Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hungary and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Hungary: $1,375 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Hungary
Cape Town, South Africa
🇭🇺 Hungary
$1,375
/mo nomad
Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,527
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Hungary is 0.5% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 10% cheaper with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Hungary is 6.3% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 12.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Hungary
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$12.21 Ft 3,957
$12.01 R 198
1.67%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$56.3 Ft 18.2K
$42.92 R 707
31.13%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.42 Ft 3,054
$6.15 R 101
53.17%
Cappuccino
$2.69 Ft 871
$2.37 R 39.04
13.50%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.77 Ft 575
$1.27 R 20.96
39.37%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.34 Ft 435
$0.94 R 15.46
42.55%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.75 Ft 891
$2.96 R 48.77
-7.09%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.72 Ft 881
$3.69 R 60.8
-26.29%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Hungary
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.21 Ft 391
$1.32 R 21.73
-8.33%
White Bread (500g)
$1.54 Ft 500
$1.21 R 19.87
27.27%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.37 Ft 768
$2.20 R 36.26
7.73%
Eggs
$3.58 Ft 1,159
$3.10 R 51.1
15.48%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.58 Ft 3,431
$8.73 R 144
21.19%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.59 Ft 2,136
$6.89 R 114
-4.35%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$14.86 Ft 4,815
$9.26 R 153
60.48%
Apples (1kg)
$1.94 Ft 629
$1.83 R 30.08
6.01%
Banana (1kg)
$2.14 Ft 693
$1.95 R 32.12
9.74%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.17 Ft 703
$1.66 R 27.32
30.72%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.41 Ft 1,105
$2.14 R 35.19
59.35%
Potato (1kg)
$1.09 Ft 352
$1.58 R 26.01
-31.01%
Onion (1kg)
$1.25 Ft 407
$1.47 R 24.29
-14.97%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.57 Ft 509
$1.35 R 22.18
16.30%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.54 Ft 176
$1.14 R 18.85
-52.63%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$7.49 Ft 2,429
$3.58 R 59.0
109.22%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.37 Ft 1,742
$6.05 R 99.7
-11.24%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.22 Ft 395
$1.39 R 22.95
-12.23%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.89 Ft 613
$2.18 R 35.90
-13.30%
🚌 Getting Around
Hungary
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.37 Ft 443
$1.40 R 23.02
-2.14%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.35 Ft 8,865
$60.8 R 1,001
-54.98%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.38 Ft 1,096
$0.93 R 15.26
263.44%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.51 Ft 489
$0.90 R 14.83
67.78%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$18.57 Ft 6,019
$4.96 R 81.7
274.40%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.92 Ft 623
$1.54 R 25.37
24.68%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$28.2K Ft 9.1M
$35.4K R 582.8K
-20.31%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$34.3K Ft 11.1M
$33.4K R 549.9K
2.88%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Hungary
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$162 Ft 52.4K
$117 R 1,929
38.11%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$26.02 Ft 8,434
$25.71 R 424
1.21%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$22.57 Ft 7,317
$39.41 R 649
-42.73%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Hungary
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$53.8 Ft 17.4K
$51.6 R 850
4.15%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.92 Ft 5,160
$11.35 R 187
40.26%
Cinema Ticket
$9.03 Ft 2,927
$8.89 R 146
1.57%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Hungary
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$415 Ft 134.5K
$308 R 5,069
34.84%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$15.7K Ft 5.1M
$8,141 R 134.2K
92.71%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Hungary
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$87.8 Ft 28.5K
$57.4 R 946
53.01%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$36.57 Ft 11.9K
$31.75 R 523
15.18%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$92.7 Ft 30.0K
$116 R 1,911
-20.09%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$100 Ft 32.6K
$101 R 1,660
-0.26%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Hungary
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$580 Ft 187.9K
$1,047 R 17.2K
-44.63%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$468 Ft 151.8K
$669 R 11.0K
-30.03%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,051 Ft 340.8K
$1,861 R 30.7K
-43.49%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$829 Ft 268.8K
$1,407 R 23.2K
-41.07%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,693 Ft 1.2M
$2,410 R 39.7K
53.24%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,697 Ft 874.2K
$1,570 R 25.9K
71.84%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Hungary
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,304 Ft 422.5K
$1,630 R 26.9K
-20.01%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
7.13
10.89
-34.53%

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

Last update for Hungary: October 31, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Hungary
$468
Cape Town
$669 42.9% $201
Groceries & Markets
Hungary
$248
Cape Town
$223 10% $25
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Hungary
$210
Cape Town
$182 13.4% $28
Eating Out
Hungary
$190
Cape Town
$174 8.3% $16
Clothing & Footwear
Hungary
$143
Cape Town
$138 3.7% $5.3
Sport & Entertainment
Hungary
$72
Cape Town
$69 3.4% $2.4
Getting Around
Hungary
$44
Cape Town
$72 64.1% $28
Good to know
🇭🇺 Hungary
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🕒 Local time
03:47 3:47 AM
04:47 4:47 AM
1 h ahead of Hungary
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
9,599,744
3,740,026 Capital
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

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).

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Hungary Cape Town 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Hungary
  • Cape Town

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

Hungary vs other spots: cost of living compared

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