Cost of living comparison

Kazakhstan

compared to

Hungary

Budapest vs. Almaty Cost of Living Summary

Budapest is 23.8% more expensive than Almaty.

Restaurants: pay 18.5% more in Budapest
Groceries: pay 11.7% more in Budapest
Transportation: pay 74.2% more in Budapest
Housing: pay 22.2% more in Budapest
Childcare: pay 27.0% more in Budapest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.1% more in Budapest
Clothing: pay 10.3% less in Budapest

The cost of transportation, childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and groceries in Budapest are more expensive than in Almaty.

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Budapest vs. Almaty Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Budapest instead of Almaty, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.5% more for restaurants

	Almaty	Budapest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.42 KZT6,082.92	$13.77 HUF4,451.76	+2.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.95 KZT4,055.28	$10.17 HUF3,289.36	+13.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.36 KZT615.44	$2.08 HUF673.49	+53.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.91 KZT410.90	$1.83 HUF591.19	+101.7%
Average			+18.5%

Almaty vs. Budapest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.7% more for groceries

	Almaty	Budapest
Bread 1 loaf	$0.94 KZT425.21	$1.80 HUF580.67	+91.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.46 KZT2,925.52	$5.57 HUF1,802.14	-13.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.48 KZT2,938.79	$4.40 HUF1,421.11	-32.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.45 KZT1,109.97	$3.88 HUF1,253.03	+58.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.09 KZT1,401.59	$3.10 HUF1,003.00	+0.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.86 KZT387.73	$0.85 HUF274.62	-0.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.06 KZT481.68	$0.94 HUF303.05	-11.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.37 KZT621.58	$1.06 HUF341.51	-23.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.34 KZT605.34	$1.73 HUF558.38	+29.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 KZT160.60	$0.45 HUF144.57	+26.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.26 KZT119.25	$0.46 HUF147.52	+73.4%
Average			+11.7%

Almaty vs. Budapest - Cost of groceries

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pay 74.2% more for transportation

	Almaty	Budapest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.64 KZT1,198.22	$7.07 HUF2,284.96	+167.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.15 KZT10,036.82	$27.54 HUF8,903.52	+24.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,370.46 KZT10M	$29,374.56 HUF9M	+31.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.71 KZT3,041.46	$14.14 HUF4,570.47	+110.6%
Average			+74.2%

Almaty vs. Budapest - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.2% more for housing

	Almaty	Budapest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$18.11 KZT8,207.89	$23.57 HUF7,621.57	+30.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$802.28 KZT364K	$817.66 HUF264K	+1.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$513.47 KZT233K	$631.44 HUF204K	+23.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.56 KZT31,526.07	$132.77 HUF42,926.20	+90.9%
Average			+22.2%

Almaty vs. Budapest - Cost of housing

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pay 27.0% more for childcare

	Almaty	Budapest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$456.34 KZT207K	$539.65 HUF174K	+18.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,216.13 KZT6M	$16,674.34 HUF5M	+36.5%
Average			+27.0%

Almaty vs. Budapest - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Almaty	Budapest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.24 KZT1,470.04	$3.67 HUF1,187.14	+13.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.30 KZT1,497.69	$3.35 HUF1,081.59	+1.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.63 KZT1,191.24	$7.96 HUF2,572.13	+202.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.49 KZT31,945.91	$67.07 HUF21,685.02	-4.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.71 KZT3,041.46	$9.33 HUF3,017.30	+39.1%
Average			+23.1%

Almaty vs. Budapest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.3% less for clothing

	Almaty	Budapest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$96.07 KZT43,537.96	$100.01 HUF32,333.83	+4.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.45 KZT21,502.09	$42.98 HUF13,894.99	-9.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$145.68 KZT66,021.45	$113.36 HUF36,650.47	-22.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$134.22 KZT60,829.24	$118.19 HUF38,210.94	-11.9%
Average			-10.3%

Almaty vs. Budapest - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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