Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Sao Tome and Principe

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome and Principe: $1,214 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Budapest
🇭🇺 Hungary
$1,621
/mo nomad
🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe
$1,214
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Budapest is 4.9% more expensive than Sao Tome and Principe without rent, and 33.6% more expensive with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Budapest is 0.8% cheaper than Sao Tome and Principe without rent, and 32.2% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Budapest
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$13.99 Ft 4,551
$8.81 STN 192
58.80%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$60.3 Ft 19.6K
$45.70 STN 999
32.04%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.96 Ft 3,241
$8.62 STN 188
15.55%
Cappuccino
$3.38 Ft 1,100
$2.42 STN 52.8
39.67%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.13 Ft 692
$1.74 STN 38.06
22.41%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.87 Ft 608
$1.12 STN 24.57
66.96%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.75 Ft 1,221
$1.76 STN 38.46
113.07%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.57 Ft 1,162
$1.80 STN 39.44
98.33%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Budapest
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.13 Ft 368
$1.58 STN 34.44
-28.48%
White Bread (500g)
$1.84 Ft 599
$1.53 STN 33.42
20.26%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.39 Ft 777
$1.95 STN 42.63
22.56%
Eggs
$3.83 Ft 1,245
$4.50 STN 98.3
-14.89%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$11.33 Ft 3,686
$19.41 STN 424
-41.63%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.74 Ft 2,192
$19.55 STN 427
-65.52%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$14.69 Ft 4,780
$20.90 STN 457
-29.71%
Apples (1kg)
$1.84 Ft 597
$3.72 STN 81.2
-50.54%
Banana (1kg)
$2.01 Ft 653
$1.76 STN 38.50
14.20%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.36 Ft 767
$3.58 STN 78.3
-34.08%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.77 Ft 1,226
$3.37 STN 73.7
11.87%
Potato (1kg)
$0.96 Ft 313
$2.92 STN 63.9
-67.12%
Onion (1kg)
$1.03 Ft 334
$2.37 STN 51.7
-56.54%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.56 Ft 509
$0.51 STN 11.06
205.88%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.66 Ft 216
$1.98 STN 43.32
-66.67%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$7.96 Ft 2,591
$2.25 STN 49.25
253.78%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.01 Ft 1,954
$8.12 STN 177
-25.99%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.30 Ft 421
$1.41 STN 30.74
-7.80%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.08 Ft 676
$1.70 STN 37.22
22.35%
🚌 Getting Around
Budapest
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.50 Ft 489
$1.41 STN 30.77
6.38%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.61 Ft 8,982
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.30 Ft 1,074
$1.73 STN 37.81
90.75%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.30 Ft 424
$2.64 STN 57.8
-50.76%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$19.78 Ft 6,436
$13.90 STN 304
42.30%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.81 Ft 591
$1.69 STN 37.00
7.10%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$29.3K Ft 9.5M
$24.3K STN 531.2K
20.63%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$34.1K Ft 11.1M
$31.1K STN 678.7K
9.82%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Budapest
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$170 Ft 55.3K
$225 STN 4,918
-24.50%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.98 Ft 7,802
$31.43 STN 687
-23.70%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$23.42 Ft 7,621
$67.6 STN 1,477
-65.36%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Budapest
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$66.2 Ft 21.6K
$33.47 STN 731
97.91%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$19.18 Ft 6,239
$25.52 STN 558
-24.84%
Cinema Ticket
$9.52 Ft 3,098
$20.45 STN 447
-53.45%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Budapest
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$537 Ft 174.6K
$228 STN 4,976
135.67%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$16.6K Ft 5.4M
$2,161 STN 47.2K
668.43%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Budapest
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$101 Ft 33.0K
-
-
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$42.99 Ft 14.0K
$75.8 STN 1,656
-43.28%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$113 Ft 36.7K
-
-
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$119 Ft 38.6K
$18.52 STN 405
541.09%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Budapest
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$805 Ft 262.0K
$283 STN 6,178
184.77%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$629 Ft 204.7K
$195 STN 4,256
223.01%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,549 Ft 504.1K
$946 STN 20.7K
63.70%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,167 Ft 379.7K
$441 STN 9,627
164.90%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$5,618 Ft 1.8M
$1,860 STN 40.6K
202.05%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,968 Ft 1.3M
$1,129 STN 24.7K
251.56%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Budapest
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,626 Ft 529.0K
$431 STN 9,428
276.78%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
6.43
7.38
-12.87%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Sao Tome and Principe: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Budapest
$629
Sao Tome and Principe
$195 69% $434
Groceries & Markets
Budapest
$258
Sao Tome and Principe
$402 56% $144
Eating Out
Budapest
$224
Sao Tome and Principe
$149 33.5% $75
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Budapest
$217
Sao Tome and Principe
$324 49.1% $107
Clothing & Footwear
Budapest
$169
Sao Tome and Principe
$42 * 74.9% $127
Sport & Entertainment
Budapest
$85
Sao Tome and Principe
$74 12.8% $11
Getting Around
Budapest
$43
Sao Tome and Principe
$21 * 52.6% $23

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

Good to know
🇭🇺 Budapest
🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe
🕒 Local time
10:01 10:01 AM
08:01 8:01 AM
2 h behind Budapest
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,686,222 Capital
204,327
Exchange rates and currency converter

STN, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

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).

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 21.85 STN (100 STN = 4.58 USD). 1 EUR = 24.51 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Budapest Sao Tome and Principe 5,380 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Budapest
  • Sao Tome and Principe

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

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