Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saitama and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Saitama: $1,007 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Saitama
Learn more

Saitama Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index

Jump to prices

Saitama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,007

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,007 per month in Saitama vs $1,641 in Budapest, rent included.

Saitama $1,007
Budapest $1,641

A couple spends around $1,330 per month in Saitama vs $2,562 in Budapest, rent included.

Saitama $1,330
Budapest $2,562

A family of three spends $1,653 per month in Saitama vs $3,483 in Budapest, rent included.

Saitama $1,653
Budapest $3,483

Saitama is about 39% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Saitama sits 26% below the global median, while Budapest is 21% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.55 ¥876

$14.04 Ft 4,536

-60.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.14 ¥4,920

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

-48.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.86 ¥768

$10.37 Ft 3,351

-53.13%

Cappuccino

$3.07 ¥486

$3.46 Ft 1,117

-11.27%

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

$0.72 ¥114

$2.07 Ft 669

-65.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 ¥103

$1.77 Ft 572

-63.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.46 ¥389

$3.69 Ft 1,191

-33.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 ¥503

$3.80 Ft 1,229

-16.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 ¥229

$1.16 Ft 374

25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 ¥260

$1.85 Ft 598

-11.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 ¥423

$2.40 Ft 776

11.67%

Eggs

$2.00 ¥316

$3.99 Ft 1,289

-49.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.14 ¥1,601

$11.40 Ft 3,683

-11.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.45 ¥861

$6.87 Ft 2,221

-20.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 ¥2,281

$14.49 Ft 4,682

-0.35%

Apples (1kg)

$5.58 ¥882

$1.88 Ft 607

196.81%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 ¥355

$2.14 Ft 693

5.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 ¥449

$2.30 Ft 744

23.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.19 ¥662

$4.04 Ft 1,304

3.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.61 ¥412

$1.02 Ft 329

155.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 ¥247

$0.99 Ft 320

57.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 ¥197

$1.58 Ft 510

-20.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 ¥126

$0.70 Ft 225

14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.70 ¥585

$8.03 Ft 2,594

-53.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 ¥999

$6.18 Ft 1,997

2.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ¥274

$1.24 Ft 401

40.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 ¥333

$2.06 Ft 666

2.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.45 ¥545

$1.59 Ft 513

116.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 ¥492

$3.43 Ft 1,110

-9.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 ¥427

$1.33 Ft 431

103.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.19 ¥3,190

$20.45 Ft 6,607

-1.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ¥174

$1.93 Ft 624

-43.01%

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

$21.9K ¥3.5M

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

-24.78%

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

$14.4K ¥2.3M

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

-58.56%

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

$131 ¥20.7K

$175 Ft 56.4K

-24.94%

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

$17.62 ¥2,784

$23.62 Ft 7,631

-25.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.87 ¥5,036

$23.60 Ft 7,625

35.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.5 ¥9,721

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

-10.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

Cinema Ticket

$11.12 ¥1,757

$10.31 Ft 3,333

7.86%

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

$620 ¥97.9K

$535 Ft 172.9K

15.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ¥2.3M

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-11.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.90 ¥5,514

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

-65.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.61 ¥4,047

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

-40.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$55.5 ¥8,772

$112 Ft 36.1K

-50.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.9 ¥9,773

$119 Ft 38.4K

-48.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$414 ¥65.3K

$832 Ft 268.8K

-50.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$237 ¥37.4K

$629 Ft 203.3K

-62.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,505 ¥237.7K

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

-12.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.06

6.45

-68.06%

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

Last update for Saitama: October 19, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Saitama

$275 27.4%

Budapest

$262 16% 4.9% $14

Accommodation & Living

Saitama

$237 23.5%

Budapest

$629 38.4% 166% $393

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saitama

$181 17.9%

Budapest

$222 13.5% 22.9% $41

Eating Out

Saitama

$120 11.9%

Budapest

$226 13.8% 88.6% $106

Sport & Entertainment

Saitama

$84 8.3%

Budapest

$89 5.5% 6.8% $5.7

Clothing & Footwear

Saitama

$80 8%

Budapest

$168 10.3% 110% $88

Getting Around

Saitama

$30 * 3%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 44.6% $14

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $414 in Saitama 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 14% 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 $31.00 in Saitama versus $61.0 in Budapest. Groceries tell a different story – $275 in Saitama vs $262 in Budapest – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Saitama

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

20:36 8:36 PM

13:36 1:36 PM

7 h behind Saitama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,182,115

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 →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Saitama Budapest 9,030 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Saitama
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

Saitama vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 63%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,510 per month in Saitama 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 Saitama, 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 $31.00 in Saitama and $61.0 in Budapest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 5% cheaper in Budapest – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Saitama, where all-in costs run around $1,007, than in Budapest at $1,641. In Saitama it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Saitama – 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 Saitama. 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.