Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

Hungary

Budapest vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Budapest is 76.9% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in Budapest
Groceries: pay 8.6% less in Budapest
Transportation: pay 38.5% more in Budapest
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Budapest
Childcare: pay 97.8% more in Budapest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 65.8% more in Budapest
Clothing: pay 2.6 times more in Budapest

The cost of clothing, restaurants, housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Budapest are more expensive than in Lusaka. Notably, clothing, restaurants, and housing are significantly more expensive in Budapest.

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Budapest vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Budapest instead of Lusaka, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Budapest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$13.77 HUF4,451.76	+149.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$10.17 HUF3,289.36	+102.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 ZMW15.03	$2.08 HUF673.49	+176.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZMW9.39	$1.83 HUF591.19	+288.0%
Average			+144.6%

Lusaka vs. Budapest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.6% less for groceries

	Lusaka	Budapest
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ZMW23.92	$1.80 HUF580.67	+49.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$5.57 HUF1,802.14	+8.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.52 ZMW129.88	$4.40 HUF1,421.11	-32.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 ZMW38.66	$3.88 HUF1,253.03	+99.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$3.10 HUF1,003.00	+8.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.53 ZMW30.42	$0.85 HUF274.62	-44.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.94 HUF303.05	-14.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$1.06 HUF341.51	-36.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$1.73 HUF558.38	+147.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.45 HUF144.57	-61.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.46 HUF147.52	-44.9%
Average			-8.6%

Lusaka vs. Budapest - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.5% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Budapest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZMW115.01	$7.07 HUF2,284.96	+22.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$27.54 HUF8,903.52	-45.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$29,374.56 HUF9M	+289.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$14.14 HUF4,570.47	-3.0%
Average			+38.5%

Lusaka vs. Budapest - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Lusaka	Budapest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$23.57 HUF7,621.57	-57.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	$817.66 HUF264K	+112.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	$631.44 HUF204K	+252.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$132.77 HUF42,926.20	+115.8%
Average			+140.6%

Lusaka vs. Budapest - Cost of housing

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pay 97.8% more for childcare

	Lusaka	Budapest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$539.65 HUF174K	+290.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$16,674.34 HUF5M	+0.2%
Average			+97.8%

Lusaka vs. Budapest - Cost of childcare

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pay 65.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Budapest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$3.67 HUF1,187.14	+192.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$3.35 HUF1,081.59	+18.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$7.96 HUF2,572.13	+163.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$67.07 HUF21,685.02	+22.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$9.33 HUF3,017.30	+54.7%
Average			+65.8%

Lusaka vs. Budapest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.6 times more for clothing

	Lusaka	Budapest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$100.01 HUF32,333.83	+329.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$42.98 HUF13,894.99	+178.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$113.36 HUF36,650.47	+150.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$118.19 HUF38,210.94	+62.9%
Average			+164.4%

Lusaka 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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