Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Okayama and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Okayama: $975 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Okayama
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Okayama Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Okayama

🇯🇵 Japan

$975

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $975 per month in Okayama vs $1,641 in Budapest, rent included.

Okayama $975
Budapest $1,641

A couple spends around $1,564 per month in Okayama vs $2,562 in Budapest, rent included.

Okayama $1,564
Budapest $2,562

A family of three spends $2,153 per month in Okayama vs $3,483 in Budapest, rent included.

Okayama $2,153
Budapest $3,483

Okayama is about 41% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Okayama sits 28% below the global median, while Budapest is 21% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.90 ¥933

$14.04 Ft 4,536

-57.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.92 ¥3,937

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

-59.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.01 ¥791

$10.37 Ft 3,351

-51.69%

Cappuccino

$1.71 ¥270

$3.46 Ft 1,117

-50.58%

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

$0.71 ¥111

$2.07 Ft 669

-65.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 ¥107

$1.77 Ft 572

-61.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.88 ¥296

$3.69 Ft 1,191

-49.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 ¥304

$3.80 Ft 1,229

-49.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 ¥214

$1.16 Ft 374

16.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.61 ¥96.4

$1.85 Ft 598

-67.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.11 ¥649

$2.40 Ft 776

71.25%

Eggs

$1.48 ¥234

$3.99 Ft 1,289

-62.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.36 ¥2,426

$11.40 Ft 3,683

34.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.33 ¥1,000

$6.87 Ft 2,221

-7.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.08 ¥2,698

$14.49 Ft 4,682

17.87%

Apples (1kg)

$4.98 ¥787

$1.88 Ft 607

164.89%

Banana (1kg)

$2.90 ¥459

$2.14 Ft 693

35.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.94 ¥781

$2.30 Ft 744

114.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.44 ¥701

$4.04 Ft 1,304

9.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 ¥355

$1.02 Ft 329

119.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 ¥291

$0.99 Ft 320

85.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 ¥180

$1.58 Ft 510

-27.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ¥107

$0.70 Ft 225

-4.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.81 ¥602

$8.03 Ft 2,594

-52.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 ¥1,515

$6.18 Ft 1,997

55.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 ¥306

$1.24 Ft 401

56.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 ¥294

$2.06 Ft 666

-9.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ¥229

$1.59 Ft 513

-8.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.5 ¥8,300

$27.52 Ft 8,893

90.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 ¥509

$3.43 Ft 1,110

-6.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 ¥388

$1.33 Ft 431

84.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.52 ¥3,399

$20.45 Ft 6,607

5.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 ¥157

$1.93 Ft 624

-48.70%

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

$22.0K ¥3.5M

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

-24.59%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

-55.75%

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

$72.1 ¥11.4K

$175 Ft 56.4K

-58.73%

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

$14.09 ¥2,227

$23.62 Ft 7,631

-40.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.42 ¥4,016

$23.60 Ft 7,625

7.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 ¥8,321

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

-23.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

Cinema Ticket

$11.33 ¥1,790

$10.31 Ft 3,333

9.89%

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

$578 ¥91.3K

$535 Ft 172.9K

7.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.9K ¥2.4M

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-11.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.16 ¥7,766

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

-50.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.88 ¥5,668

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

-17.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.9 ¥9,628

$112 Ft 36.1K

-45.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.1 ¥15.3K

$119 Ft 38.4K

-18.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$329 ¥52.0K

$832 Ft 268.8K

-60.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ¥30.4K

$629 Ft 203.3K

-69.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$644 ¥101.7K

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

-59.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$428 ¥67.7K

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

-64.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,159 ¥657.1K

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

-27.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,788 ¥282.4K

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

-54.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,377 ¥217.6K

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

-19.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

6.45

-68.68%

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

Last update for Okayama: October 18, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Okayama

$311 31.9%

Budapest

$262 16% 15.8% $49

Accommodation & Living

Okayama

$192 19.7%

Budapest

$629 38.4% 227% $437

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Okayama

$112 11.5%

Budapest

$222 13.5% 98.8% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Okayama

$109 11.2%

Budapest

$168 10.3% 53.8% $59

Eating Out

Okayama

$102 10.4%

Budapest

$226 13.8% 123% $125

Sport & Entertainment

Okayama

$75 7.7%

Budapest

$89 5.5% 18.8% $14

Getting Around

Okayama

$74 7.6%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 40.4% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $329 in Okayama versus $832 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 24% 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 $25.00 in Okayama versus $61.0 in Budapest. Groceries tell a different story – $311 in Okayama vs $262 in Budapest – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Okayama

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

04:50 4:50 AM

21:50 9:50 PM

7 h behind Okayama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

719,474

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 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 JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Okayama Budapest 8,820 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Okayama
Budapest

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Okayama vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 68%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,462 per month in Okayama and $2,461 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Okayama, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 91% less in Okayama. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $578 per month in Okayama and $535 in Budapest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Okayama, where all-in costs run around $975, than in Budapest at $1,641. In Okayama it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Okayama – 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 Okayama. 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.