Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Grahamstown and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Grahamstown: $1,120 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Grahamstown
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Grahamstown Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Grahamstown

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,120

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,120 per month in Grahamstown vs $1,647 in Budapest, rent included.

Grahamstown $1,120
Budapest $1,647

A couple spends around $1,775 per month in Grahamstown vs $2,567 in Budapest, rent included.

Grahamstown $1,775
Budapest $2,567

A family of three spends $2,430 per month in Grahamstown vs $3,488 in Budapest, rent included.

Grahamstown $2,430
Budapest $3,488

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

Grahamstown sits 17% below the global median, while Budapest is 22% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.93 R 180

$13.63 Ft 4,419

-19.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.85 R 690

$60.7 Ft 19.7K

-31.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.04 R 99.6

$10.02 Ft 3,248

-39.72%

Cappuccino

$2.17 R 35.79

$3.33 Ft 1,078

-34.83%

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

$1.05 R 17.26

$2.12 Ft 686

-50.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 R 11.84

$1.80 Ft 583

-60.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.75 R 45.29

$3.61 Ft 1,169

-23.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 R 51.1

$3.59 Ft 1,163

-13.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 R 19.33

$1.12 Ft 362

4.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 R 16.49

$1.93 Ft 624

-48.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.47

$2.49 Ft 806

-40.16%

Eggs

$2.72 R 44.85

$3.94 Ft 1,278

-30.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.51 R 140

$11.28 Ft 3,656

-24.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.34 R 88.1

$6.73 Ft 2,183

-20.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.25 R 136

$14.44 Ft 4,682

-42.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.16 R 35.52

$1.86 Ft 603

16.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.03

$2.04 Ft 660

-25.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 R 26.88

$2.29 Ft 742

-28.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.43

$3.99 Ft 1,294

-55.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.68 R 27.70

$0.94 Ft 305

78.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 R 22.64

$1.02 Ft 331

34.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 R 20.16

$1.65 Ft 536

-26.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 R 16.65

$0.68 Ft 221

48.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.26 R 53.7

$7.81 Ft 2,533

-58.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.74 R 78.2

$6.02 Ft 1,952

-21.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 20.93

$1.29 Ft 419

-1.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 R 29.53

$2.02 Ft 656

-11.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 R 24.56

$1.50 Ft 485

-0.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,792

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.85 R 14.02

$3.36 Ft 1,088

-74.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.46 R 7.58

$1.37 Ft 445

-66.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.54 R 141

$19.96 Ft 6,468

-57.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 R 24.59

$1.86 Ft 604

-19.89%

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

$34.6K R 570.5K

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

21.41%

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

$35.2K R 580.7K

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

5.57%

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

$121 R 1,991

$178 Ft 57.8K

-32.20%

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

$34.27 R 565

$23.58 Ft 7,643

45.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.91 R 740

$24.12 Ft 7,817

86.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.56 R 586

$69.7 Ft 22.6K

-48.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.03 R 182

$17.03 Ft 5,520

-35.23%

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 R 173

$10.48 Ft 3,397

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

$175 R 2,891

$625 Ft 202.6K

-71.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,021 R 82.7K

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

-74.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.2 R 1,173

$102 Ft 33.1K

-30.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.95 R 642

$43.41 Ft 14.1K

-10.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 R 1,829

$110 Ft 35.6K

1.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.8 R 1,612

$121 Ft 39.1K

-18.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$395 R 6,504

$845 Ft 274.0K

-53.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 R 5,878

$638 Ft 206.9K

-44.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 R 12.2K

$1,609 Ft 521.5K

-53.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 R 12.2K

$1,217 Ft 394.5K

-38.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$727 R 12.0K

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

-86.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$741 R 12.2K

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

-81.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,205 R 19.8K

$1,724 Ft 559.0K

-30.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.94

6.34

88.33%

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

Last update for Grahamstown: November 1, 2026

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Grahamstown

$357 31.9%

Budapest

$638 38.8% 79% $282

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Grahamstown

$200 17.9%

Budapest

$226 13.7% 12.9% $26

Groceries & Markets

Grahamstown

$195 17.4%

Budapest

$260 15.8% 33.2% $65

Eating Out

Grahamstown

$159 14.2%

Budapest

$220 13.4% 38.6% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Grahamstown

$144 12.8%

Budapest

$169 10.3% 17.9% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Grahamstown

$57 5.1%

Budapest

$91 5.5% 60.4% $34

Getting Around

Grahamstown

$9.1 * 0.8%

Budapest

$43 2.6% 376% $34

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $395 in Grahamstown 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 43% 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 $42 in Grahamstown versus $61 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $195 vs $260 – making Grahamstown the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Grahamstown

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

03:29 3:29 AM

02:29 2:29 AM

1 h behind Grahamstown

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,264

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 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 = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 324 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 364 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Grahamstown Budapest 9,020 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Grahamstown
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

Grahamstown 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 groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,679 per month in Grahamstown 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 Grahamstown, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $395 there versus $845 in Budapest.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $42 in Grahamstown and $61 in Budapest. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 33% more in Budapest, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,120 in Grahamstown and $1,647 in Budapest. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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