Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and South Africa

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

For one person, living is cheaper in South Africa: $1,197 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 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
57

Cost of Living Index in South Africa
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South Africa Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,197

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Budapest is 23.3% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 37.6% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Budapest is 28.2% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 36.2% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,419

$10.89 R 180

25.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.7K

$42.93 R 707

41.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,248

$5.62 R 92.6

78.29%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,078

$2.34 R 38.62

42.31%

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

$2.12 Ft 686

$1.10 R 18.15

92.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 583

$0.84 R 13.78

114.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,169

$2.43 R 40.04

48.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,163

$2.96 R 48.70

21.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 362

$1.19 R 19.55

-5.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.12 R 18.49

72.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 806

$1.83 R 30.20

36.07%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,278

$2.51 R 41.32

56.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,656

$8.25 R 136

36.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,183

$5.32 R 87.6

26.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,682

$7.64 R 126

89.01%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 603

$1.81 R 29.77

2.76%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 660

$1.68 R 27.76

21.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 742

$1.78 R 29.40

28.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,294

$1.76 R 29.06

126.70%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 305

$1.50 R 24.65

-37.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 331

$1.46 R 24.03

-30.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 536

$1.29 R 21.30

27.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$1.13 R 18.68

-39.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,533

$3.38 R 55.7

131.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,952

$5.08 R 83.8

18.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 419

$1.48 R 24.42

-12.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 656

$1.96 R 32.27

3.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 485

$1.53 R 25.19

-1.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,792

$60.2 R 993

-54.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,088

$0.94 R 15.54

257.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 445

$0.92 R 15.17

48.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,468

$7.73 R 127

158.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 604

$1.44 R 23.70

29.17%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$35.6K R 586.3K

-19.86%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$32.4K R 534.5K

2.91%

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

$178 Ft 57.8K

$134 R 2,211

32.78%

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

$23.58 Ft 7,643

$34.27 R 565

-31.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,817

$40.66 R 670

-40.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.6K

$32.99 R 544

111.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,520

$11.61 R 191

46.68%

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,397

$7.24 R 119

44.75%

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

$625 Ft 202.6K

$223 R 3,683

179.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$7,429 R 122.4K

164.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.1K

$54.0 R 890

88.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.1K

$32.83 R 541

32.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.6K

$101 R 1,672

8.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.1K

$87.2 R 1,438

38.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 274.0K

$485 R 7,999

74.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.9K

$389 R 6,406

64.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 521.5K

$941 R 15.5K

71.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 394.5K

$795 R 13.1K

53.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

$1,071 R 17.6K

418.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

$768 R 12.7K

407.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 559.0K

$1,475 R 24.3K

16.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

11.23

-43.54%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for South Africa: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

South Africa

$389 32.5% 39.1% $250

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

South Africa

$197 16.5% 24% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

South Africa

$209 17.5% 7.4% $17

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

South Africa

$158 13.2% 28.2% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

South Africa

$124 10.4% 26.7% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

South Africa

$47 4% 47.6% $43

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

South Africa

$72 6% 65.9% $29

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇿🇦 South Africa

🕒 Local time

20:46 8:46 PM

21:46 9:46 PM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

62,027,503

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.76 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 324 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 362 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.76 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.42 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest South Africa 8,550 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
South Africa

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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