Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Skopje and Bandar Seri Begawan

For one person, living costs are similar in Skopje and in Bandar Seri Begawan: $1,117 and $1,170 a month, rent and utilities included.

54

Cost of Living Index in Skopje
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Skopje Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Bandar Seri Begawan
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Bandar Seri Begawan Living Index

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Skopje

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$1,117

/mo nomad

Bandar Seri Begawan

🇧🇳 Brunei

$1,170

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Skopje and in Bandar Seri Begawan

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

A single person spends $1,117 per month in Skopje vs $1,170 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent included.

Skopje $1,117
Bandar Seri Begawan $1,170

A couple spends around $1,654 per month in Skopje vs $1,711 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent included.

Skopje $1,654
Bandar Seri Begawan $1,711

A family of three spends $2,191 per month in Skopje vs $2,251 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent included.

Skopje $2,191
Bandar Seri Begawan $2,251

Skopje is about 5% cheaper than Bandar Seri Begawan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Skopje and Bandar Seri Begawan are more affordable than the global median – Skopje 17% lower, Bandar Seri Begawan 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.29 MKD 507

$3.94 BND 5.04

135.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.04 MKD 1,857

$27.00 BND 34.54

26.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.28 MKD 343

$6.10 BND 7.80

2.95%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.01 BND 2.57

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 BND 2.95

Cappuccino

$2.05 MKD 112

$4.01 BND 5.13

-48.88%

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

$1.84 MKD 101

$0.95 BND 1.22

93.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 MKD 71.3

$0.50 BND 0.64

162.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 MKD 146

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 MKD 170

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 MKD 66.7

$1.89 BND 2.41

-35.45%

White Bread (500g)

$0.74 MKD 40.54

$1.73 BND 2.22

-57.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 MKD 95.5

$1.20 BND 1.54

45.83%

Eggs

$2.40 MKD 131

$2.01 BND 2.57

19.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.16 MKD 445

$9.43 BND 12.06

-13.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.43 MKD 405

$4.45 BND 5.69

66.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.85 MKD 810

$10.66 BND 13.64

39.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.43 MKD 78.1

$3.05 BND 3.90

-53.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MKD 78.5

$2.17 BND 2.78

-33.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 MKD 74.6

$2.91 BND 3.73

-52.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.90 MKD 103

$2.48 BND 3.17

-23.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 MKD 48.32

$1.68 BND 2.15

-47.02%

Onion (1kg)

$0.84 MKD 46.04

$2.02 BND 2.58

-58.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.63 MKD 34.61

$3.59 BND 4.60

-82.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MKD 29.98

$0.92 BND 1.18

-40.22%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$23.08 BND 29.53

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.29 BND 4.21

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.40 MKD 185

$15.65 BND 20.03

-78.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.47 MKD 407

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 MKD 55.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 MKD 78.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 MKD 41.68

$0.80 BND 1.03

-5.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.14 MKD 1,480

$0.76 BND 0.97

3471.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.11 MKD 60.3

$3.79 BND 4.85

-70.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 MKD 33.03

$3.26 BND 4.17

-81.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.55 MKD 412

$11.66 BND 14.92

-35.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MKD 85.0

$0.40 BND 0.51

290.00%

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

$34.9K MKD 1.9M

$42.7K BND 54.6K

-18.18%

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

$27.3K MKD 1.5M

$37.1K BND 47.4K

-26.21%

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

$154 MKD 8,393

$60.6 BND 77.5

153.89%

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

$18.77 MKD 1,024

$21.95 BND 28.08

-14.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.72 MKD 1,021

$64.3 BND 82.2

-70.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.00 MKD 2,073

$45.76 BND 58.5

-16.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.14 MKD 935

$6.87 BND 8.79

149.49%

Cinema Ticket

$7.24 MKD 395

$5.49 BND 7.02

31.88%

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

$351 MKD 19.1K

$220 BND 281

59.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,732 MKD 312.7K

$9,548 BND 12.2K

-39.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.6 MKD 4,671

$76.1 BND 97.3

12.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.04 MKD 2,020

$95.0 BND 122

-61.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 MKD 5,498

$100 BND 128

0.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MKD 6,150

$71.0 BND 90.8

58.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$422 MKD 23.0K

$728 BND 932

-41.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$328 MKD 17.9K

$466 BND 596

-29.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 MKD 39.3K

$1,137 BND 1,455

-36.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$487 MKD 26.6K

$702 BND 898

-30.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,700 MKD 147.3K

$3,058 BND 3,912

-11.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,811 MKD 98.8K

$2,285 BND 2,924

-20.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$876 MKD 47.8K

$1,773 BND 2,269

-50.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.23

3.88

9.02%

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

Last update for Skopje: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bandar Seri Begawan: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Skopje

$328 29.4%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$466 39.8% 42.1% $138

Groceries & Markets

Skopje

$210 18.8%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$218 18.7% 4.2% $8.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Skopje

$191 17.1%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$147 12.6% 23.3% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Skopje

$151 13.6%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$154 13.2% 1.9% $2.8

Eating Out

Skopje

$150 13.4%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$104 8.9% 30.8% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Skopje

$52 4.7%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$57 4.9% 8.1% $4.3

Getting Around

Skopje

$34 3.1%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$24 2.1% 29.9% $10

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $422 in Skopje versus $728 in Bandar Seri Begawan. 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 103% higher in Bandar Seri Begawan, 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 $34.00 in Skopje versus $27.00 in Bandar Seri Begawan. Groceries tell a different story – $210 in Skopje vs $218 in Bandar Seri Begawan – so Skopje wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Skopje

🇧🇳 Bandar Seri Begawan

🕒 Local time

04:40 4:40 AM

10:40 10:40 AM

6 h ahead of Skopje

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

422,540 Capital

50,000 Capital

💱 Currency

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

Brunei Dollar BND $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MKD = 1.83 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

1 BND = 0.782 USD

1 BND = 0.695 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BND, USD, EUR to MKD – North Macedonian Denar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇰 North Macedonian Denar (ден)

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 54.55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.83 USD). 1 EUR = 61.33 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

Brunei Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 BND (1 BND = 0.782 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 BND (1 BND = 0.695 EUR).

USD to MKD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Skopje Bandar Seri Begawan 9,930 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Skopje
Bandar Seri Begawan

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

Skopje vs Bandar Seri Begawan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Bandar Seri Begawan is pricier by about 5%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,675 per month in Skopje and $1,755 in Bandar Seri Begawan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,117 in Skopje and $1,170 in Bandar Seri Begawan. That's a gap of about 5%.

Public transport costs about 3471% less in Skopje. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Skopje, where all-in costs run around $1,117, than in Bandar Seri Begawan at $1,170. In Skopje it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bandar Seri Begawan it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Skopje – 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 Skopje. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Bandar Seri Begawan makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.