Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Siem Reap

For one person, living is cheaper in Siem Reap: $806 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Siem Reap
Learn more

Siem Reap Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Siem Reap

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Siem Reap

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $806 in Siem Reap, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
Siem Reap $806

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $1,247 in Siem Reap, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
Siem Reap $1,247

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $1,689 in Siem Reap, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
Siem Reap $1,689

Budapest costs about 101% more than Siem Reap, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while Siem Reap is 40% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$2.43 ៛9,884

473.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$24.16 ៛98.1K

153.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$7.81 ៛31.7K

30.47%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$1.69 ៛6,857

92.90%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$0.70 ៛2,854

205.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$0.43 ៛1,746

313.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$1.02 ៛4,148

263.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$1.98 ៛8,045

90.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$2.14 ៛8,687

-46.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$1.76 ៛7,159

1.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$0.87 ៛3,540

186.21%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$1.72 ៛6,979

126.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$15.24 ៛61.9K

-27.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$2.84 ៛11.5K

133.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$10.20 ៛41.5K

44.02%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$4.33 ៛17.6K

-57.74%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$1.23 ៛5,008

66.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$3.68 ៛14.9K

-35.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$1.09 ៛4,431

257.80%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$1.33 ៛5,415

-25.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$1.12 ៛4,534

-10.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$1.30 ៛5,262

21.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$0.79 ៛3,227

-15.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$1.41 ៛5,709

464.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$7.75 ៛31.5K

-19.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$1.00 ៛4,051

27.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$2.26 ៛9,162

-10.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$0.97 ៛3,949

56.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

$15.14 ៛61.5K

85.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$2.01 ៛8,169

64.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$1.01 ៛4,103

35.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$4.99 ៛20.3K

297.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$1.31 ៛5,310

38.93%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$24.8K ៛100.7M

20.21%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$22.7K ៛92.2M

48.95%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$103 ៛417.4K

66.51%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$5.82 ៛23.6K

303.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$15.37 ៛62.4K

51.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$33.20 ៛134.8K

103.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

$14.27 ៛57.9K

32.38%

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$4.97 ៛20.2K

87.12%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$283 ៛1.2M

88.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$4,488 ៛18.2M

273.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$26.69 ៛108.4K

273.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$13.31 ៛54.0K

226.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$68.5 ៛278.3K

61.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$45.31 ៛184.1K

162.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$329 ៛1.3M

152.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$232 ៛940.8K

168.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$669 ៛2.7M

138.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$434 ៛1.8M

169.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$2,454 ៛10.0M

137.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$1,099 ៛4.5M

253.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

$239 ៛969.1K

592.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

9.2

-29.89%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Siem Reap: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Siem Reap

$232 28.7% 62.8% $390

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Siem Reap

$235 29.2% 8.9% $23

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Siem Reap

$77 9.5% 65.6% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Siem Reap

$124 15.4% 43.1% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Siem Reap

$69 8.6% 58.7% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Siem Reap

$43 5.4% 49.9% $43

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Siem Reap

$26 3.2% 41% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $830 in Budapest versus $329 in Siem Reap. 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 592% 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 $24.00 in Siem Reap. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $235 – making Siem Reap the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇰🇭 Siem Reap

🕒 Local time

10:37 10:37 AM

15:37 3:37 PM

5 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

171,800

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4,062 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD). 1 EUR = 4,567 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Siem Reap 8,530 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Siem Reap

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 Siem Reap: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 101%, 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 $1,209 in Siem Reap. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 85% less in Siem Reap. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $533 per month in Budapest and $283 in Siem Reap. 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 Siem Reap, where all-in costs run around $806, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Siem Reap it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Siem Reap – 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 Siem Reap. 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.