Cost of living comparison

Macedonia

compared to

Hungary

Budapest vs. Skopje Cost of Living Summary

Budapest is 48.5% more expensive than Skopje.

Restaurants: pay 44.2% more in Budapest
Groceries: pay 40.1% more in Budapest
Transportation: pay 9.7% more in Budapest
Housing: pay 75.3% more in Budapest
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Budapest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 55.3% more in Budapest
Clothing: pay 12.8% more in Budapest

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, and clothing in Budapest are more expensive than in Skopje. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Budapest.

Planning a move to Hungary? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Budapest vs. Skopje Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 44.2% more for restaurants

	Skopje	Budapest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.58 MKD525.47	$13.77 HUF4,451.76	+43.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.45 MKD353.80	$10.17 HUF3,289.36	+57.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.83 MKD100.43	$2.08 HUF673.49	+13.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.34 MKD73.75	$1.83 HUF591.19	+36.0%
Average			+44.2%

Skopje vs. Budapest - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.1% more for groceries

	Skopje	Budapest
Bread 1 loaf	$0.77 MKD42.21	$1.80 HUF580.67	+133.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.98 MKD218.01	$5.57 HUF1,802.14	+40.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.76 MKD261.02	$4.40 HUF1,421.11	-7.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.46 MKD134.98	$3.88 HUF1,253.03	+57.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.35 MKD183.84	$3.10 HUF1,003.00	-7.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.66 MKD36.01	$0.85 HUF274.62	+29.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 MKD35.19	$0.94 HUF303.05	+46.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.61 MKD33.45	$1.06 HUF341.51	+73.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.87 MKD47.64	$1.73 HUF558.38	+98.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.39 MKD21.34	$0.45 HUF144.57	+14.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.37 MKD20.09	$0.46 HUF147.52	+24.5%
Average			+40.1%

Skopje vs. Budapest - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.7% more for transportation

	Skopje	Budapest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.00 MKD328.99	$7.07 HUF2,284.96	+17.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$27.26 MKD1,494.95	$27.54 HUF8,903.52	+1.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,440.15 MKD2M	$29,374.56 HUF9M	-17.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.82 MKD318.92	$14.14 HUF4,570.47	+143.1%
Average			+9.7%

Skopje vs. Budapest - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 75.3% more for housing

	Skopje	Budapest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.00 MKD1,041.93	$23.57 HUF7,621.57	+24.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$418.20 MKD22,932.64	$817.66 HUF264K	+95.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$324.42 MKD17,790.03	$631.44 HUF204K	+94.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$119.51 MKD6,553.79	$132.77 HUF42,926.20	+11.1%
Average			+75.3%

Skopje vs. Budapest - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Skopje	Budapest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$355.23 MKD19,479.61	$539.65 HUF174K	+51.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,681.18 MKD312K	$16,674.34 HUF5M	+193.5%
Average			+111.2%

Skopje vs. Budapest - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 55.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Skopje	Budapest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.73 MKD149.49	$3.67 HUF1,187.14	+34.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.09 MKD114.88	$3.35 HUF1,081.59	+59.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.45 MKD189.36	$7.96 HUF2,572.13	+130.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.17 MKD2,092.93	$67.07 HUF21,685.02	+75.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.27 MKD398.65	$9.33 HUF3,017.30	+28.4%
Average			+55.3%

Skopje vs. Budapest - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.8% more for clothing

	Skopje	Budapest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$84.15 MKD4,614.40	$100.01 HUF32,333.83	+18.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.88 MKD2,022.17	$42.98 HUF13,894.99	+16.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$101.78 MKD5,581.14	$113.36 HUF36,650.47	+11.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$112.67 MKD6,178.55	$118.19 HUF38,210.94	+4.9%
Average			+12.8%

Skopje vs. Budapest - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Skopje vs. Budapest

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Budapest?

More cost comparisons

Skopje vs.

Bangkok

Skopje vs.

Shanghai

Skopje vs.

Dublin

Skopje vs.

New York City

Skopje vs.

Paris

Skopje vs.

Quito

Skopje vs.

Lima

Skopje vs.

Warsaw

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Macedonia vs. Hungary. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Macedonia and Hungary.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Skopje

Add prices for Budapest

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Budapest or Skopje. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.