Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between East London and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in East London: $978 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in East London
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East London Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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East London

🇿🇦 South Africa

$978

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $978 per month in East London vs $1,647 in Budapest, rent included.

East London $978
Budapest $1,647

A couple spends around $1,499 per month in East London vs $2,567 in Budapest, rent included.

East London $1,499
Budapest $2,567

A family of three spends $2,020 per month in East London vs $3,488 in Budapest, rent included.

East London $2,020
Budapest $3,488

East London is about 41% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

East London sits 28% below the global median, while Budapest is 22% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.97 R 132

$13.63 Ft 4,443

-41.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.73 R 558

$60.7 Ft 19.8K

-44.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R 84.2

$10.02 Ft 3,266

-49.20%

Cappuccino

$2.05 R 33.84

$3.33 Ft 1,084

-38.44%

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

$1.01 R 16.63

$2.12 Ft 690

-52.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 R 11.98

$1.80 Ft 586

-60.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 R 43.81

$3.61 Ft 1,176

-26.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 R 51.3

$3.59 Ft 1,170

-13.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 R 18.48

$1.12 Ft 364

White Bread (500g)

$0.91 R 15.03

$1.93 Ft 628

-52.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.07

$2.49 Ft 811

-41.37%

Eggs

$2.35 R 38.80

$3.94 Ft 1,286

-40.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.42 R 139

$11.28 Ft 3,677

-25.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.20 R 86.0

$6.73 Ft 2,195

-22.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.93 R 131

$14.44 Ft 4,708

-45.08%

Apples (1kg)

$1.74 R 28.80

$1.86 Ft 606

-6.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$2.04 Ft 664

-25.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 R 26.74

$2.29 Ft 746

-29.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.02

$3.99 Ft 1,301

-60.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 R 27.86

$0.94 Ft 307

79.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 R 23.54

$1.02 Ft 333

39.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 R 20.38

$1.65 Ft 539

-25.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 R 16.73

$0.68 Ft 222

48.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.95 R 48.79

$7.81 Ft 2,547

-62.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.88 R 80.7

$6.02 Ft 1,963

-18.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 R 17.31

$1.29 Ft 421

-18.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 R 16.01

$2.02 Ft 660

-51.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 488

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,842

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 R 19.54

$3.36 Ft 1,094

-64.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.50 R 8.20

$1.37 Ft 448

-63.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.61 R 142

$19.96 Ft 6,505

-56.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 R 24.13

$1.86 Ft 608

-21.51%

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

$35.3K R 583.5K

$28.5K Ft 9.3M

23.79%

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

$29.4K R 485.4K

$33.4K Ft 10.9M

-12.04%

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

$123 R 2,037

$178 Ft 58.1K

-30.82%

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

$30.34 R 502

$23.58 Ft 7,686

28.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.33 R 749

$24.12 Ft 7,861

87.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.33 R 650

$69.7 Ft 22.7K

-43.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,551

Cinema Ticket

$5.04 R 83.3

$10.48 Ft 3,416

-51.91%

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

$175 R 2,891

$625 Ft 203.8K

-72.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,508 R 91.0K

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

-71.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 927

$102 Ft 33.3K

-45.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.59 R 539

$43.41 Ft 14.2K

-24.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.5 R 1,215

$110 Ft 35.8K

-33.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.8 R 1,567

$121 Ft 39.3K

-21.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$238 R 3,928

$845 Ft 275.5K

-71.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$296 R 4,884

$638 Ft 208.1K

-53.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$603 R 9,971

$1,609 Ft 524.4K

-62.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$566 R 9,354

$1,217 Ft 396.7K

-53.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$481 R 7,944

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

-91.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$833 R 13.8K

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

-78.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,442 R 23.8K

$1,724 Ft 562.1K

-16.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.33

6.34

78.71%

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

Last update for East London: November 2, 2026

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

East London

$295 30.2%

Budapest

$638 38.8% 116% $343

Monthly Utilities & Internet

East London

$199 20.4%

Budapest

$226 13.7% 13.5% $27

Groceries & Markets

East London

$185 18.9%

Budapest

$260 15.8% 40.7% $75

Eating Out

East London

$130 13.3%

Budapest

$220 13.4% 69.2% $90

Clothing & Footwear

East London

$116 11.8%

Budapest

$169 10.3% 46.3% $54

Sport & Entertainment

East London

$49 5.1%

Budapest

$91 5.5% 83.4% $41

Getting Around

East London

$3.7 * 0.4%

Budapest

$43 2.6% 1084% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $238 in East London versus $845 in Budapest. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 20% 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 $34 in East London versus $61 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $185 vs $260 – making East London the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 East London

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

18:21 6:21 PM

17:21 5:21 PM

1 h behind East London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

267,007

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.56 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 326 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 366 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

East London Budapest 9,000 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

East London
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

East London vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 68%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,467 per month in East London and $2,471 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in East London, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $238 there versus $845 in Budapest.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $34 in East London and $61 in Budapest. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 41% more in Budapest, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in East London, where all-in costs run around $978, than in Budapest at $1,647. In East London it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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