Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Labuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Labuan: $1,020 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Labuan
Learn more

Labuan Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Labuan

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,020

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Labuan

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Budapest and in Labuan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $1,020 in Labuan, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
Labuan $1,020

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $1,487 in Labuan, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
Labuan $1,487

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $1,953 in Labuan, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
Labuan $1,953

Budapest costs about 59% more than Labuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while Labuan is 24% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$5.52 MYR 22.53

152.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$24.16 MYR 98.6

153.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$6.66 MYR 27.19

53.00%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$3.93 MYR 16.05

-17.05%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$1.06 MYR 4.34

101.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$0.45 MYR 1.83

295.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$3.72 MYR 15.19

-0.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$4.53 MYR 18.48

-16.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.82 MYR 7.43

-36.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$1.04 MYR 4.26

72.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.49 MYR 6.07

67.11%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$2.10 MYR 8.58

85.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$16.82 MYR 68.6

-34.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$4.42 MYR 18.03

49.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$9.50 MYR 38.76

54.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$3.17 MYR 12.95

-42.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$1.83 MYR 7.46

12.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$2.39 MYR 9.75

-0.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$1.76 MYR 7.17

121.59%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$1.39 MYR 5.68

-28.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$1.03 MYR 4.20

-2.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$1.18 MYR 4.81

33.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$0.54 MYR 2.20

24.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$5.04 MYR 20.57

57.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$16.29 MYR 66.5

-61.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$3.21 MYR 13.11

-60.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$4.39 MYR 17.90

-53.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$0.78 MYR 3.17

94.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

$10.66 MYR 43.48

162.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$1.34 MYR 5.47

147.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$0.48 MYR 1.97

185.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$6.48 MYR 26.43

206.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$0.88 MYR 3.58

106.82%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$44.0K MYR 179.5K

-32.28%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$32.5K MYR 132.7K

3.94%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$48.90 MYR 199

249.94%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$9.68 MYR 39.49

142.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$27.69 MYR 113

-15.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$41.60 MYR 170

62.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

$7.68 MYR 31.32

145.96%

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$4.29 MYR 17.51

116.78%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$208 MYR 849

156.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$7,011 MYR 28.6K

139.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$55.8 MYR 228

78.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$30.07 MYR 123

44.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$87.0 MYR 355

26.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$81.8 MYR 334

45.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$433 MYR 1,768

91.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$342 MYR 1,397

81.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$641 MYR 2,614

148.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$464 MYR 1,892

152.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$2,282 MYR 9,308

155.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$1,136 MYR 4,636

242.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

$374 MYR 1,525

341.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

4.06

58.87%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Labuan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Labuan

$342 33.6% 44.9% $279

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Labuan

$264 25.9% 2.4% $6.2

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Labuan

$145 14.2% 34.9% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Labuan

$86 8.5% 60.4% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Labuan

$115 11.2% 31.6% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Labuan

$50 4.9% 41.7% $36

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Labuan

$18 1.7% 60.4% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $830 in Budapest versus $433 in Labuan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 342% higher in Budapest, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Budapest versus $24.00 in Labuan. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Budapest vs $264 in Labuan – so Budapest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇲🇾 Labuan

🕒 Local time

06:40 6:40 AM

12:40 12:40 PM

6 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

95,120

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Labuan 10,040 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

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Budapest
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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

Budapest vs Labuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 59%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,428 per month in Budapest and $1,530 in Labuan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Labuan, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 163% less in Labuan. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $533 per month in Budapest and $208 in Labuan. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Labuan, where all-in costs run around $1,020, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Labuan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Labuan – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Labuan. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Budapest makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.