Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cesis and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Cesis: $1,102 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Cesis
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Cesis Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Cesis

🇱🇻 Latvia

$1,102

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cesis and in Budapest

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cesis and in Budapest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,102 per month in Cesis vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Cesis $1,102
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $1,829 per month in Cesis vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Cesis $1,829
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $2,556 per month in Cesis vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Cesis $2,556
Budapest $3,429

Cesis is about 32% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Cesis sits 18% below the global median, while Budapest is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.49 €14.67

$13.94 Ft 4,503

18.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.9 €59.5

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

9.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.00 €8.01

$10.19 Ft 3,291

-11.68%

Cappuccino

$3.68 €3.28

$3.26 Ft 1,055

12.88%

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

$1.62 €1.44

$2.14 Ft 690

-24.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.18 €1.05

$1.78 Ft 577

-33.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.63 €5.00

$3.71 Ft 1,198

51.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.08 €4.52

$3.77 Ft 1,217

34.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 €1.06

$1.15 Ft 371

3.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 €1.31

$1.79 Ft 578

-17.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 €2.21

$2.49 Ft 804

Eggs

$2.73 €2.43

$3.90 Ft 1,261

-30.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.66 €9.48

$11.10 Ft 3,587

-3.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.42 €7.49

$6.62 Ft 2,139

27.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.46 €11.98

$14.69 Ft 4,745

-8.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.83 Ft 591

12.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.80 €1.60

$2.05 Ft 661

-12.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$2.37 Ft 765

4.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.97 €2.65

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-23.85%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.99 Ft 320

-17.17%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 €0.80

$1.00 Ft 322

-10.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.58 Ft 511

9.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 €0.82

$0.67 Ft 216

37.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.80 €6.05

$7.96 Ft 2,572

-14.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.92 €7.05

$6.22 Ft 2,009

27.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 €1.52

$1.27 Ft 411

34.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 €1.80

$2.03 Ft 654

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 €2.92

$3.31 Ft 1,070

-0.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 €0.87

$1.37 Ft 442

-28.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.96 €15.97

$19.83 Ft 6,406

-9.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.82 Ft 589

12.09%

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

$27.3K €24.3K

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

-8.31%

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

$30.3K €27.0K

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

-10.38%

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

$368 €328

$171 Ft 55.3K

115.33%

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

$19.14 €17.02

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-18.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.72 €17.54

$23.29 Ft 7,526

-15.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$11.34 €10.09

$9.30 Ft 3,004

21.94%

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

$683 €608

$533 Ft 172.3K

28.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.2K €16.2K

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

8.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.9 €60.4

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-31.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.0 €45.32

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

17.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.6 €75.2

$110 Ft 35.7K

-23.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 €121

$119 Ft 38.4K

14.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$283 €252

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

-75.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,095 €974

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

-33.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

6.45

-26.05%

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

Last update for Cesis: October 11, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cesis

$407 37%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 46.5% $189

Groceries & Markets

Cesis

$259 23.5%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 0.2% $0.6

Eating Out

Cesis

$253 22.9%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 11.7% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Cesis

$153 13.9%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 9.7% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Cesis

$23 * 2.1%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 280% $63

Getting Around

Cesis

$8.2 * 0.7%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 443% $36

Accommodation & Living

Cesis

- * 0%

Budapest

$622 38.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 51% 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 $67.0 in Cesis versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $259 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇻 Cesis

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

00:46 12:46 AM

23:46 11:46 PM

1 h behind Cesis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,673

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Cesis Budapest 1,170 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cesis
Budapest

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

Cesis vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 47%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,653 per month in Cesis and $2,428 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67.0 in Cesis and $61.0 in Budapest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 0% cheaper in Budapest – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cesis, where all-in costs run around $1,102, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Cesis it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cesis – 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 Cesis. 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.