Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Colonia and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Colonia: $1,511 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Budapest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

74

Cost of Living Index in Colonia
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Colonia Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index

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Colonia

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,511

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Colonia 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 Colonia and in Budapest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,511 per month in Colonia vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Colonia $1,511
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $2,462 per month in Colonia vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Colonia $2,462
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $3,413 per month in Colonia vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Colonia $3,413
Budapest $3,429

Colonia is about 7% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Colonia and Budapest sit above the global median – Colonia by 12%, Budapest by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.94 UYU 640

$13.94 Ft 4,503

14.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.1 UYU 3,015

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

22.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.92 UYU 519

$10.19 Ft 3,291

26.79%

Cappuccino

$5.83 UYU 234

$3.26 Ft 1,055

78.83%

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

$1.85 UYU 74.4

$2.14 Ft 690

-13.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 UYU 56.2

$1.78 Ft 577

-21.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.88 UYU 196

$3.71 Ft 1,198

31.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.74 UYU 190

$3.77 Ft 1,217

25.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 UYU 46.11

$1.15 Ft 371

White Bread (500g)

$2.11 UYU 84.7

$1.79 Ft 578

17.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 UYU 48.39

$2.49 Ft 804

-51.41%

Eggs

$3.51 UYU 141

$3.90 Ft 1,261

-10.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.96 UYU 400

$11.10 Ft 3,587

-10.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.34 UYU 495

$6.62 Ft 2,139

86.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.03 UYU 443

$14.69 Ft 4,745

-24.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 UYU 87.3

$1.83 Ft 591

18.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 UYU 76.0

$2.05 Ft 661

-7.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.27 UYU 51.1

$2.37 Ft 765

-46.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.58 UYU 224

$3.90 Ft 1,260

43.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 UYU 81.8

$0.99 Ft 320

106.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.98 UYU 79.3

$1.00 Ft 322

98.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 UYU 49.17

$1.58 Ft 511

-22.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 UYU 50.2

$0.67 Ft 216

86.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.65 UYU 307

$7.96 Ft 2,572

-3.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.60 UYU 506

$6.22 Ft 2,009

102.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.44 UYU 178

$1.27 Ft 411

249.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 UYU 101

$2.03 Ft 654

24.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.95 UYU 38.29

$1.52 Ft 490

-37.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.86 UYU 34.47

$3.31 Ft 1,070

-74.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.53 UYU 101

$1.37 Ft 442

84.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 UYU 79.4

$1.82 Ft 589

8.79%

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

$32.0K UYU 1.3M

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

7.54%

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

$39.2K UYU 1.6M

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

15.91%

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

$123 UYU 4,923

$171 Ft 55.3K

-28.32%

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

$18.70 UYU 750

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-20.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.73 UYU 1,555

$23.29 Ft 7,526

66.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.35 UYU 1,660

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-38.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.52 UYU 503

$18.89 Ft 6,104

-33.72%

Cinema Ticket

$7.80 UYU 313

$9.30 Ft 3,004

-16.13%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.7 UYU 2,274

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-43.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 UYU 2,027

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

16.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 UYU 4,503

$110 Ft 35.7K

1.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$201 UYU 8,079

$119 Ft 38.4K

69.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$597 UYU 24.0K

$830 Ft 268.3K

-28.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 UYU 18.9K

$622 Ft 200.9K

-24.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 UYU 45.2K

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

-29.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$977 UYU 39.2K

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

-16.52%

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)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

6.45

-30.23%

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

Last update for Colonia: October 11, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Colonia

$470 31.1%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 32.3% $152

Groceries & Markets

Colonia

$314 20.8%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 17.8% $56

Eating Out

Colonia

$283 18.7%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 21.2% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Colonia

$189 12.5%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 11.5% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Colonia

$180 11.9%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 21% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Colonia

$57 3.8%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 51.2% $29

Getting Around

Colonia

$17 * 1.2%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 156% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $597 in Colonia versus $830 in Budapest. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $75.0 in Colonia versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $314 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Colonia

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

21:50 9:50 PM

02:50 2:50 AM

5 h ahead of Colonia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

26,231

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to UYU – Uruguayan Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Peso ($U)

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

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).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Colonia Budapest 11,890 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Colonia
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

Colonia vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 7%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,266 per month in Colonia and $2,428 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Interestingly, groceries are about 22% cheaper in Budapest – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $75.0 in Colonia and $61.0 in Budapest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Colonia, where all-in costs run around $1,511, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Colonia it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Colonia – 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 Colonia. 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.