Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

Hungary

Budapest vs. Kingston Cost of Living Summary

Budapest is 8.0% cheaper than Kingston.

Restaurants: pay 26.5% more in Budapest
Groceries: pay 45.8% less in Budapest
Transportation: pay 15.6% less in Budapest
Housing: pay 5.7% less in Budapest
Childcare: pay 73.9% more in Budapest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.1% less in Budapest
Clothing: pay 76.5% more in Budapest

The cost of clothing, childcare, and restaurants in Budapest are more expensive than in Kingston. Expenses including groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in Budapest. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Budapest.

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Budapest vs. Kingston Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 26.5% more for restaurants

	Kingston	Budapest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.53 JMD2,154.48	$13.77 HUF4,451.76	+1.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	$10.17 HUF3,289.36	+24.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.17 JMD186.64	$2.08 HUF673.49	+77.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 JMD114.13	$1.83 HUF591.19	+155.1%
Average			+26.5%

Kingston vs. Budapest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.8% less for groceries

	Kingston	Budapest
Bread 1 loaf	$3.75 JMD597.75	$1.80 HUF580.67	-52.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD907.58	$5.57 HUF1,802.14	-2.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$15.66 JMD2,493.06	$4.40 HUF1,421.11	-71.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD563.17	$3.88 HUF1,253.03	+9.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.54	$3.10 HUF1,003.00	+8.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.74 JMD436.40	$0.85 HUF274.62	-69.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.76 JMD280.67	$0.94 HUF303.05	-46.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.33 JMD530.74	$1.06 HUF341.51	-68.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.38 JMD219.34	$1.73 HUF558.38	+25.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.47 JMD234.10	$0.45 HUF144.57	-69.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD191.12	$0.46 HUF147.52	-62.0%
Average			-45.8%

Kingston vs. Budapest - Cost of groceries

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pay 15.6% less for transportation

	Kingston	Budapest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.42 JMD862.54	$7.07 HUF2,284.96	+30.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	$27.54 HUF8,903.52	-27.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,062.55 JMD7M	$29,374.56 HUF9M	-33.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.37 JMD4,198.72	$14.14 HUF4,570.47	-46.4%
Average			-15.6%

Kingston vs. Budapest - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.7% less for housing

	Kingston	Budapest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.78 JMD8,402.27	$23.57 HUF7,621.57	-55.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$960.80 JMD153K	$817.66 HUF264K	-14.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$569.14 JMD90,604.94	$631.44 HUF204K	+10.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$128.52 JMD20,460.16	$132.77 HUF42,926.20	+3.3%
Average			-5.7%

Kingston vs. Budapest - Cost of housing

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pay 73.9% more for childcare

	Kingston	Budapest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$361.00 JMD57,469.28	$539.65 HUF174K	+49.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,238.45 JMD1M	$16,674.34 HUF5M	+102.4%
Average			+73.9%

Kingston vs. Budapest - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Kingston	Budapest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.20 JMD350.73	$3.67 HUF1,187.14	+66.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 JMD845.51	$3.35 HUF1,081.59	-37.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	$7.96 HUF2,572.13	-15.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$61.69 JMD9,820.41	$67.07 HUF21,685.02	+8.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.22 JMD2,104.37	$9.33 HUF3,017.30	-29.4%
Average			-7.1%

Kingston vs. Budapest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 76.5% more for clothing

	Kingston	Budapest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	$100.01 HUF32,333.83	+323.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	$42.98 HUF13,894.99	+36.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.63 JMD12,359.01	$113.36 HUF36,650.47	+46.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.81 JMD16,367.34	$118.19 HUF38,210.94	+15.0%
Average			+76.5%

Kingston 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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