Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Cairo and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in New Cairo: $728 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in New Cairo
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New Cairo Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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New Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$728

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $728 per month in New Cairo vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

New Cairo $728
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $1,097 per month in New Cairo vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

New Cairo $1,097
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $1,467 per month in New Cairo vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

New Cairo $1,467
Budapest $3,429

New Cairo is about 55% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

New Cairo sits 46% below the global median, while Budapest is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.74 E£307

$13.94 Ft 4,503

-58.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.75 E£1,375

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

-57.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 E£299

$10.19 Ft 3,291

-45.04%

Cappuccino

$2.00 E£107

$3.26 Ft 1,055

-38.65%

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

$0.38 E£20.30

$2.14 Ft 690

-82.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 E£7.89

$1.78 Ft 577

-91.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.93 E£156

$3.71 Ft 1,198

-21.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.37 E£180

$3.77 Ft 1,217

-10.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.96 E£51.4

$1.15 Ft 371

-16.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 E£54.1

$1.79 Ft 578

-43.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 E£41.36

$2.49 Ft 804

-69.08%

Eggs

$1.51 E£80.5

$3.90 Ft 1,261

-61.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.25 E£227

$11.10 Ft 3,587

-61.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.53 E£295

$6.62 Ft 2,139

-16.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.34 E£445

$14.69 Ft 4,745

-43.23%

Apples (1kg)

$1.71 E£91.6

$1.83 Ft 591

-6.56%

Banana (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.29

$2.05 Ft 661

-63.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.49 E£25.94

$2.37 Ft 765

-79.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.40 E£21.56

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-89.74%

Potato (1kg)

$0.32 E£17.29

$0.99 Ft 320

-67.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 E£24.94

$1.00 Ft 322

-53.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.20 E£10.67

$1.58 Ft 511

-87.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.24 E£12.82

$0.67 Ft 216

-64.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.90 E£101

$7.96 Ft 2,572

-76.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.75 E£521

$6.22 Ft 2,009

56.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 E£75.0

$1.27 Ft 411

10.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 E£107

$2.03 Ft 654

-1.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.17 E£8.91

$1.52 Ft 490

-88.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.55 E£29.35

$3.31 Ft 1,070

-83.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.16 E£8.60

$1.37 Ft 442

-88.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 E£205

$19.83 Ft 6,406

-80.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.42 E£22.42

$1.82 Ft 589

-76.92%

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

$32.4K E£1.7M

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

8.79%

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

$26.7K E£1.4M

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

-20.93%

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

$40.44 E£2,159

$171 Ft 55.3K

-76.37%

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

$9.41 E£503

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-59.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.06 E£751

$23.29 Ft 7,526

-39.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.14 E£1,556

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-56.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.16 E£329

$18.89 Ft 6,104

-67.39%

Cinema Ticket

$3.24 E£173

$9.30 Ft 3,004

-65.16%

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

$180 E£9,611

$533 Ft 172.3K

-66.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,744 E£253.3K

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-71.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.25 E£2,470

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-53.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.5 E£2,908

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

25.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,151

$110 Ft 35.7K

4.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.5 E£3,016

$119 Ft 38.4K

-52.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$300 E£16.0K

$830 Ft 268.3K

-63.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$246 E£13.1K

$622 Ft 200.9K

-60.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$548 E£29.3K

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

-65.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 E£19.1K

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

-69.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,204 E£64.3K

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-79.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$647 E£34.5K

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

-83.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$187 E£10.0K

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

-88.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.4

6.45

76.74%

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

Last update for New Cairo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New Cairo

$246 33.8%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 153% $376

Groceries & Markets

New Cairo

$147 20.2%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 75.1% $111

Clothing & Footwear

New Cairo

$123 16.8%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 36.7% $45

Eating Out

New Cairo

$110 15.1%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 102% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Cairo

$64 8.8%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 241% $154

Sport & Entertainment

New Cairo

$36 4.9%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 142% $51

Getting Around

New Cairo

$2 * 0.3%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 2090% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $300 in New Cairo versus $830 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 782% 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 $26.00 in New Cairo versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $147 vs $258 – making New Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 New Cairo

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

01:40 1:40 AM

00:40 12:40 AM

1 h behind New Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

298,343

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

New Cairo Budapest 2,220 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

New Cairo
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

New Cairo vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 122%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,092 per month in New Cairo and $2,428 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in New Cairo, 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 New Cairo and $61.0 in Budapest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 75% 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 $1,000 monthly budget goes further in New Cairo, where all-in costs run around $728, than in Budapest at $1,619. In New Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward New Cairo – 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 New Cairo. 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.