Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Forbes and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,638 a month against $2,543 in Forbes, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Forbes
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Forbes Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Forbes

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,543

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,638

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,543 per month in Forbes vs $1,638 in Budapest, rent included.

Forbes $2,543
Budapest $1,638

A couple spends around $3,751 per month in Forbes vs $2,553 in Budapest, rent included.

Forbes $3,751
Budapest $2,553

A family of three spends $4,958 per month in Forbes vs $3,467 in Budapest, rent included.

Forbes $4,958
Budapest $3,467

Forbes costs about 55% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Forbes and Budapest sit above the global median – Forbes by 87%, Budapest by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.91 A$22.61

$13.81 Ft 4,552

15.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$94.9 A$135

$61.5 Ft 20.3K

54.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.31 A$16.07

$10.16 Ft 3,349

11.32%

Cappuccino

$3.52 A$5.00

$3.22 Ft 1,062

9.32%

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

$2.99 A$4.24

$2.06 Ft 680

45.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 A$3.37

$1.83 Ft 605

29.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.98 A$9.92

$3.60 Ft 1,188

93.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.40 A$10.52

$3.66 Ft 1,208

102.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 A$2.41

$1.19 Ft 392

42.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.42 A$3.44

$1.87 Ft 617

29.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.14 A$3.04

$2.37 Ft 780

-9.70%

Eggs

$5.00 A$7.10

$3.96 Ft 1,305

26.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.16 A$14.44

$11.16 Ft 3,680

-8.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.52 A$13.53

$6.76 Ft 2,228

40.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.72 A$19.49

$14.35 Ft 4,731

-4.39%

Apples (1kg)

$3.78 A$5.37

$1.81 Ft 596

108.84%

Banana (1kg)

$3.01 A$4.27

$2.11 Ft 695

42.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.55 A$5.05

$2.33 Ft 770

52.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.92 A$6.99

$3.80 Ft 1,254

29.47%

Potato (1kg)

$2.50 A$3.55

$0.99 Ft 327

152.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.63

$0.98 Ft 324

160.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.28 A$3.24

$1.55 Ft 512

47.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 A$2.06

$0.70 Ft 230

107.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$46.43 A$66.0

$7.79 Ft 2,569

496.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.36 A$17.57

$6.05 Ft 1,995

104.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.75 A$6.75

$1.28 Ft 421

271.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.80 A$8.24

$2.04 Ft 672

184.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.66 A$3.78

$1.55 Ft 511

71.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.5 A$111

$27.28 Ft 8,995

187.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.70 A$5.26

$3.30 Ft 1,087

12.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.72 A$2.45

$1.31 Ft 433

31.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$45.70 A$64.9

$20.26 Ft 6,679

125.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 A$1.78

$1.82 Ft 600

-31.32%

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

$33.8K A$48.1K

$28.7K Ft 9.5M

17.75%

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

$28.1K A$40.0K

$33.1K Ft 10.9M

-14.91%

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

$195 A$277

$172 Ft 56.8K

13.20%

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

$23.66 A$33.62

$23.95 Ft 7,897

-1.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.4 A$75.8

$23.31 Ft 7,685

129.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.1 A$84.0

$68.6 Ft 22.6K

-13.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.72 A$28.02

$18.91 Ft 6,235

4.28%

Cinema Ticket

$12.05 A$17.13

$10.18 Ft 3,356

18.37%

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

$2,301 A$3,269

$600 Ft 197.9K

283.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.3K A$30.3K

$16.8K Ft 5.5M

27.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.6 A$115

$99.0 Ft 32.6K

-18.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.7 A$80.6

$43.25 Ft 14.3K

31.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 A$166

$113 Ft 37.2K

3.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 A$176

$117 Ft 38.6K

5.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,558 A$2,213

$836 Ft 275.6K

86.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,278 A$1,816

$640 Ft 210.9K

99.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,463 A$3,499

$1,598 Ft 526.9K

54.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,041 A$2,901

$1,205 Ft 397.3K

69.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,228 A$7,428

$5,625 Ft 1.9M

-7.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,146 A$7,312

$3,802 Ft 1.3M

35.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,671 Ft 551.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

6.45

-8.53%

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

Last update for Forbes: October 27, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Forbes

$1.3K 50.3%

Budapest

$640 39.1% 49.9% $638

Groceries & Markets

Forbes

$364 14.3%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 29% $106

Eating Out

Forbes

$275 10.8%

Budapest

$221 13.5% 19.7% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Forbes

$272 10.7%

Budapest

$219 13.4% 19.3% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Forbes

$170 6.7%

Budapest

$168 10.2% 1.4% $2.4

Getting Around

Forbes

$101 4%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 57.3% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Forbes

$83 3.3%

Budapest

$89 5.4% 6.9% $5.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,558 in Forbes versus $836 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 $95 in Forbes versus $61 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $364 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Forbes

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

02:19 2:19 AM

16:19 4:19 PM

10 h behind Forbes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,481

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.03 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 330 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.03 USD). 1 EUR = 367 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Forbes Budapest 15,510 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Forbes
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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

Forbes vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Forbes is pricier by about 55%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,814 per month in Forbes and $2,457 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Budapest, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $836 there versus $1,558 in Forbes.

Public transport costs about 65% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,301 per month in Forbes and $600 in Budapest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Budapest, where all-in costs run around $1,638, than in Forbes at $2,543. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Forbes it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Budapest – 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.

For expats, Budapest is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 55% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.