Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Thiruvananthapuram

For one person, living is cheaper in Thiruvananthapuram: $386 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in Thiruvananthapuram
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Thiruvananthapuram Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Thiruvananthapuram

🇮🇳 India

$386

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Thiruvananthapuram

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

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $386 in Thiruvananthapuram, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Thiruvananthapuram $386

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $612 in Thiruvananthapuram, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Thiruvananthapuram $612

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $837 in Thiruvananthapuram, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Thiruvananthapuram $837

Budapest costs about 327% more than Thiruvananthapuram, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Thiruvananthapuram is 71% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,407

$2.69 ₹254

406.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.6K

$10.45 ₹987

480.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,239

$3.67 ₹346

173.02%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,075

$1.88 ₹178

77.13%

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

$2.12 Ft 684

$0.40 ₹37.55

430.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 581

$0.15 ₹13.80

1100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,166

$2.10 ₹198

71.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,160

$2.57 ₹243

39.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 361

$0.56 ₹52.8

100.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 623

$0.54 ₹51.3

257.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$0.61 ₹57.9

308.20%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,275

$0.90 ₹85.4

337.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,646

$5.50 ₹520

105.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,177

$2.74 ₹259

145.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,670

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 601

$2.29 ₹216

-18.78%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 658

$0.83 ₹78.4

145.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 740

$1.16 ₹110

97.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,290

$0.49 ₹45.84

714.29%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 304

$0.47 ₹44.61

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 330

$0.50 ₹47.26

104.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 534

$0.52 ₹49.10

217.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$0.32 ₹30.40

112.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,526

$4.36 ₹411

79.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,946

$5.17 ₹488

16.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 418

$1.79 ₹169

-27.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 655

$2.98 ₹282

-32.21%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$4.98 ₹470

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 484

$0.11 ₹10.31

1263.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,769

$3.07 ₹290

783.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,085

$2.10 ₹198

60.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 444

$0.25 ₹23.39

448.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,451

$2.60 ₹246

667.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 603

$1.16 ₹110

60.34%

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

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$11.2K ₹1.1M

154.17%

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

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$30.8K ₹2.9M

8.26%

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

$178 Ft 57.6K

$35.48 ₹3,351

402.17%

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

$23.58 Ft 7,623

$3.45 ₹326

583.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,797

$7.48 ₹706

222.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.5K

$14.03 ₹1,325

396.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,505

$7.76 ₹733

119.46%

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,388

$2.06 ₹194

408.74%

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

$625 Ft 202.1K

$38.33 ₹3,621

1530.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$2,148 ₹202.9K

814.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.0K

$22.02 ₹2,080

363.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.0K

$18.00 ₹1,701

141.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.5K

$36.86 ₹3,482

198.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.0K

$27.20 ₹2,570

343.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 273.3K

$156 ₹14.7K

442.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.4K

$90.3 ₹8,526

607.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 520.1K

$313 ₹29.5K

414.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 393.5K

$202 ₹19.1K

501.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

$794 ₹75.0K

599.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

$505 ₹47.7K

672.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 557.5K

$247 ₹23.3K

598.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

10.31

-38.51%

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

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Thiruvananthapuram: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Thiruvananthapuram

$90 23.4% 85.9% $548

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Thiruvananthapuram

$104 27.1% 59.8% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Thiruvananthapuram

$46 12% 79.5% $179

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Thiruvananthapuram

$73 18.9% 66.9% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Thiruvananthapuram

$47 12.1% 72.3% $122

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Thiruvananthapuram

$18 4.7% 80% $72

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Thiruvananthapuram

$6.8 1.8% 84.2% $37

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $845 in Budapest versus $156 in Thiruvananthapuram. 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 7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest versus $10 in Thiruvananthapuram. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $104 – making Thiruvananthapuram the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇮🇳 Thiruvananthapuram

🕒 Local time

09:45 9:45 AM

14:15 2:15 PM

4 h 30 min ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

744,983

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.59 USD

1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 94.47 INR (100 INR = 1.06 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Thiruvananthapuram 6,930 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Thiruvananthapuram

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 Thiruvananthapuram: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 327%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,471 per month in Budapest and $579 in Thiruvananthapuram. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Thiruvananthapuram, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $156 there versus $845 in Budapest.

Public transport costs about 89% less in Thiruvananthapuram. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $625 per month in Budapest and $38 in Thiruvananthapuram. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Thiruvananthapuram, where all-in costs run around $386, than in Budapest at $1,647. In Thiruvananthapuram it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Thiruvananthapuram – 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 Thiruvananthapuram. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Budapest makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.