekhard: $979 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Salekhard
Learn more

Salekhard Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Salekhard

🇷🇺 Russia

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Salekhard

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

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Budapest vs $979 in Salekhard, rent included.

Budapest $1,641
Salekhard $979

A couple spends around $2,562 per month in Budapest vs $1,545 in Salekhard, rent included.

Budapest $2,562
Salekhard $1,545

A family of three spends $3,483 per month in Budapest vs $2,112 in Salekhard, rent included.

Budapest $3,483
Salekhard $2,112

Budapest costs about 68% more than Salekhard, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Salekhard is 28% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.04 Ft 4,536

$10.91 ₽911

28.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

$33.33 ₽2,782

82.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 Ft 3,351

$6.66 ₽556

55.71%

Cappuccino

$3.46 Ft 1,117

$2.37 ₽198

45.99%

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

$2.07 Ft 669

$1.26 ₽105

64.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 Ft 572

$0.55 ₽45.73

221.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 Ft 1,191

$1.57 ₽131

135.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 Ft 1,229

$3.09 ₽258

22.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 Ft 374

$1.24 ₽103

-6.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 Ft 598

$0.65 ₽54.3

184.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 Ft 776

$1.34 ₽111

79.10%

Eggs

$3.99 Ft 1,289

$1.53 ₽128

160.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 Ft 3,683

$11.90 ₽993

-4.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.87 Ft 2,221

$5.89 ₽491

16.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.49 Ft 4,682

$11.68 ₽974

24.06%

Apples (1kg)

$1.88 Ft 607

$1.69 ₽141

11.24%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 Ft 693

$1.93 ₽161

10.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 Ft 744

$1.86 ₽155

23.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.04 Ft 1,304

$2.67 ₽223

51.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 329

$0.84 ₽69.7

21.43%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$0.57 ₽47.33

73.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 510

$1.27 ₽106

24.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 225

$0.66 ₽55.3

6.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.03 Ft 2,594

$3.19 ₽266

151.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 Ft 1,997

$6.83 ₽570

-9.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 Ft 401

$1.09 ₽91.0

13.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 Ft 666

$2.18 ₽182

-5.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 Ft 513

$0.57 ₽47.16

178.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 Ft 1,110

$2.45 ₽204

40.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 Ft 431

$0.35 ₽29.28

280.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.45 Ft 6,607

$5.43 ₽453

276.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 Ft 624

$0.86 ₽71.7

124.42%

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

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

$56.6K ₽4.7M

-48.52%

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

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

$43.3K ₽3.6M

-19.82%

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

$175 Ft 56.4K

$115 ₽9,604

51.73%

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

$23.62 Ft 7,631

$7.25 ₽605

225.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.60 Ft 7,625

$9.28 ₽775

154.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

$37.71 ₽3,147

82.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

$24.93 ₽2,080

-22.74%

Cinema Ticket

$10.31 Ft 3,333

$5.93 ₽495

73.86%

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

$535 Ft 172.9K

$364 ₽30.4K

46.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$6,495 ₽542.1K

159.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

$84.7 ₽7,070

17.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

$45.49 ₽3,797

-4.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 Ft 36.1K

$112 ₽9,317

0.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$95.9 ₽8,007

24.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 Ft 268.8K

$418 ₽34.9K

98.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 203.3K

$271 ₽22.6K

132.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

$786 ₽65.6K

101.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

$515 ₽43.0K

132.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

$2,287 ₽190.9K

149.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

$1,324 ₽110.5K

198.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

21.45

-69.93%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Salekhard: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.4%

Salekhard

$271 27.7% 56.9% $358

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$262 16%

Salekhard

$212 21.6% 19.2% $50

Eating Out

Budapest

$226 13.8%

Salekhard

$157 16% 30.6% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$222 13.5%

Salekhard

$132 13.4% 40.7% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.3%

Salekhard

$152 15.5% 9.6% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.5%

Salekhard

$50 5.1% 44.6% $40

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Salekhard

$6.5 * 0.7% 85.3% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $832 in Budapest versus $418 in Salekhard. 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 $33.00 in Salekhard. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $262 vs $212 – making Salekhard the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇷🇺 Salekhard

🕒 Local time

23:24 11:24 PM

02:24 2:24 AM

3 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

54,800

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 RUB = 1.2 USD

100 RUB = 1.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 83.46 RUB (100 RUB = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 93.83 RUB (100 RUB = 1.07 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Budapest Salekhard 3,440 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Salekhard

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 Salekhard: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 68%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,461 per month in Budapest and $1,469 in Salekhard. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Salekhard, 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 $33.00 in Salekhard. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 24% 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 $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Salekhard, where all-in costs run around $979, than in Budapest at $1,641. In Salekhard it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Salekhard – 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 Salekhard. 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.