Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Sanaa

For one person, living is cheaper in Sanaa: $1,040 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Sanaa
Learn more

Sanaa Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Sanaa

🇾🇪 Yemen

$1,040

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Sanaa

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $1,040 in Sanaa, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Sanaa $1,040

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $1,608 in Sanaa, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Sanaa $1,608

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $2,175 in Sanaa, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Sanaa $2,175

Budapest costs about 56% more than Sanaa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Sanaa is 22% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$6.46 YER 1,524

116.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$25.31 YER 5,969

138.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$9.75 YER 2,300

2.15%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.96 YER 462

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 YER 611

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$3.82 YER 900

-11.52%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$1.17 YER 277

82.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.60 YER 141

211.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$1.98 YER 468

-42.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$1.64 YER 387

12.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$2.09 YER 492

14.35%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$3.57 YER 842

7.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$17.52 YER 4,131

-35.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$8.41 YER 1,984

-19.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$19.10 YER 4,504

-23.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$3.40 YER 802

-45.88%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.05 YER 249

91.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$2.21 YER 521

6.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$1.67 YER 393

125.75%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$1.51 YER 357

-36.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$1.38 YER 326

-25.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.20 YER 284

30.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.68 YER 160

-2.94%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.48 YER 584

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 YER 423

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 YER 602

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$5.66 YER 1,336

40.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$0.43 YER 102

248.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$86.3 YER 20.4K

-68.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$4.19 YER 988

-21.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$2.10 YER 494

-38.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$7.22 YER 1,704

173.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$2.06 YER 486

-12.14%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$16.9K YER 4.0M

73.58%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$34.6K YER 8.2M

-1.41%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$109 YER 25.6K

56.34%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$23.35 YER 5,506

2.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$102 YER 24.0K

-76.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$67.1 YER 15.8K

-1.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$16.03 YER 3,779

19.65%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$5.97 YER 1,407

59.46%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$118 YER 27.7K

356.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$2,130 YER 502.3K

679.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$42.48 YER 10.0K

138.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$121 YER 28.5K

-64.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$47.63 YER 11.2K

136.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$40.69 YER 9,594

191.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$222 YER 52.4K

262.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$94.7 YER 22.3K

564.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$408 YER 96.2K

279.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$276 YER 65.0K

323.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$4,240 YER 999.9K

32.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$825 YER 194.6K

380.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$197 YER 46.4K

726.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

11.25

-42.84%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Sanaa: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Sanaa

$95 9.2% 84.9% $535

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Sanaa

$272 26.4% 5.4% $14

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Sanaa

$134 13% 40.3% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Sanaa

$234 22.7% 7.6% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Sanaa

$113 11% 33.1% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Sanaa

$79 7.7% 7.3% $6.3

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Sanaa

$103 10% 137% $59

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $222 in Sanaa. 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 727% 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 $60.0 in Budapest versus $25.00 in Sanaa. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Budapest vs $272 in Sanaa – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇾🇪 Sanaa

🕒 Local time

07:48 7:48 AM

08:48 8:48 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

1,527,861 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

YER, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 264 YER (1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Sanaa 4,260 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

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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 Sanaa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 56%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,432 per month in Budapest and $1,560 in Sanaa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 213% less in Sanaa. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $537 per month in Budapest and $118 in Sanaa. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Sanaa, where all-in costs run around $1,040, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Sanaa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sanaa – 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 Sanaa. 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.