Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Koh Lanta and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Koh Lanta: $907 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Koh Lanta
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Koh Lanta Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Koh Lanta

🇹🇭 Thailand

$907

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $907 per month in Koh Lanta vs $1,621 in Budapest, rent included.

Koh Lanta $907
Budapest $1,621

A couple spends around $1,498 per month in Koh Lanta vs $2,555 in Budapest, rent included.

Koh Lanta $1,498
Budapest $2,555

A family of three spends $2,089 per month in Koh Lanta vs $3,489 in Budapest, rent included.

Koh Lanta $2,089
Budapest $3,489

Koh Lanta is about 44% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Koh Lanta sits 32% below the global median, while Budapest is 21% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.62 ฿121

$13.99 Ft 4,551

-74.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.92 ฿868

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

-57.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 ฿229

$9.96 Ft 3,241

-31.33%

Cappuccino

$2.26 ฿75.5

$3.38 Ft 1,100

-33.14%

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

$0.78 ฿25.96

$2.13 Ft 692

-63.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 ฿12.15

$1.87 Ft 608

-80.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.08 ฿69.6

$3.75 Ft 1,221

-44.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 ฿98.7

$3.57 Ft 1,162

-17.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 ฿51.4

$1.13 Ft 368

35.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.31 ฿43.96

$1.84 Ft 599

-28.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.45

$2.39 Ft 777

-43.10%

Eggs

$1.87 ฿62.6

$3.83 Ft 1,245

-51.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.72 ฿593

$11.33 Ft 3,686

56.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.00 ฿101

$6.74 Ft 2,192

-55.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.85 ฿330

$14.69 Ft 4,780

-32.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 ฿85.4

$1.84 Ft 597

38.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 ฿50.9

$2.01 Ft 653

-24.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.04 ฿68.3

$2.36 Ft 767

-13.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 ฿63.8

$3.77 Ft 1,226

-49.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 ฿43.56

$0.96 Ft 313

35.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 ฿40.09

$1.03 Ft 334

16.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 ฿34.11

$1.56 Ft 509

-34.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 ฿15.55

$0.66 Ft 216

-30.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.80 ฿127

$7.96 Ft 2,591

-52.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 ฿553

$6.01 Ft 1,954

174.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.4

$1.30 Ft 421

24.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 ฿84.7

$2.08 Ft 676

21.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.83 ฿61.3

$1.50 Ft 489

22.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.1

$3.30 Ft 1,074

-26.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 ฿27.40

$1.30 Ft 424

-36.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 ฿100

$19.78 Ft 6,436

-84.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 ฿39.60

$1.81 Ft 591

-34.81%

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

$21.4K ฿716.8K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

-26.99%

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

$20.9K ฿698.6K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

-38.82%

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

$93.3 ฿3,122

$170 Ft 55.3K

-45.13%

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

$10.49 ฿351

$23.98 Ft 7,802

-56.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.60 ฿556

$23.42 Ft 7,621

-29.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.05 ฿1,475

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-33.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.20 ฿308

$19.18 Ft 6,239

-52.03%

Cinema Ticket

$6.55 ฿219

$9.52 Ft 3,098

-31.20%

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

$491 ฿16.4K

$537 Ft 174.6K

-8.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ฿351.4K

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

-36.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.6 ฿1,997

$101 Ft 33.0K

-41.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.29 ฿914

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

-36.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.7 ฿3,038

$113 Ft 36.7K

-19.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.0 ฿2,778

$119 Ft 38.6K

-30.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$439 ฿14.7K

$805 Ft 262.0K

-45.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$280 ฿9,373

$629 Ft 204.7K

-55.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,264 ฿42.3K

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

-18.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.0K

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

-38.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,095 ฿70.2K

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-62.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,519 ฿50.9K

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-61.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.43

-13.37%

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

Last update for Koh Lanta: 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

Koh Lanta

$280 30.2%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 125% $349

Groceries & Markets

Koh Lanta

$241 26%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 7% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Koh Lanta

$120 13%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 80.6% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Koh Lanta

$117 12.7%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 44.2% $52

Eating Out

Koh Lanta

$97 10.5%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 130% $127

Sport & Entertainment

Koh Lanta

$57 6.2%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 49.2% $28

Getting Around

Koh Lanta

$14 * 1.5%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 214% $30

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $439 in Koh Lanta 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 $26.00 in Koh Lanta versus $60.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $241 vs $258 – making Koh Lanta the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Koh Lanta

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

17:12 5:12 PM

12:12 12:12 PM

5 h behind Koh Lanta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

32,000

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 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 THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Koh Lanta Budapest 8,630 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Koh Lanta
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

Koh Lanta vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 79%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,361 per month in Koh Lanta 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 Koh Lanta, 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 $26.00 in Koh Lanta 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 7% 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 $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Koh Lanta, where all-in costs run around $907, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Koh Lanta it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Koh Lanta – 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 Koh Lanta. 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.