Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bintulu and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bintulu: $849 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Bintulu
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Bintulu Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Bintulu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$849

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $849 in Bintulu versus $1,621 in Budapest.

Bintulu $849
Budapest $1,621

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,312 in Bintulu versus $2,555 in Budapest.

Bintulu $1,312
Budapest $2,555

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,775 in Bintulu versus $3,489 in Budapest.

Bintulu $1,775
Budapest $3,489

Living in Bintulu costs roughly 48% less than in Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bintulu is 37% below, Budapest is 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.95 MYR 16.13

$13.99 Ft 4,551

-71.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.43 MYR 75.3

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

-69.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.79 MYR 23.63

$9.96 Ft 3,241

-41.87%

Cappuccino

$2.99 MYR 12.20

$3.38 Ft 1,100

-11.54%

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

$0.63 MYR 2.59

$2.13 Ft 692

-70.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 MYR 1.54

$1.87 Ft 608

-79.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 MYR 12.17

$3.75 Ft 1,221

-20.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.17 MYR 21.12

$3.57 Ft 1,162

44.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.15 MYR 8.77

$1.13 Ft 368

90.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 MYR 5.59

$1.84 Ft 599

-25.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 MYR 5.41

$2.39 Ft 777

-44.77%

Eggs

$2.16 MYR 8.83

$3.83 Ft 1,245

-43.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.81 MYR 68.6

$11.33 Ft 3,686

48.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.48 MYR 14.19

$6.74 Ft 2,192

-48.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.90 MYR 24.11

$14.69 Ft 4,780

-59.84%

Apples (1kg)

$1.76 MYR 7.19

$1.84 Ft 597

-4.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 MYR 4.18

$2.01 Ft 653

-49.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 MYR 7.17

$2.36 Ft 767

-25.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.13 MYR 4.60

$3.77 Ft 1,226

-70.03%

Potato (1kg)

$0.51 MYR 2.08

$0.96 Ft 313

-46.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 MYR 4.85

$1.03 Ft 334

15.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 MYR 2.84

$1.56 Ft 509

-55.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 MYR 1.71

$0.66 Ft 216

-36.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 MYR 17.08

$7.96 Ft 2,591

-47.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.74 MYR 80.6

$6.01 Ft 1,954

228.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.01 MYR 12.29

$1.30 Ft 421

131.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 MYR 8.17

$2.08 Ft 676

-3.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.20 MYR 4.91

$1.50 Ft 489

-20.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.62 MYR 67.9

$27.61 Ft 8,982

-39.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 MYR 4.18

$3.30 Ft 1,074

-69.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 MYR 3.39

$1.30 Ft 424

-36.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.50 MYR 10.21

$19.78 Ft 6,436

-87.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.63 MYR 2.57

$1.81 Ft 591

-65.19%

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

$44.5K MYR 181.7K

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

51.72%

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

$38.5K MYR 157.0K

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

12.77%

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

$59.2 MYR 242

$170 Ft 55.3K

-65.15%

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

$31.51 MYR 129

$23.98 Ft 7,802

31.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.98 MYR 122

$23.42 Ft 7,621

28.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.4 MYR 271

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

0.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.43 MYR 50.8

$19.18 Ft 6,239

-35.19%

Cinema Ticket

$4.33 MYR 17.67

$9.52 Ft 3,098

-54.52%

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

$124 MYR 508

$537 Ft 174.6K

-76.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,230 MYR 29.5K

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

-56.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 MYR 262

$101 Ft 33.0K

-36.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.02 MYR 147

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

-16.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.5 MYR 329

$113 Ft 36.7K

-28.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.8 MYR 371

$119 Ft 38.6K

-23.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 MYR 898

$805 Ft 262.0K

-72.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$157 MYR 642

$629 Ft 204.7K

-75.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$485 MYR 1,979

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

-68.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$333 MYR 1,361

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

-71.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,730 MYR 7,062

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

-69.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,137 MYR 4,644

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

-71.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$598 MYR 2,441

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

-63.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

6.43

-30.02%

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

Last update for Bintulu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Bintulu

$232 27.4%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 10.8% $25

Accommodation & Living

Bintulu

$157 18.5%

Budapest

$629 38.7% 300% $472

Clothing & Footwear

Bintulu

$122 14.4%

Budapest

$169 10.4% 38.4% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bintulu

$121 14.2%

Budapest

$217 13.4% 80.1% $97

Eating Out

Bintulu

$114 13.5%

Budapest

$224 13.8% 96.5% $110

Sport & Entertainment

Bintulu

$75 8.9%

Budapest

$85 5.2% 13.6% $10

Getting Around

Bintulu

$27 3.1%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 63.2% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $220 in Bintulu and $805 in Budapest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Budapest pays 172% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $18.00 in Bintulu vs $60.0 in Budapest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $232 vs $258 per month, with Bintulu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Bintulu

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

13:07 1:07 PM

07:07 7:07 AM

6 h behind Bintulu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

240,172

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.58 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bintulu Budapest 10,050 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Bintulu
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

Bintulu vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bintulu wins on cost – living expenses run 91% lower than in Budapest. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bintulu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 172% lower in Budapest. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $220 in Bintulu versus $805 in Budapest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $849 per month in Bintulu versus $1,621 in Budapest – a 91% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bintulu runs roughly 66% less than in Budapest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $849 in Bintulu versus $1,621 in Budapest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bintulu but tight or insufficient in Budapest. The gap between the two cities makes Bintulu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bintulu delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $849 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bintulu hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Bintulu and Budapest are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Bintulu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 91% less than in Budapest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.