Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and San Juan

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $749 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 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
36

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

San Juan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$749

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in San Juan

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $749 in San Juan, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
San Juan $749

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $1,101 in San Juan, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
San Juan $1,101

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $1,452 in San Juan, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
San Juan $1,452

Budapest costs about 116% more than San Juan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while San Juan is 45% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$4.05 ₱255

244.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$16.88 ₱1,063

262.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$2.82 ₱177

261.35%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$2.76 ₱174

18.12%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$0.66 ₱41.30

224.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$0.31 ₱19.48

474.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$1.07 ₱67.2

246.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$1.56 ₱98.5

141.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.69 ₱107

-31.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$1.12 ₱70.5

59.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$0.84 ₱52.7

196.43%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$1.82 ₱114

114.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$5.24 ₱330

111.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$3.46 ₱218

91.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$7.21 ₱454

103.74%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$2.32 ₱146

-21.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$1.36 ₱85.9

50.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$2.33 ₱147

1.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$1.06 ₱66.8

267.92%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$1.69 ₱107

-41.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$1.74 ₱109

-42.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$0.67 ₱42.17

135.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$0.97 ₱61.3

-30.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$2.71 ₱171

193.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$7.79 ₱490

-20.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$0.92 ₱58.0

38.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$1.84 ₱116

10.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$0.26 ₱16.26

484.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

$12.14 ₱764

130.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$0.79 ₱49.71

318.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$0.23 ₱14.52

495.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$1.95 ₱123

916.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$1.24 ₱77.8

46.77%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$21.0K ₱1.3M

42.06%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$19.0K ₱1.2M

78.32%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$141 ₱8,877

21.37%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$14.25 ₱897

64.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$24.38 ₱1,535

-4.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$30.07 ₱1,893

124.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

$4.41 ₱278

328.34%

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$5.07 ₱319

83.43%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$74.3 ₱4,677

617.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$2,556 ₱160.9K

555.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$29.32 ₱1,846

239.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$19.71 ₱1,241

120.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$72.1 ₱4,539

53.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$56.8 ₱3,573

109.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$303 ₱19.1K

173.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$173 ₱10.9K

258.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$515 ₱32.4K

209.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$302 ₱19.0K

288.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$2,681 ₱168.8K

117.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$1,115 ₱70.2K

248.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

$243 ₱15.3K

578.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

6.75

-4.44%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for San Juan: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

San Juan

$173 23.1% 72.1% $449

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

San Juan

$175 23.3% 32.3% $83

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

San Juan

$86 11.5% 61.3% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

San Juan

$180 24% 17.6% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

San Juan

$80 10.7% 52.2% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

San Juan

$40 5.4% 53.3% $46

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

San Juan

$15 2% 65.8% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $830 in Budapest versus $303 in San Juan. 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 578% 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 $17.00 in San Juan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $175 – making San Juan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇵🇭 San Juan

🕒 Local time

22:06 10:06 PM

04:06 4:06 AM

6 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

126,347

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

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).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Budapest San Juan 9,690 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
San Juan

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 San Juan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 116%, 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 $1,124 in San Juan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 131% less in San Juan. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $533 per month in Budapest and $74.3 in San Juan. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in San Juan, where all-in costs run around $749, than in Budapest at $1,619. In San Juan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward San Juan – 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 San Juan. 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.