Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zihuatanejo and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Zihuatanejo: $1,131 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Zihuatanejo
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Zihuatanejo Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index

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Zihuatanejo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,131

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,131 per month in Zihuatanejo vs $1,641 in Budapest, rent included.

Zihuatanejo $1,131
Budapest $1,641

A couple spends around $1,824 per month in Zihuatanejo vs $2,562 in Budapest, rent included.

Zihuatanejo $1,824
Budapest $2,562

A family of three spends $2,517 per month in Zihuatanejo vs $3,483 in Budapest, rent included.

Zihuatanejo $2,517
Budapest $3,483

Zihuatanejo is about 31% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Zihuatanejo sits 17% below the global median, while Budapest is 21% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$203

$14.04 Ft 4,582

-22.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.16 MX$827

$60.9 Ft 19.9K

-27.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.74 MX$164

$10.37 Ft 3,385

-15.72%

Cappuccino

$3.48 MX$65.2

$3.46 Ft 1,129

0.58%

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

$1.36 MX$25.45

$2.07 Ft 676

-34.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 MX$19.08

$1.77 Ft 578

-42.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 MX$45.89

$3.69 Ft 1,203

-33.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.98 MX$74.4

$3.80 Ft 1,241

4.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 MX$31.05

$1.16 Ft 378

43.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 MX$47.69

$1.85 Ft 604

37.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.90

$2.40 Ft 784

-31.25%

Eggs

$2.44 MX$45.61

$3.99 Ft 1,302

-38.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.11 MX$152

$11.40 Ft 3,721

-28.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.52 MX$159

$6.87 Ft 2,243

24.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.56 MX$216

$14.49 Ft 4,730

-20.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 MX$51.0

$1.88 Ft 613

44.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 MX$29.27

$2.14 Ft 700

-27.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$2.30 Ft 752

-15.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.77 MX$33.10

$4.04 Ft 1,317

-56.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.24

$1.02 Ft 333

90.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 MX$35.15

$0.99 Ft 323

89.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.71

$1.58 Ft 515

-9.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.47

$0.70 Ft 227

55.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.28 MX$80.1

$8.03 Ft 2,620

-46.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.27 MX$192

$6.18 Ft 2,017

66.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 MX$34.04

$1.24 Ft 405

46.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 MX$57.3

$2.06 Ft 673

48.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MX$12.77

$1.59 Ft 518

-57.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,983

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 MX$48.93

$3.43 Ft 1,121

-23.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 MX$37.88

$1.33 Ft 435

51.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.18 MX$209

$20.45 Ft 6,674

-45.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.93

$1.93 Ft 631

-25.39%

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

$21.3K MX$398.4K

$29.1K Ft 9.5M

-26.94%

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

$23.9K MX$447.0K

$34.7K Ft 11.3M

-31.24%

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

$57.3 MX$1,072

$175 Ft 57.0K

-67.20%

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

$23.00 MX$431

$23.62 Ft 7,708

-2.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.80 MX$558

$23.60 Ft 7,702

26.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.76 MX$651

$68.8 Ft 22.5K

-49.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.02 MX$375

$19.26 Ft 6,287

3.95%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.2

$10.31 Ft 3,366

-50.15%

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

$216 MX$4,041

$535 Ft 174.7K

-59.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,526 MX$84.7K

$16.8K Ft 5.5M

-73.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.5 MX$1,038

$99.9 Ft 32.6K

-44.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.25 MX$753

$43.27 Ft 14.1K

-6.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 MX$1,844

$112 Ft 36.5K

-11.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.0 MX$1,684

$119 Ft 38.8K

-24.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 MX$11.1K

$832 Ft 271.5K

-28.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$384 MX$7,182

$629 Ft 205.3K

-39.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 MX$19.7K

$1,586 Ft 517.6K

-33.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$759 MX$14.2K

$1,197 Ft 390.5K

-36.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,915 MX$35.8K

$5,718 Ft 1.9M

-66.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,149 MX$21.5K

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

-70.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 Ft 558.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

6.45

75.19%

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

Last update for Zihuatanejo: October 19, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zihuatanejo

$384 34%

Budapest

$629 38.4% 64% $246

Groceries & Markets

Zihuatanejo

$264 23.3%

Budapest

$262 16% 0.8% $2

Eating Out

Zihuatanejo

$185 16.3%

Budapest

$226 13.8% 22.6% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Zihuatanejo

$128 11.3%

Budapest

$168 10.3% 31.5% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zihuatanejo

$110 9.7%

Budapest

$222 13.5% 102% $112

Sport & Entertainment

Zihuatanejo

$45 4%

Budapest

$89 5.5% 98.7% $44

Getting Around

Zihuatanejo

$15 * 1.4%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 185% $29

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $596 in Zihuatanejo 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Zihuatanejo versus $61 in Budapest. Groceries tell a different story – $264 in Zihuatanejo vs $262 in Budapest – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Zihuatanejo

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

21:28 9:28 PM

04:28 4:28 AM

7 h ahead of Zihuatanejo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,408

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.06 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.72 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 326 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.06 USD). 1 EUR = 366 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zihuatanejo Budapest 10,670 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Zihuatanejo
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

Zihuatanejo vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 45%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,696 per month in Zihuatanejo 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 Zihuatanejo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $596 there versus $832 in Budapest.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Zihuatanejo and $61 in Budapest. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Kindergarten costs $216 per month in Zihuatanejo and $535 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 Zihuatanejo, where all-in costs run around $1,131, than in Budapest at $1,641. In Zihuatanejo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Zihuatanejo – 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.