Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Machakos and Budapest

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.

25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index

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Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$516

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Machakos $516
Budapest $1,641

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

Machakos $797
Budapest $2,562

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

Machakos $1,078
Budapest $3,483

Machakos is about 69% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.15 KES 408

$14.04 Ft 4,536

-77.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.98 KES 2,461

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

-68.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.19 KES 803

$10.37 Ft 3,351

-40.31%

Cappuccino

$1.98 KES 257

$3.46 Ft 1,117

-42.77%

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

$0.64 KES 83.0

$2.07 Ft 669

-69.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 KES 69.8

$1.77 Ft 572

-69.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.11 KES 273

$3.69 Ft 1,191

-42.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 KES 352

$3.80 Ft 1,229

-28.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.37 KES 48.53

$1.16 Ft 374

-68.10%

White Bread (500g)

$0.44 KES 56.9

$1.85 Ft 598

-76.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 KES 95.4

$2.40 Ft 776

-69.17%

Eggs

$1.36 KES 177

$3.99 Ft 1,289

-65.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.73 KES 1,391

$11.40 Ft 3,683

-5.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.29 KES 815

$6.87 Ft 2,221

-8.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.55 KES 589

$14.49 Ft 4,682

-68.60%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 KES 205

$1.88 Ft 607

-15.96%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 KES 95.2

$2.14 Ft 693

-65.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.40 KES 52.4

$2.30 Ft 744

-82.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.41 KES 53.1

$4.04 Ft 1,304

-89.85%

Potato (1kg)

$0.80 KES 104

$1.02 Ft 329

-21.57%

Onion (1kg)

$0.81 KES 104

$0.99 Ft 320

-18.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 KES 88.4

$1.58 Ft 510

-56.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.38 KES 49.11

$0.70 Ft 225

-45.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.51 KES 455

$8.03 Ft 2,594

-56.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.44 KES 1,483

$6.18 Ft 1,997

85.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 KES 247

$1.24 Ft 401

53.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 KES 363

$2.06 Ft 666

35.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 Ft 513

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 KES 103

$3.43 Ft 1,110

-76.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 KES 101

$1.33 Ft 431

-41.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.84 KES 368

$20.45 Ft 6,607

-86.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 KES 193

$1.93 Ft 624

-22.80%

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

$19.2K KES 2.5M

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

-34.22%

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

$21.5K KES 2.8M

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

-38.21%

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

$56.1 KES 7,279

$175 Ft 56.4K

-67.84%

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

$7.82 KES 1,014

$23.62 Ft 7,631

-66.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.48 KES 1,488

$23.60 Ft 7,625

-51.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.18 KES 4,950

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

-44.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

Cinema Ticket

$7.62 KES 987

$10.31 Ft 3,333

-26.09%

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

$45.44 KES 5,892

$535 Ft 172.9K

-91.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K KES 1.6M

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

-27.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.34 KES 1,470

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

-88.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 KES 3,719

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

-33.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.4 KES 8,991

$112 Ft 36.1K

-37.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.50 KES 4,992

$119 Ft 38.4K

-67.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$93.9 KES 12.2K

$832 Ft 268.8K

-88.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$68.7 KES 8,905

$629 Ft 203.3K

-89.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$154 KES 20.0K

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

-90.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$115 KES 15.0K

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

-90.36%

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)

$383 KES 49.6K

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

-77.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

6.45

128.06%

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

Last update for Machakos: October 17, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Machakos

$159 30.8%

Budapest

$262 16% 64.6% $103

Eating Out

Machakos

$88 17.1%

Budapest

$226 13.8% 156% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Machakos

$75 14.6%

Budapest

$222 13.5% 194% $146

Accommodation & Living

Machakos

$69 13.3%

Budapest

$629 38.4% 816% $561

Clothing & Footwear

Machakos

$67 12.9%

Budapest

$168 10.3% 153% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Machakos

$53 10.4%

Budapest

$89 5.5% 67.5% $36

Getting Around

Machakos

$4.7 * 0.9%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 836% $39

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $93.9 in Machakos versus $832 in Budapest. 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 $19.00 in Machakos versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $159 vs $262 – making Machakos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Machakos

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

10:33 10:33 AM

09:33 9:33 AM

1 h behind Machakos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,109

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

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).

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).

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Machakos Budapest 5,730 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Machakos
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

Machakos vs Budapest: 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 $774 per month in Machakos and $2,461 in Budapest. 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 $19.00 in Machakos and $61.0 in Budapest. 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.