Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Newcastle, South Africa and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Newcastle: $1,020 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Newcastle
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Newcastle Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Newcastle

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,020

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,020 per month in Newcastle vs $1,647 in Budapest, rent included.

Newcastle $1,020
Budapest $1,647

A couple spends around $1,627 per month in Newcastle vs $2,567 in Budapest, rent included.

Newcastle $1,627
Budapest $2,567

A family of three spends $2,235 per month in Newcastle vs $3,488 in Budapest, rent included.

Newcastle $2,235
Budapest $3,488

Newcastle is about 38% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Newcastle sits 25% below the global median, while Budapest is 22% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.14 R 150

$13.63 Ft 4,407

-32.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.28 R 594

$60.7 Ft 19.6K

-40.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.33 R 87.3

$10.02 Ft 3,239

-46.81%

Cappuccino

$2.28 R 37.34

$3.33 Ft 1,075

-31.53%

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

$1.03 R 16.80

$2.12 Ft 684

-51.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.22

$1.80 Ft 581

-55.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 R 38.67

$3.61 Ft 1,166

-34.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.38 R 55.3

$3.59 Ft 1,160

-5.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R 19.48

$1.12 Ft 361

6.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 18.00

$1.93 Ft 623

-43.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 R 21.88

$2.49 Ft 804

-46.18%

Eggs

$1.83 R 30.04

$3.94 Ft 1,275

-53.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.79 R 111

$11.28 Ft 3,646

-39.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.97 R 81.5

$6.73 Ft 2,177

-26.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.43 R 122

$14.44 Ft 4,670

-48.55%

Apples (1kg)

$0.84 R 13.83

$1.86 Ft 601

-54.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.03 R 16.81

$2.04 Ft 658

-49.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.93 R 15.21

$2.29 Ft 740

-59.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 R 22.52

$3.99 Ft 1,290

-65.66%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 R 15.66

$0.94 Ft 304

2.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 R 20.20

$1.02 Ft 330

20.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R 12.60

$1.65 Ft 534

-53.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 R 10.00

$0.68 Ft 221

-10.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.22 R 52.8

$7.81 Ft 2,526

-58.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$2.93 R 47.95

$6.02 Ft 1,946

-51.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 R 22.46

$1.29 Ft 418

6.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 R 14.37

$2.02 Ft 655

-56.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 R 26.06

$1.50 Ft 484

6.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,769

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.31 R 5.15

$3.36 Ft 1,085

-90.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 R 12.51

$1.37 Ft 444

-44.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.48 R 237

$19.96 Ft 6,451

-27.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 R 25.13

$1.86 Ft 603

-17.74%

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

$35.8K R 587.0K

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

25.64%

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

$34.1K R 559.2K

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

2.25%

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

$154 R 2,524

$178 Ft 57.6K

-13.55%

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

$37.56 R 615

$23.58 Ft 7,623

59.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.63 R 600

$24.12 Ft 7,797

51.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.65 R 535

$69.7 Ft 22.5K

-53.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.38 R 170

$17.03 Ft 5,505

-39.05%

Cinema Ticket

$7.29 R 119

$10.48 Ft 3,388

-30.44%

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

$265 R 4,346

$625 Ft 202.1K

-57.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,178 R 101.2K

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

-68.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.7 R 864

$102 Ft 33.0K

-48.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.02 R 525

$43.41 Ft 14.0K

-26.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.7 R 1,503

$110 Ft 35.5K

-16.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.1 R 1,345

$121 Ft 39.0K

-31.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$434 R 7,106

$845 Ft 273.3K

-48.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$321 R 5,252

$638 Ft 206.4K

-49.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$759 R 12.4K

$1,609 Ft 520.1K

-52.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$751 R 12.3K

$1,217 Ft 393.5K

-38.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$676 R 11.1K

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

-87.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$704 R 11.5K

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

-81.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 557.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.34

6.34

78.86%

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

Last update for Newcastle: November 1, 2026

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Newcastle

$321 31.5%

Budapest

$638 38.8% 99.1% $318

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Newcastle

$228 22.4%

Budapest

$226 13.7% 1% $2.4

Groceries & Markets

Newcastle

$154 15.1%

Budapest

$260 15.8% 68.4% $106

Eating Out

Newcastle

$142 14%

Budapest

$220 13.4% 54.5% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Newcastle

$116 11.4%

Budapest

$169 10.3% 45.4% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Newcastle

$47 4.6%

Budapest

$91 5.5% 91.9% $43

Getting Around

Newcastle

$11 * 1%

Budapest

$43 2.6% 313% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $434 in Newcastle versus $845 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 $36 in Newcastle versus $61 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $154 vs $260 – making Newcastle the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Newcastle

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

20:28 8:28 PM

19:28 7:28 PM

1 h behind Newcastle

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

363,236

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Newcastle Budapest 8,440 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Newcastle
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

Newcastle vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 62%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,529 per month in Newcastle and $2,471 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Newcastle, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $434 there versus $845 in Budapest.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36 in Newcastle and $61 in Budapest. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 68% more in Budapest, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,020 in Newcastle and $1,647 in Budapest, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Newcastle – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.