Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Qena and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Qena: $468 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Qena
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Qena Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Qena

🇪🇬 Egypt

$468

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $468 per month in Qena vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Qena $468
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $746 per month in Qena vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Qena $746
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $1,023 per month in Qena vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Qena $1,023
Budapest $3,429

Qena is about 71% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Qena sits 65% below the global median, while Budapest is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.84 E£205

$13.94 Ft 4,521

-72.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.99 E£801

$61.2 Ft 19.9K

-75.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.78 E£309

$10.19 Ft 3,304

-43.28%

Cappuccino

$2.00 E£107

$3.26 Ft 1,059

-38.65%

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

$0.50 E£26.78

$2.14 Ft 693

-76.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.18 E£9.56

$1.78 Ft 579

-89.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.92 E£103

$3.71 Ft 1,203

-48.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 E£162

$3.77 Ft 1,222

-19.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 E£51.7

$1.15 Ft 372

-15.65%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 E£40.69

$1.79 Ft 580

-57.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.66 E£35.14

$2.49 Ft 807

-73.49%

Eggs

$1.93 E£103

$3.90 Ft 1,266

-50.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.15 E£169

$11.10 Ft 3,602

-71.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.61 E£300

$6.62 Ft 2,147

-15.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.89 E£528

$14.69 Ft 4,764

-32.68%

Apples (1kg)

$1.48 E£79.2

$1.83 Ft 594

-19.13%

Banana (1kg)

$0.52 E£27.67

$2.05 Ft 664

-74.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.67

$2.37 Ft 769

-82.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.99

$3.90 Ft 1,265

-89.49%

Potato (1kg)

$0.34 E£18.28

$0.99 Ft 322

-65.66%

Onion (1kg)

$0.39 E£20.87

$1.00 Ft 323

-61.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.27 E£14.25

$1.58 Ft 513

-82.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.18 E£9.69

$0.67 Ft 217

-73.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.14 E£114

$7.96 Ft 2,582

-73.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.22 E£386

$6.22 Ft 2,017

16.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 E£67.1

$1.27 Ft 413

-0.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 E£91.6

$2.03 Ft 657

-15.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.17 E£9.02

$1.52 Ft 492

-88.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,089

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 E£20.03

$3.31 Ft 1,074

-88.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 E£11.18

$1.37 Ft 444

-84.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.26 E£67.1

$19.83 Ft 6,432

-93.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.75

$1.82 Ft 591

-76.37%

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

$31.9K E£1.7M

$29.8K Ft 9.7M

7.00%

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

$21.8K E£1.2M

$33.8K Ft 11.0M

-35.67%

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

$25.42 E£1,359

$171 Ft 55.5K

-85.14%

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

$7.95 E£425

$23.51 Ft 7,627

-66.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.28 E£496

$23.29 Ft 7,556

-60.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.61 E£834

$67.5 Ft 21.9K

-76.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,129

Cinema Ticket

$3.39 E£181

$9.30 Ft 3,016

-63.55%

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

$101 E£5,375

$533 Ft 173.0K

-81.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$598 E£32.0K

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-96.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.95 E£1,066

$99.6 Ft 32.3K

-79.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.52 E£1,791

$43.49 Ft 14.1K

-22.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 E£6,579

$110 Ft 35.8K

11.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$28.92 E£1,545

$119 Ft 38.6K

-75.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 E£7,086

$830 Ft 269.4K

-84.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$79.8 E£4,265

$622 Ft 201.7K

-87.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$280 E£14.9K

$1,594 Ft 516.9K

-82.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$145 E£7,723

$1,170 Ft 379.6K

-87.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$709 E£37.9K

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-87.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$300 E£16.0K

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

-92.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 535.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

6.45

151.32%

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

Last update for Qena: October 12, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Qena

$138 29.5%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 86.6% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Qena

$92 19.8%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 81.2% $75

Eating Out

Qena

$90 19.3%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 147% $133

Accommodation & Living

Qena

$80 17.1%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 679% $542

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Qena

$43 9.1%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 411% $175

Sport & Entertainment

Qena

$22 4.8%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 285% $64

Getting Around

Qena

$2.1 * 0.5%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 2007% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $133 in Qena 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $15.00 in Qena versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $138 vs $258 – making Qena the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Qena

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

21:30 9:30 PM

20:30 8:30 PM

1 h behind Qena

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

235,362

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 = 3.08 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 53.44 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 59.84 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 324 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Qena Budapest 2,660 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Qena
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

Qena vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 246%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $702 per month in Qena 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 Qena, 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 $15.00 in Qena 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 87% 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 $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Qena, where all-in costs run around $468, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Qena it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Qena – 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 Qena. 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.