Cost of living comparison

Japan

compared to

Hungary

Budapest vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary

Budapest is 7.4% cheaper than Tokyo.

Restaurants: pay 83.8% more in Budapest
Groceries: pay 30.6% less in Budapest
Transportation: pay 0.5% more in Budapest
Housing: pay 18.6% less in Budapest
Childcare: pay 39.4% less in Budapest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.2% less in Budapest
Clothing: pay 61.7% more in Budapest

The cost of restaurants, clothing, and transportation in Budapest are more expensive than in Tokyo. Expenses including childcare, groceries, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Budapest. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Budapest.

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Budapest vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 83.8% more for restaurants

	Tokyo	Budapest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.59 ¥1,200	$13.77 HUF4,451.76	+81.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.06 ¥800	$10.17 HUF3,289.36	+101.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.64 ¥259	$2.08 HUF673.49	+27.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 ¥140	$1.83 HUF591.19	+106.5%
Average			+83.8%

Tokyo vs. Budapest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.6% less for groceries

	Tokyo	Budapest
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 ¥270	$1.80 HUF580.67	+5.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.29 ¥836	$5.57 HUF1,802.14	+5.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.75 ¥909	$4.40 HUF1,421.11	-23.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.26 ¥358	$3.88 HUF1,253.03	+71.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.08 ¥487	$3.10 HUF1,003.00	+0.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.15 ¥340	$0.85 HUF274.62	-60.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.07 ¥170	$0.94 HUF303.05	-12.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.96 ¥309	$1.06 HUF341.51	-46.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.39 ¥377	$1.73 HUF558.38	-27.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.53 ¥241	$0.45 HUF144.57	-70.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 ¥231	$0.46 HUF147.52	-68.8%
Average			-30.6%

Tokyo vs. Budapest - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.5% more for transportation

	Tokyo	Budapest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.08 ¥645	$7.07 HUF2,284.96	+73.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$63.27 ¥9,997	$27.54 HUF8,903.52	-56.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,725.38 ¥3M	$29,374.56 HUF9M	+35.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$28.47 ¥4,499	$14.14 HUF4,570.47	-50.3%
Average			+0.5%

Tokyo vs. Budapest - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.6% less for housing

	Tokyo	Budapest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.33 ¥4,793	$23.57 HUF7,621.57	-22.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,280.34 ¥202K	$817.66 HUF264K	-36.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$692.48 ¥109K	$631.44 HUF204K	-8.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.45 ¥17,926	$132.77 HUF42,926.20	+17.0%
Average			-18.6%

Tokyo vs. Budapest - Cost of housing

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pay 39.4% less for childcare

	Tokyo	Budapest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,341.43 ¥212K	$539.65 HUF174K	-59.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,252.10 ¥3M	$16,674.34 HUF5M	-8.6%
Average			-39.4%

Tokyo vs. Budapest - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Tokyo	Budapest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.80 ¥600	$3.67 HUF1,187.14	-3.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.56 ¥563	$3.35 HUF1,081.59	-6.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.92 ¥620	$7.96 HUF2,572.13	+102.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$66.31 ¥10,478	$67.07 HUF21,685.02	+1.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.65 ¥1,999	$9.33 HUF3,017.30	-26.2%
Average			-2.2%

Tokyo vs. Budapest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 61.7% more for clothing

	Tokyo	Budapest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.50 ¥8,770	$100.01 HUF32,333.83	+80.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.95 ¥5,207	$42.98 HUF13,894.99	+30.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$65.04 ¥10,278	$113.36 HUF36,650.47	+74.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.74 ¥11,178	$118.19 HUF38,210.94	+67.1%
Average			+61.7%

Tokyo 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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