Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,621 a month against $2,224 in Kingston, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Kingston
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Kingston Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Kingston

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,224

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,224 per month in Kingston vs $1,621 in Budapest, rent included.

Kingston $2,224
Budapest $1,621

A couple spends around $3,051 per month in Kingston vs $2,555 in Budapest, rent included.

Kingston $3,051
Budapest $2,555

A family of three spends $3,879 per month in Kingston vs $3,489 in Budapest, rent included.

Kingston $3,879
Budapest $3,489

Kingston costs about 37% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Kingston and Budapest sit above the global median – Kingston by 66%, Budapest by 21%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.71 CA$20.97

$13.99 Ft 4,551

5.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.7 CA$89.3

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

3.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.17 CA$15.92

$9.96 Ft 3,241

12.15%

Cappuccino

$3.51 CA$5.00

$3.38 Ft 1,100

3.85%

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

$2.01 CA$2.87

$2.13 Ft 692

-5.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 CA$1.86

$1.87 Ft 608

-29.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.87 CA$8.37

$3.75 Ft 1,221

56.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.27 CA$8.93

$3.57 Ft 1,162

75.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.04 CA$2.90

$1.13 Ft 368

80.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.44 CA$3.48

$1.84 Ft 599

32.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.29 CA$4.69

$2.39 Ft 777

37.66%

Eggs

$2.90 CA$4.14

$3.83 Ft 1,245

-24.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.27 CA$14.64

$11.33 Ft 3,686

-9.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.31 CA$16.12

$6.74 Ft 2,192

67.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.99 CA$14.24

$14.69 Ft 4,780

-31.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.89 CA$4.12

$1.84 Ft 597

57.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.14 CA$1.63

$2.01 Ft 653

-43.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.51 CA$5.00

$2.36 Ft 767

48.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 CA$5.06

$3.77 Ft 1,226

-5.84%

Potato (1kg)

$3.30 CA$4.71

$0.96 Ft 313

243.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.24 CA$3.19

$1.03 Ft 334

117.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.61 CA$3.72

$1.56 Ft 509

67.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 CA$2.26

$0.66 Ft 216

139.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.40 CA$19.10

$7.96 Ft 2,591

68.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.16 CA$17.33

$6.01 Ft 1,954

102.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 CA$3.09

$1.30 Ft 421

66.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 CA$4.68

$2.08 Ft 676

57.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.48 CA$3.54

$1.50 Ft 489

65.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.2 CA$80.0

$27.61 Ft 8,982

103.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.07 CA$4.37

$3.30 Ft 1,074

-6.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 CA$2.14

$1.30 Ft 424

15.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.06 CA$44.27

$19.78 Ft 6,436

57.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 CA$1.63

$1.81 Ft 591

-37.02%

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

$27.6K CA$39.3K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

-6.02%

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

$18.7K CA$26.7K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

-45.15%

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

$120 CA$171

$170 Ft 55.3K

-29.34%

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

$38.49 CA$54.9

$23.98 Ft 7,802

60.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.2 CA$90.1

$23.42 Ft 7,621

169.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.06 CA$40.00

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-57.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.84 CA$12.60

$19.18 Ft 6,239

-53.91%

Cinema Ticket

$10.41 CA$14.84

$9.52 Ft 3,098

9.35%

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

$514 CA$733

$537 Ft 174.6K

-4.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.7 CA$73.7

$101 Ft 33.0K

-48.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.55 CA$46.39

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

-24.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 CA$114

$113 Ft 36.7K

-29.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.3 CA$122

$119 Ft 38.6K

-28.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,535 CA$2,188

$805 Ft 262.0K

90.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,181 CA$1,684

$629 Ft 204.7K

87.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,287 CA$3,260

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

47.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,544 CA$2,201

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

32.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,384 CA$4,824

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-39.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,449 CA$3,491

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-38.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,979 CA$4,246

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

83.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.61

6.43

-28.30%

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

Last update for Kingston: October 5, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kingston

$1.2K 53.3%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 46.7% $552

Groceries & Markets

Kingston

$326 14.7%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 20.9% $68

Eating Out

Kingston

$248 11.2%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 9.7% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston

$222 10%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 2% $4.4

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston

$112 5.1%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 50.8% $57

Getting Around

Kingston

$77 3.5%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 43.3% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston

$49 2.2%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 74.5% $36

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,535 in Kingston 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.

Salaries run about 83% higher in Kingston, 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 $63.0 in Kingston versus $60.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $326 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Kingston

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

03:10 3:10 AM

09:10 9:10 AM

6 h ahead of Kingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

123,363

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

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Between locations

Kingston Budapest 6,910 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Kingston vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Kingston is pricier by about 37%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,336 per month in Kingston 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 Budapest, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 103% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $514 per month in Kingston and $537 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 $1,621, than in Kingston at $2,224. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Kingston 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.

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