Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Hungary

Budapest vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Budapest is 19.6% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 59.2% more in Budapest
Groceries: pay 2.1% less in Budapest
Transportation: pay 34.8% more in Budapest
Housing: pay 52.8% less in Budapest
Childcare: pay 12.4% less in Budapest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.3% less in Budapest
Clothing: pay 11.6% more in Budapest

The cost of restaurants, transportation, and clothing in Budapest are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, and groceries are lower in Budapest.

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Budapest vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Budapest instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 59.2% more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Budapest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$13.77 HUF4,557.69	+68.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$10.17 HUF3,367.63	+6.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$2.08 HUF689.52	+80.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$1.83 HUF605.26	+339.6%
Average			+59.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Budapest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1% less for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Budapest
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$1.80 HUF594.49	+11.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$5.57 HUF1,845.02	-4.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.11	$4.40 HUF1,454.92	-40.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$3.88 HUF1,282.85	+11.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.17	$3.10 HUF1,026.87	-29.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$0.85 HUF281.16	-24.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.94 HUF310.26	-1.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$1.06 HUF349.64	+25.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$1.73 HUF571.67	+144.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.45 HUF148.01	-19.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.46 HUF151.03	-14.4%
Average			-2.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Budapest - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.8% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Budapest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.33	$7.07 HUF2,339.33	+94.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.50	$27.54 HUF9,115.39	+3.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$29,374.56 HUF10M	-1.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$14.14 HUF4,679.23	+85.4%
Average			+34.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Budapest - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.8% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Budapest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.32	$23.57 HUF7,802.93	-73.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,222.34	$817.66 HUF271K	-58.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,140.58	$631.44 HUF209K	-54.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.60	$132.77 HUF43,947.67	-10.3%
Average			-52.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Budapest - Cost of housing

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pay 12.4% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Budapest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,905.08	$539.65 HUF179K	-31.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,431.15	$16,674.34 HUF6M	+12.5%
Average			-12.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Budapest - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Budapest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$3.67 HUF1,215.39	-68.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.88	$3.35 HUF1,107.33	-43.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$7.96 HUF2,633.33	+19.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED350.01	$67.07 HUF22,201.03	-29.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED55.00	$9.33 HUF3,089.10	-37.7%
Average			-41.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Budapest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.6% more for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Budapest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.76	$100.01 HUF33,103.25	+62.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.32	$42.98 HUF14,225.63	-12.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED410.01	$113.36 HUF37,522.60	+1.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.56	$118.19 HUF39,120.21	+7.3%
Average			+11.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Budapest - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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