Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Skudai and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Skudai: $900 a month against $1,638 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Skudai
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Skudai Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Skudai

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$900

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,638

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $900 per month in Skudai vs $1,638 in Budapest, rent included.

Skudai $900
Budapest $1,638

A couple spends around $1,370 per month in Skudai vs $2,553 in Budapest, rent included.

Skudai $1,370
Budapest $2,553

A family of three spends $1,840 per month in Skudai vs $3,467 in Budapest, rent included.

Skudai $1,840
Budapest $3,467

Skudai is about 45% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Skudai sits 34% below the global median, while Budapest is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.63 MYR 14.84

$13.81 Ft 4,547

-73.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.25 MYR 74.6

$61.5 Ft 20.2K

-70.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.90 MYR 20.05

$10.16 Ft 3,345

-51.77%

Cappuccino

$2.87 MYR 11.73

$3.22 Ft 1,061

-10.87%

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

$0.83 MYR 3.40

$2.06 Ft 679

-59.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.83

$1.83 Ft 604

-75.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 MYR 13.62

$3.60 Ft 1,187

-7.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 MYR 22.97

$3.66 Ft 1,206

53.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 MYR 7.11

$1.19 Ft 392

46.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.02 MYR 4.18

$1.87 Ft 616

-45.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MYR 6.06

$2.37 Ft 779

-37.55%

Eggs

$1.66 MYR 6.78

$3.96 Ft 1,304

-58.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.64 MYR 39.43

$11.16 Ft 3,676

-13.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.20 MYR 13.09

$6.76 Ft 2,225

-52.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.61 MYR 39.28

$14.35 Ft 4,725

-33.03%

Apples (1kg)

$3.42 MYR 13.98

$1.81 Ft 595

88.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 MYR 6.94

$2.11 Ft 694

-19.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 MYR 10.68

$2.33 Ft 769

12.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 MYR 6.69

$3.80 Ft 1,253

-56.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 MYR 5.75

$0.99 Ft 327

42.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 MYR 7.08

$0.98 Ft 324

76.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 MYR 5.59

$1.55 Ft 511

-11.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 MYR 2.09

$0.70 Ft 229

-27.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.28 MYR 17.49

$7.79 Ft 2,566

-45.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.83 MYR 56.5

$6.05 Ft 1,993

128.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.74 MYR 11.19

$1.28 Ft 421

114.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 MYR 12.22

$2.04 Ft 671

46.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 MYR 3.40

$1.55 Ft 510

-46.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.95 MYR 44.78

$27.28 Ft 8,985

-59.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.01 MYR 4.13

$3.30 Ft 1,086

-69.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 MYR 1.46

$1.31 Ft 432

-72.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.03 MYR 36.92

$20.26 Ft 6,671

-55.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 MYR 3.51

$1.82 Ft 599

-52.75%

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

$44.3K MYR 181.0K

$28.7K Ft 9.5M

54.13%

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

$36.0K MYR 147.2K

$33.1K Ft 10.9M

8.85%

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

$48.79 MYR 199

$172 Ft 56.7K

-71.66%

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

$8.16 MYR 33.38

$23.95 Ft 7,888

-65.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.88 MYR 110

$23.31 Ft 7,677

15.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.95 MYR 151

$68.6 Ft 22.6K

-46.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.55 MYR 30.86

$18.91 Ft 6,227

-60.07%

Cinema Ticket

$4.93 MYR 20.17

$10.18 Ft 3,352

-51.57%

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

$235 MYR 962

$600 Ft 197.7K

-60.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,393 MYR 18.0K

$16.8K Ft 5.5M

-73.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.5 MYR 206

$99.0 Ft 32.6K

-49.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.62 MYR 68.0

$43.25 Ft 14.2K

-61.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.2 MYR 316

$113 Ft 37.2K

-31.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.4 MYR 349

$117 Ft 38.6K

-27.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$357 MYR 1,461

$836 Ft 275.3K

-57.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$311 MYR 1,270

$640 Ft 210.7K

-51.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$650 MYR 2,659

$1,598 Ft 526.3K

-59.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$565 MYR 2,310

$1,205 Ft 396.8K

-53.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,956 MYR 7,997

$5,625 Ft 1.9M

-65.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,161 MYR 4,746

$3,802 Ft 1.3M

-69.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,671 Ft 550.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

6.45

-37.05%

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

Last update for Skudai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Skudai

$311 34.5%

Budapest

$640 39.1% 106% $329

Groceries & Markets

Skudai

$226 25.2%

Budapest

$258 15.8% 14.1% $32

Eating Out

Skudai

$111 12.4%

Budapest

$221 13.5% 98.3% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Skudai

$103 11.5%

Budapest

$168 10.2% 62% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Skudai

$84 9.3%

Budapest

$219 13.4% 162% $136

Sport & Entertainment

Skudai

$47 5.2%

Budapest

$89 5.4% 90% $42

Getting Around

Skudai

$17 1.9%

Budapest

$43 2.7% 154% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $357 in Skudai versus $836 in Budapest. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $18 in Skudai versus $61 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $258 – making Skudai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Skudai

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

01:03 1:03 AM

18:03 6:03 PM

7 h behind Skudai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

159,733

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.04 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.72 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 27, 2026: 1 USD = 4.09 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.57 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 329 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.04 USD). 1 EUR = 368 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.72 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Skudai Budapest 9,480 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Skudai
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

Skudai vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 82%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,349 per month in Skudai and $2,457 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Skudai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $357 there versus $836 in Budapest.

Public transport costs about 60% less in Skudai. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $235 per month in Skudai and $600 in Budapest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Skudai, where all-in costs run around $900, than in Budapest at $1,638. In Skudai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Skudai – 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.

For expats, Skudai is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 82% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.