Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Tome and Principe and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome and Principe: $1,214 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome and Principe
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Sao Tome and Principe Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,214

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Sao Tome and Principe is 4.6% cheaper than Budapest without rent, and 25.1% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Sao Tome and Principe is 0.9% more expensive than Budapest without rent, and 24.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.81 STN 192

$13.99 Ft 4,551

-37.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.70 STN 999

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

-24.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.62 STN 188

$9.96 Ft 3,241

-13.45%

Cappuccino

$2.42 STN 52.8

$3.38 Ft 1,100

-28.40%

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

$1.74 STN 38.06

$2.13 Ft 692

-18.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 STN 24.57

$1.87 Ft 608

-40.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.76 STN 38.46

$3.75 Ft 1,221

-53.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 STN 39.44

$3.57 Ft 1,162

-49.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 STN 34.44

$1.13 Ft 368

39.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 STN 33.42

$1.84 Ft 599

-16.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.95 STN 42.63

$2.39 Ft 777

-18.41%

Eggs

$4.50 STN 98.3

$3.83 Ft 1,245

17.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.41 STN 424

$11.33 Ft 3,686

71.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.55 STN 427

$6.74 Ft 2,192

190.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.90 STN 457

$14.69 Ft 4,780

42.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.72 STN 81.2

$1.84 Ft 597

102.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 STN 38.50

$2.01 Ft 653

-12.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.58 STN 78.3

$2.36 Ft 767

51.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.37 STN 73.7

$3.77 Ft 1,226

-10.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.92 STN 63.9

$0.96 Ft 313

204.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.37 STN 51.7

$1.03 Ft 334

130.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 STN 11.06

$1.56 Ft 509

-67.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 STN 43.32

$0.66 Ft 216

200.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.25 STN 49.25

$7.96 Ft 2,591

-71.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.12 STN 177

$6.01 Ft 1,954

35.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 STN 30.74

$1.30 Ft 421

8.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 STN 37.22

$2.08 Ft 676

-18.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.41 STN 30.77

$1.50 Ft 489

-6.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.73 STN 37.81

$3.30 Ft 1,074

-47.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.64 STN 57.8

$1.30 Ft 424

103.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.90 STN 304

$19.78 Ft 6,436

-29.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 STN 37.00

$1.81 Ft 591

-6.63%

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

$24.3K STN 531.2K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

-17.10%

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

$31.1K STN 678.7K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

-8.94%

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

$225 STN 4,918

$170 Ft 55.3K

32.46%

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

$31.43 STN 687

$23.98 Ft 7,802

31.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.6 STN 1,477

$23.42 Ft 7,621

188.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.47 STN 731

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

-49.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.52 STN 558

$19.18 Ft 6,239

33.06%

Cinema Ticket

$20.45 STN 447

$9.52 Ft 3,098

114.81%

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

$228 STN 4,976

$537 Ft 174.6K

-57.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,161 STN 47.2K

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

-86.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.8 STN 1,656

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

76.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$18.52 STN 405

$119 Ft 38.6K

-84.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$283 STN 6,178

$805 Ft 262.0K

-64.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 STN 4,256

$629 Ft 204.7K

-69.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$946 STN 20.7K

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

-38.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 STN 9,627

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

-62.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,860 STN 40.6K

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-66.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,129 STN 24.7K

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-71.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$431 STN 9,428

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

-73.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.38

6.43

14.77%

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

Last update for Sao Tome and Principe: October 6, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sao Tome and Principe

$402 33.3%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 35.9% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Tome and Principe

$324 26.9%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 32.9% $107

Accommodation & Living

Sao Tome and Principe

$195 16.1%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 223% $434

Eating Out

Sao Tome and Principe

$149 12.4%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 50.3% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Tome and Principe

$74 6.2%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 14.7% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Tome and Principe

$42 * 3.5%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 299% $127

Getting Around

Sao Tome and Principe

$21 * 1.7%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 111% $23

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

Good to know

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

06:57 6:57 AM

08:57 8:57 AM

2 h ahead of Sao Tome and Principe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

204,327

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 STN = 4.58 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to STN – Sao Tome and Principe Dobra Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe Dobra (Db)

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 21.85 STN (100 STN = 4.58 USD). 1 EUR = 24.51 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

USD to STN in detail →

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