Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Gouna and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in El Gouna: $457 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in El Gouna
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El Gouna Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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El Gouna

🇪🇬 Egypt

$457

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $457 per month in El Gouna vs $1,621 in Budapest, rent included.

El Gouna $457
Budapest $1,621

A couple spends around $730 per month in El Gouna vs $2,555 in Budapest, rent included.

El Gouna $730
Budapest $2,555

A family of three spends $1,002 per month in El Gouna vs $3,489 in Budapest, rent included.

El Gouna $1,002
Budapest $3,489

El Gouna is about 72% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

El Gouna sits 66% below the global median, while Budapest is 21% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.59 E£189

$13.99 Ft 4,570

-74.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.95 E£839

$60.3 Ft 19.7K

-73.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.64 E£244

$9.96 Ft 3,255

-53.41%

Cappuccino

$1.49 E£78.4

$3.38 Ft 1,105

-55.92%

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

$0.29 E£15.07

$2.13 Ft 696

-86.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.10 E£5.25

$1.87 Ft 611

-94.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.21 E£63.6

$3.75 Ft 1,226

-67.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 E£153

$3.57 Ft 1,167

-18.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 E£45.61

$1.13 Ft 370

-23.01%

White Bread (500g)

$0.59 E£30.86

$1.84 Ft 602

-67.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.71 E£37.11

$2.39 Ft 780

-70.29%

Eggs

$1.39 E£72.9

$3.83 Ft 1,250

-63.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.37 E£177

$11.33 Ft 3,702

-70.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.23 E£222

$6.74 Ft 2,201

-37.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.53 E£448

$14.69 Ft 4,800

-41.93%

Apples (1kg)

$1.47 E£77.2

$1.84 Ft 600

-20.11%

Banana (1kg)

$0.57 E£30.14

$2.01 Ft 656

-71.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.43 E£22.47

$2.36 Ft 770

-81.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.40 E£20.93

$3.77 Ft 1,232

-89.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.37 E£19.56

$0.96 Ft 315

-61.46%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.43

$1.03 Ft 336

-60.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.24 E£12.66

$1.56 Ft 511

-84.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.23

$0.66 Ft 217

-68.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.96 E£103

$7.96 Ft 2,602

-75.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.48 E£341

$6.01 Ft 1,963

7.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 E£66.1

$1.30 Ft 423

-3.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 E£98.6

$2.08 Ft 679

-9.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.17 E£8.98

$1.50 Ft 491

-88.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 9,021

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£20.46

$3.30 Ft 1,079

-88.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 E£15.24

$1.30 Ft 426

-77.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 E£105

$19.78 Ft 6,465

-89.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.33 E£17.57

$1.81 Ft 593

-81.77%

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

$35.9K E£1.9M

$29.3K Ft 9.6M

22.27%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

-4.27%

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

$11.82 E£622

$170 Ft 55.5K

-93.04%

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

$6.88 E£362

$23.98 Ft 7,836

-71.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.01 E£579

$23.42 Ft 7,654

-52.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.42 E£1,074

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-69.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,266

Cinema Ticket

$2.98 E£157

$9.52 Ft 3,112

-68.70%

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

$89.3 E£4,695

$537 Ft 175.4K

-83.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,820 E£95.7K

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

-89.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.68 E£1,456

$101 Ft 33.1K

-72.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.99 E£2,367

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

4.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 E£5,707

$113 Ft 36.8K

-3.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$49.98 E£2,629

$119 Ft 38.8K

-57.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$190 E£9,998

$805 Ft 263.1K

-76.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$100 E£5,286

$629 Ft 205.6K

-84.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$271 E£14.3K

$1,549 Ft 506.3K

-82.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$153 E£8,056

$1,167 Ft 381.4K

-86.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$795 E£41.8K

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-85.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$488 E£25.6K

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-87.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 531.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.67

6.43

159.25%

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

Last update for El Gouna: October 4, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

El Gouna

$123 26.7%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 110% $135

Clothing & Footwear

El Gouna

$104 22.6%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 62.6% $65

Accommodation & Living

El Gouna

$100 21.9%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 526% $529

Eating Out

El Gouna

$74 16.1%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 203% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Gouna

$30 6.5%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 632% $188

Sport & Entertainment

El Gouna

$26 5.7%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 223% $59

Getting Around

El Gouna

$2.5 * 0.6%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 1623% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $190 in El Gouna versus $805 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 $16.00 in El Gouna versus $60.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $123 vs $258 – making El Gouna the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 El Gouna

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

08:37 8:37 AM

07:37 7:37 AM

1 h behind El Gouna

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,000

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.9 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.06 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 52.6 EGP (100 EGP = 1.9 USD). 1 EUR = 58.95 EGP (100 EGP = 1.7 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 327 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.06 USD). 1 EUR = 366 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

El Gouna Budapest 2,570 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

El Gouna
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

El Gouna vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 254%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $686 per month in El Gouna and $2,432 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $16.00 in El Gouna and $60.0 in Budapest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 110% more in Budapest, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in El Gouna, where all-in costs run around $457, than in Budapest at $1,621. In El Gouna it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward El Gouna – 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 El Gouna. 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.