Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phnom Penh and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Phnom Penh: $1,037 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Phnom Penh
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Phnom Penh Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Phnom Penh

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$1,037

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,037 per month in Phnom Penh vs $1,621 in Budapest, rent included.

Phnom Penh $1,037
Budapest $1,621

A couple spends around $1,654 per month in Phnom Penh vs $2,555 in Budapest, rent included.

Phnom Penh $1,654
Budapest $2,555

A family of three spends $2,271 per month in Phnom Penh vs $3,489 in Budapest, rent included.

Phnom Penh $2,271
Budapest $3,489

Phnom Penh is about 36% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Phnom Penh sits 23% below the global median, while Budapest is 21% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.08 ៛16.5K

$13.99 Ft 4,555

-70.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.62 ៛160.5K

$60.3 Ft 19.7K

-34.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.91 ៛28.0K

$9.96 Ft 3,244

-30.62%

Cappuccino

$3.02 ៛12.2K

$3.38 Ft 1,102

-10.65%

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

$1.87 ៛7,572

$2.13 Ft 693

-12.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 ៛2,484

$1.87 Ft 609

-67.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.98 ៛3,964

$3.75 Ft 1,222

-73.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 ៛11.9K

$3.57 Ft 1,163

-17.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ៛8,802

$1.13 Ft 369

92.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 ៛6,506

$1.84 Ft 600

-12.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 ៛4,316

$2.39 Ft 777

-55.23%

Eggs

$1.73 ៛7,023

$3.83 Ft 1,246

-54.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.96 ៛60.6K

$11.33 Ft 3,689

32.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.07 ៛16.5K

$6.74 Ft 2,194

-39.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.25 ៛37.5K

$14.69 Ft 4,784

-37.03%

Apples (1kg)

$3.87 ៛15.7K

$1.84 Ft 598

110.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ៛6,879

$2.01 Ft 654

-15.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.30 ៛17.4K

$2.36 Ft 767

82.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ៛8,646

$3.77 Ft 1,227

-43.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.62 ៛6,549

$0.96 Ft 314

68.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 ៛5,172

$1.03 Ft 335

24.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ៛4,656

$1.56 Ft 509

-26.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ៛3,099

$0.66 Ft 216

16.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.95 ៛7,883

$7.96 Ft 2,594

-75.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.20 ៛45.4K

$6.01 Ft 1,956

86.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 ៛4,165

$1.30 Ft 422

-20.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 ៛7,263

$2.08 Ft 677

-13.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.47 ៛1,900

$1.50 Ft 490

-68.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.74 ៛39.4K

$27.61 Ft 8,991

-64.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.10 ៛4,455

$3.30 Ft 1,075

-66.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ៛3,954

$1.30 Ft 424

-24.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.15 ៛20.9K

$19.78 Ft 6,442

-73.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 ៛5,484

$1.81 Ft 591

-25.41%

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

$35.5K ៛143.9M

$29.3K Ft 9.6M

21.17%

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

$43.9K ៛177.6M

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

28.57%

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

$106 ៛431.3K

$170 Ft 55.3K

-37.34%

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

$7.39 ៛29.9K

$23.98 Ft 7,809

-69.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.24 ៛102.2K

$23.42 Ft 7,628

7.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.80 ៛165.2K

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-38.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.94 ៛44.3K

$19.18 Ft 6,245

-42.96%

Cinema Ticket

$4.97 ៛20.1K

$9.52 Ft 3,101

-47.79%

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

$665 ៛2.7M

$537 Ft 174.8K

23.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K ៛44.5M

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

-33.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.67 ៛112.1K

$101 Ft 33.0K

-72.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.26 ៛98.2K

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

-43.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.8 ៛363.6K

$113 Ft 36.7K

-20.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.1 ៛239.3K

$119 Ft 38.7K

-50.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$639 ៛2.6M

$805 Ft 262.2K

-20.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 ៛1.5M

$629 Ft 204.9K

-41.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 ៛4.7M

$1,549 Ft 504.6K

-25.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$803 ៛3.3M

$1,167 Ft 380.1K

-31.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,883 ៛11.7M

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-48.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,488 ៛6.0M

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-62.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$330 ៛1.3M

$1,626 Ft 529.5K

-79.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.07

6.43

25.51%

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

Last update for Phnom Penh: October 6, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phnom Penh

$370 35.9%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 70.3% $260

Groceries & Markets

Phnom Penh

$252 24.5%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 2.3% $5.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phnom Penh

$139 13.5%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 56.2% $78

Eating Out

Phnom Penh

$110 10.7%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 103% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Phnom Penh

$90 8.8%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 87.2% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Phnom Penh

$51 4.9%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 68% $35

Getting Around

Phnom Penh

$18 1.7%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 147% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $639 in Phnom Penh 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.

Salaries run about 392% 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 $40.00 in Phnom Penh versus $60.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $252 vs $258 – making Phnom Penh the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇭 Phnom Penh

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

07:27 7:27 AM

02:27 2:27 AM

5 h behind Phnom Penh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,009,264 Capital

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to KHR – Cambodian Riel Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇭 Cambodian Riel (៛)

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4,050 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD). 1 EUR = 4,542 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 326 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

USD to KHR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phnom Penh Budapest 8,750 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phnom Penh
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

Phnom Penh vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 56%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,556 per month in Phnom Penh 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 Phnom Penh, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 183% less in Phnom Penh. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $665 per month in Phnom Penh and $537 in Budapest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phnom Penh, where all-in costs run around $1,037, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Phnom Penh it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Phnom Penh – 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 Phnom Penh. 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.