Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Madinat As Sultan Qaboos and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos: $953 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos
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Madinat As Sultan Qaboos Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🇴🇲 Oman

$953

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $953 per month in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $953
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $1,433 per month in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $1,433
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $1,914 per month in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $1,914
Budapest $3,429

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos is about 41% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos sits 29% below the global median, while Budapest is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.29 OMR 2.04

$13.94 Ft 4,503

-62.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.70 OMR 15.29

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

-35.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.76 OMR 2.99

$10.19 Ft 3,291

-23.85%

Cappuccino

$4.94 OMR 1.90

$3.26 Ft 1,055

51.53%

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

$0.84 OMR 0.32

$2.14 Ft 690

-60.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 OMR 0.11

$1.78 Ft 577

-83.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.92 OMR 4.97

$3.71 Ft 1,198

248.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.93 OMR 4.98

$3.77 Ft 1,217

242.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.31 OMR 0.89

$1.15 Ft 371

100.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.20 OMR 0.46

$1.79 Ft 578

-32.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 OMR 0.70

$2.49 Ft 804

-26.91%

Eggs

$3.03 OMR 1.17

$3.90 Ft 1,261

-22.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.11 OMR 2.74

$11.10 Ft 3,587

-35.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.00 OMR 2.70

$6.62 Ft 2,139

5.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.58 OMR 4.07

$14.69 Ft 4,745

-27.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.59 OMR 1.38

$1.83 Ft 591

96.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 OMR 0.78

$2.05 Ft 661

-0.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 OMR 0.90

$2.37 Ft 765

-1.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 OMR 0.50

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-66.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 OMR 0.45

$0.99 Ft 320

17.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 OMR 0.49

$1.00 Ft 322

28.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.85 OMR 0.71

$1.58 Ft 511

17.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 OMR 0.27

$0.67 Ft 216

5.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.65 OMR 2.56

$7.96 Ft 2,572

-16.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.76 OMR 6.07

$6.22 Ft 2,009

153.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$6.08 OMR 2.34

$1.27 Ft 411

378.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.22 OMR 3.93

$2.03 Ft 654

403.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 OMR 1.28

$3.31 Ft 1,070

0.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.56 OMR 0.98

$1.37 Ft 442

86.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.74 OMR 2.98

$19.83 Ft 6,406

-60.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 OMR 0.25

$1.82 Ft 589

-64.84%

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

$25.3K OMR 9,736

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

-15.13%

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

$22.3K OMR 8,570

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

-34.17%

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

$176 OMR 67.9

$171 Ft 55.3K

3.03%

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

$31.16 OMR 12.00

$23.51 Ft 7,596

32.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.5 OMR 27.51

$23.29 Ft 7,526

206.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 OMR 4.01

$9.30 Ft 3,004

12.15%

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

$292 OMR 112

$533 Ft 172.3K

-45.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K OMR 4,033

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-37.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 OMR 21.33

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-44.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.86 OMR 16.89

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

0.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.6 OMR 34.12

$110 Ft 35.7K

-19.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 OMR 34.02

$119 Ft 38.4K

-25.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

6.45

-18.60%

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

Last update for Madinat As Sultan Qaboos: October 13, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$293 30.7%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 12% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$279 29.3%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 21.9% $61

Eating Out

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$220 23.1%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 1.4% $3.1

Clothing & Footwear

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$124 13%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 34.8% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$21 * 2.2%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 313% $65

Getting Around

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$16 * 1.7%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 174% $28

Accommodation & Living

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

- * 0%

Budapest

$622 38.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos versus $61.0 in Budapest. Groceries tell a different story – $293 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos vs $258 in Budapest – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇴🇲 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

11:37 11:37 AM

09:37 9:37 AM

2 h behind Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to OMR – Omani Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇴🇲 Omani Rial (ر.ع.)

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.433 OMR (1 OMR = 2.31 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to OMR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos Budapest 4,370 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos
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

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 70%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,430 per month in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos and $2,428 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos and $61.0 in Budapest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 14% cheaper in Budapest – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos, where all-in costs run around $953, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Madinat As Sultan Qaboos it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Madinat As Sultan Qaboos – 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 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos. 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.