Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Budapest Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 2.2 times more expensive than Budapest.
- Restaurants
-
pay 68.6% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 2.1 times more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 41.2% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 3.6 times more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 3.7 times more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 86.9% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 3.0% less in San Francisco
San Francisco vs. Budapest Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Budapest, you would:
pay 68.6% more for restaurants
|
Budapest
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.77
HUF4,485.49
|
$27.15
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.17
HUF3,314.28
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.08
HUF678.60
|
$3.16
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.83
HUF595.67
|
$2.70
|
|
Budapest vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.1 times more for groceries
|
Budapest
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.80
HUF585.07
|
$5.31
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.57
HUF1,815.79
|
$8.16
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.40
HUF1,431.88
|
$6.63
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.88
HUF1,262.53
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.10
HUF1,010.60
|
$6.99
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.85
HUF276.70
|
$2.78
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
HUF305.34
|
$1.30
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.06
HUF344.10
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.73
HUF562.62
|
$3.11
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.45
HUF145.67
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.46
HUF148.64
|
$1.67
|
|
Budapest vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 41.2% more for transportation
|
Budapest
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.07
HUF2,302.27
|
$5.78
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$27.54
HUF8,970.99
|
$95.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,374.56
HUF10M
|
$36,998.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.14
HUF4,605.11
|
$20.39
|
|
Budapest vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 3.6 times more for housing
|
Budapest
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$23.57
HUF7,679.33
|
$76.29
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$817.66
HUF266K
|
$3,735.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$631.44
HUF206K
|
$2,618.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$132.77
HUF43,251.49
|
$164.32
|
|
Budapest vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 3.7 times more for childcare
|
Budapest
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$539.65
HUF176K
|
$2,942.94
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,674.34
HUF5M
|
$42,562.50
|
|
Budapest vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 86.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Budapest
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.67
HUF1,196.13
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.35
HUF1,089.79
|
$5.97
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.96
HUF2,591.62
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$67.07
HUF21,849.34
|
$121.54
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.33
HUF3,040.17
|
$18.00
|
|
Budapest vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.0% less for clothing
|
Budapest
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$100.01
HUF32,578.86
|
$76.17
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.98
HUF14,000.28
|
$47.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$113.36
HUF36,928.20
|
$101.08
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$118.19
HUF38,500.50
|
$138.64
|
|
Budapest vs. San Francisco - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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