Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Shiso

For one person, living is cheaper in Shiso: $1,048 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Shiso
Learn more

Shiso Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Shiso

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,048

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Shiso

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

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Budapest vs $1,048 in Shiso, rent included.

Budapest $1,641
Shiso $1,048

A couple spends around $2,562 per month in Budapest vs $1,913 in Shiso, rent included.

Budapest $2,562
Shiso $1,913

A family of three spends $3,483 per month in Budapest vs $2,777 in Shiso, rent included.

Budapest $3,483
Shiso $2,777

Budapest costs about 57% more than Shiso, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Shiso is 23% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.04 Ft 4,536

$7.87 ¥1,244

78.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

$68.0 ¥10.7K

-10.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 Ft 3,351

$6.29 ¥993

64.86%

Cappuccino

$3.46 Ft 1,117

$3.69 ¥584

-6.23%

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

$2.07 Ft 669

$0.83 ¥132

149.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 Ft 572

$0.72 ¥114

145.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 Ft 1,191

$2.58 ¥407

43.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 Ft 1,229

$3.15 ¥497

20.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 Ft 374

$1.52 ¥240

-23.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 Ft 598

$3.00 ¥474

-38.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 Ft 776

$4.87 ¥769

-50.72%

Eggs

$3.99 Ft 1,289

$2.19 ¥346

82.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 Ft 3,683

$10.19 ¥1,609

11.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.87 Ft 2,221

$6.48 ¥1,023

6.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.49 Ft 4,682

$27.01 ¥4,267

-46.35%

Apples (1kg)

$1.88 Ft 607

$5.33 ¥842

-64.73%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 Ft 693

$2.59 ¥409

-17.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 Ft 744

$4.06 ¥641

-43.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.04 Ft 1,304

$5.97 ¥943

-32.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 329

$4.29 ¥678

-76.22%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$2.60 ¥411

-61.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 510

$1.38 ¥218

14.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 225

$0.83 ¥130

-15.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.03 Ft 2,594

$4.11 ¥650

95.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 Ft 1,997

$7.66 ¥1,211

-19.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 Ft 401

$1.92 ¥303

-35.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 Ft 666

$2.22 ¥351

-7.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 Ft 513

$1.36 ¥216

16.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

$33.90 ¥5,356

-18.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 Ft 1,110

$3.57 ¥564

-3.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 Ft 431

$2.88 ¥455

-53.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.45 Ft 6,607

$20.87 ¥3,297

-2.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.28 ¥202

50.78%

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

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

$22.9K ¥3.6M

27.26%

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

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

$17.0K ¥2.7M

104.53%

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

$175 Ft 56.4K

$144 ¥22.8K

20.92%

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

$23.62 Ft 7,631

$23.93 ¥3,781

-1.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.60 Ft 7,625

$13.58 ¥2,146

73.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

$36.74 ¥5,805

87.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

$13.71 ¥2,167

40.48%

Cinema Ticket

$10.31 Ft 3,333

$4.59 ¥726

124.62%

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

$535 Ft 172.9K

$283 ¥44.8K

88.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$13.6K ¥2.1M

23.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

$10.06 ¥1,589

892.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

$29.87 ¥4,720

44.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 Ft 36.1K

$33.76 ¥5,334

230.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$99.7 ¥15.7K

19.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 Ft 268.8K

$470 ¥74.3K

76.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 203.3K

$165 ¥26.0K

281.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

$862 ¥136.1K

84.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

$659 ¥104.2K

81.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

$4,229 ¥668.1K

35.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

$1,769 ¥279.5K

123.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

1.78

262.36%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Shiso: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.4%

Shiso

$165 15.7% 73.8% $464

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$262 16%

Shiso

$368 35.2% 40.8% $107

Eating Out

Budapest

$226 13.8%

Shiso

$152 14.5% 33% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$222 13.5%

Shiso

$182 17.4% 18% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.3%

Shiso

$78 7.4% 53.6% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.5%

Shiso

$46 4.4% 48.7% $44

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Shiso

$57 5.5% 30.4% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $832 in Budapest versus $470 in Shiso. 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 $68.0 in Shiso. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $262 vs $368 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇯🇵 Shiso

🕒 Local time

06:11 6:11 AM

13:11 1:11 PM

7 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

36,610

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Between locations

Budapest Shiso 8,820 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
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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 Shiso: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 57%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,461 per month in Budapest and $1,572 in Shiso. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 23% less in Shiso. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $535 per month in Budapest and $283 in Shiso. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Shiso, where all-in costs run around $1,048, than in Budapest at $1,641. In Shiso it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Shiso – 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 Shiso. 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.