Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

For one person, living is cheaper in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte: $712 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
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Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$712

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

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 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $712 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte $712

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $1,107 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte $1,107

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $1,502 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte $1,502

Budapest costs about 131% more than Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is 47% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,441

$3.83 LKR 1,275

255.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.8K

$24.76 LKR 8,235

144.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,264

$7.64 LKR 2,540

31.15%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,084

$2.51 LKR 836

32.67%

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

$2.12 Ft 690

$0.69 LKR 228

207.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 586

$0.27 LKR 90.1

566.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,175

$2.16 LKR 718

67.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,169

$2.97 LKR 986

20.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 364

$1.31 LKR 436

-14.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 628

$0.38 LKR 126

407.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 810

$0.71 LKR 236

250.70%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,285

$1.68 LKR 559

134.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,674

$15.32 LKR 5,095

-26.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,194

$4.62 LKR 1,535

45.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,705

$7.71 LKR 2,563

87.29%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 606

$6.48 LKR 2,156

-71.30%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 663

$0.61 LKR 204

234.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 745

$4.32 LKR 1,438

-46.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,300

$1.22 LKR 407

227.05%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 307

$0.87 LKR 288

8.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 333

$0.76 LKR 253

34.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 538

$1.27 LKR 421

29.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 222

$0.42 LKR 140

61.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,546

$10.31 LKR 3,429

-24.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,961

$10.73 LKR 3,569

-43.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 421

$1.89 LKR 628

-31.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 660

$2.92 LKR 970

-30.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 487

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,836

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,094

$0.31 LKR 104

983.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 448

$0.31 LKR 102

341.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,501

$0.91 LKR 304

2093.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 608

$1.10 LKR 365

69.09%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.3M

$44.0K LKR 14.6M

-35.25%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.9M

$46.1K LKR 15.3M

-27.56%

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

$178 Ft 58.0K

$44.27 LKR 14.7K

302.46%

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

$23.58 Ft 7,681

$4.25 LKR 1,415

454.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,857

$11.95 LKR 3,972

101.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.7K

$15.23 LKR 5,064

357.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,547

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,414

$3.00 LKR 997

249.33%

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

$625 Ft 203.6K

$40.29 LKR 13.4K

1451.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$917 LKR 305.1K

2041.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.2K

$18.14 LKR 6,032

462.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.1K

$17.71 LKR 5,889

145.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.8K

$78.6 LKR 26.1K

39.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.3K

$42.14 LKR 14.0K

186.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 275.4K

$299 LKR 99.4K

182.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 208.0K

$224 LKR 74.6K

184.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 524.1K

$447 LKR 148.7K

259.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 396.5K

$381 LKR 126.5K

219.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

$672 LKR 223.6K

726.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

$521 LKR 173.1K

648.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 561.8K

$296 LKR 98.4K

482.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

12.5

-49.28%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$224 31.5% 64.9% $414

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$229 32.2% 11.8% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$60 8.5% 73.2% $165

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$104 14.7% 52.6% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$70 9.9% 58.4% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$21 3% 76.6% $69

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$1.8 * 0.3% 95.8% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $845 in Budapest versus $299 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Budapest are about 5.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest versus $25 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $229 – making Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇱🇰 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

🕒 Local time

02:01 2:01 AM

06:31 6:31 AM

4 h 30 min ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

115,826 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 326 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 364 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte 7,280 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

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 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 131%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,471 per month in Budapest and $1,068 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $299 there versus $845 in Budapest.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest and $25 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 13% more in Budapest, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, where all-in costs run around $712, than in Budapest at $1,647. In Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Budapest makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.