Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Machakos

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $516 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
Learn more

Machakos Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$516

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Machakos

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 Machakos actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Budapest vs $516 in Machakos, rent included.

Budapest $1,641
Machakos $516

A couple spends around $2,562 per month in Budapest vs $797 in Machakos, rent included.

Budapest $2,562
Machakos $797

A family of three spends $3,483 per month in Budapest vs $1,078 in Machakos, rent included.

Budapest $3,483
Machakos $1,078

Budapest costs about 218% more than Machakos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Machakos is 62% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.04 Ft 4,536

$3.15 KES 408

345.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

$18.98 KES 2,461

221.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 Ft 3,351

$6.19 KES 803

67.53%

Cappuccino

$3.46 Ft 1,117

$1.98 KES 257

74.75%

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

$2.07 Ft 669

$0.64 KES 83.0

223.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 Ft 572

$0.54 KES 69.8

227.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 Ft 1,191

$2.11 KES 273

74.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 Ft 1,229

$2.71 KES 352

40.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 Ft 374

$0.37 KES 48.53

213.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 Ft 598

$0.44 KES 56.9

320.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 Ft 776

$0.74 KES 95.4

224.32%

Eggs

$3.99 Ft 1,289

$1.36 KES 177

193.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 Ft 3,683

$10.73 KES 1,391

6.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.87 Ft 2,221

$6.29 KES 815

9.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.49 Ft 4,682

$4.55 KES 589

218.46%

Apples (1kg)

$1.88 Ft 607

$1.58 KES 205

18.99%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 Ft 693

$0.73 KES 95.2

193.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 Ft 744

$0.40 KES 52.4

475.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.04 Ft 1,304

$0.41 KES 53.1

885.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 329

$0.80 KES 104

27.50%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$0.81 KES 104

22.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 510

$0.68 KES 88.4

132.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 225

$0.38 KES 49.11

84.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.03 Ft 2,594

$3.51 KES 455

128.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 Ft 1,997

$11.44 KES 1,483

-45.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 Ft 401

$1.90 KES 247

-34.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 Ft 666

$2.80 KES 363

-26.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 Ft 513

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 Ft 1,110

$0.79 KES 103

334.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 Ft 431

$0.78 KES 101

70.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.45 Ft 6,607

$2.84 KES 368

620.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.49 KES 193

29.53%

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

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

$19.2K KES 2.5M

52.03%

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

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

$21.5K KES 2.8M

61.83%

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

$175 Ft 56.4K

$56.1 KES 7,279

210.99%

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

$23.62 Ft 7,631

$7.82 KES 1,014

202.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.60 Ft 7,625

$11.48 KES 1,488

105.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

$38.18 KES 4,950

80.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

Cinema Ticket

$10.31 Ft 3,333

$7.62 KES 987

35.30%

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

$535 Ft 172.9K

$45.44 KES 5,892

1078.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$12.3K KES 1.6M

37.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

$11.34 KES 1,470

780.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

$28.69 KES 3,719

50.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 Ft 36.1K

$69.4 KES 8,991

61.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$38.50 KES 4,992

209.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 Ft 268.8K

$93.9 KES 12.2K

785.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 203.3K

$68.7 KES 8,905

815.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

$154 KES 20.0K

928.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

$115 KES 15.0K

936.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

$383 KES 49.6K

347.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

14.71

-56.15%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Machakos: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.4%

Machakos

$69 13.3% 89.1% $561

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$262 16%

Machakos

$159 30.8% 39.2% $103

Eating Out

Budapest

$226 13.8%

Machakos

$88 17.1% 61% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$222 13.5%

Machakos

$75 14.6% 66% $146

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.3%

Machakos

$67 12.9% 60.4% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.5%

Machakos

$53 10.4% 40.3% $36

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Machakos

$4.7 * 0.9% 89.3% $39

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $832 in Budapest versus $93.9 in Machakos. 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 347% 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 $19.00 in Machakos. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $262 vs $159 – making Machakos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇰🇪 Machakos

🕒 Local time

05:30 5:30 AM

06:30 6:30 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

114,109

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Budapest Machakos 5,730 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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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 Machakos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 218%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,461 per month in Budapest and $774 in Machakos. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Budapest and $19.00 in Machakos. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 65% more in Budapest, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Machakos, where all-in costs run around $516, than in Budapest at $1,641. In Machakos it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Machakos – 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 Machakos. 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.