Cost of Living in Budapest, 🇭🇺 Hungary - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 4 5 6 $1,220 $803 $1,480 $618 $85

Utilities 25 — $165 $212 $151 —

Internet & Mobile 16 17 18 $40 $32 $55 $29 $0

Groceries 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 $136 $318 $822 $248 $8

Transportation 1 2 $99 $48 $115 $28 $18

Dining Out 20 21 32 $820 $310 $480 $80 $48

Leisure Activities 22 32 30 $271 $98 $2,280 $82 $22

Health Insurance 27 $67 $120 $285 — $2

Visa & Legal Fees 28 29 $10 $25 $45 — —

Total $2,663 $1,919 $5,774 $1,236 $183

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 4 $618.00 $454 – $957 per month

Coworking Space 3 $196.04 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 6 5 $1,175.00 $928 – $1,312 per month

Coliving Space 5 $430.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 33 $3.43 per cup

Beer 31 15 $4.94 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 20 $7.41 per meal

Fast Food Combo 19 $8.55 per meal

Apples 10 $1.27 per kg

Bread 8 $1.76 per loaf

Milk 7 $0.97 per liter

Rice 9 $1.79 per kg

Chicken Fillets 11 $6.35 per kg

Beef 12 $12.35 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 13 $3.39 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 21 $53.90 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 14 $0.31 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 2 $3.40 per trip

Taxi per km 2 $1.36 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 1 $27.63 per month

Gasoline 26 $1.98 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 2 $10.19 per trip

Scooter Rental 32 $12.00 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 16 $6.45 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 18 $23.03 per month

Gym Membership 32 $52.17 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 32 $18.52 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 17 $1.82 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 22 $9.57 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 32 $100.95 per pair

Summer Dress 32 $43.38 per dress

Running Shoes 32 $111.45 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 32 $15.90 per visit

Laundry 32 $6.18 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 23 $102.00 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 24 $9.54 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 323.92 HUF on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Hanoi, Prague, Vienna, Zurich

BKK — Monthly Budapest-pass 8,950 FtOfficial
Municipal taxi 1,100 Ft base + 440 Ft/kmOfficial
Liftoff fixed desk 50,000 HUF/month + VATOfficial
Ingatlan.com — ≤40 m² median 200,000 Ft; citywide 260,000 Ft (Jul 2026)Secondary
HousingAnywhere private rooms from ~102,685 HUF/monthListings
Spotahome furnished Budapest apartments from ~280,000 Ft/monthListings
Tesco UHT milk 2.8% 1 L — 315 FtOfficial
Tesco wheat bread 500 g — 569 FtOfficial
Tesco parboiled rice 1 kg — 579 FtOfficial
Grower's Harvest red apples 2 kg — 412 Ft/kgOfficial
Tesco chicken breast fillet 1 kg — 2,055 Ft/kgOfficial
Tesco beef mince 500 g — 1,999 Ft (3,998 Ft/kg)Official
Winebloom Tokaji cuvée 0.75 L — 1,099 FtOfficial
Tesco Zafír mineral water 1.5 L — 99 FtOfficial
Dreher Gold lager 0.5 L — 429 FtOfficial
Telekom Domino 9 GB — 2,090 Ft/30 daysOfficial
Yettel Kártyás M 590 Ft; Online 1,990 Ft/30 daysOfficial
DIGINet 1000 + WiFi 6 — 7,460 Ft/month (12-mo + e-Pack)Official
McDonald's Budapest (Wolt) — Big Mac McMenü 2,770 FtOfficial
NemPiskóta napi menü — 2,400 Ft (soup + main)Official
Két Szerecsen bistro mains 3,990–5,990 FtOfficial
Cinema City Westend — 2D adult ticket 3,100 FtSecondary
Medicare internal medicine consultation 32,900 FtOfficial
Nurofen Forte 400 mg 24 tablets — 3,090 FtOfficial
Pénzcentrum/Deutsche Bank — Budapest utilities ~49,000 Ft/monthSecondary
Hungary Octane-95 640 Ft/L (19 Oct 2026)Index
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
White Card permit feesOfficial
UK FCDO Schengen 90/180-day visitsOfficial
Britannica Budapest tuition 8,700,000 Ft/year (KS3)Official
DinePass Budapest menu averages (beer, clothing bands)Secondary
McDonald's McCafé Cappuccino 0.3 L — 1,110 Ft (Wolt)Listings
Aréna Fitness Center — 16,900 Ft/month gym passSecondary

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 1707.53 1175
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 927.36 618
- Apples 2 1.27
- Beef 14.43 12.35
- Beer 3.09 4.94
40 more changes
- Bread 2.5 1.76
- Chicken Fillets 8.39 6.35
- Cinema Ticket 10.01 9.57
- Coffee 3.39 3.43
- Coliving Space 706.56 430
- Coworking Space 191.36 196.04
- Dining Out local 103.04, nomad 824.32, expat 279.68, family 412.16, tourist 52.99 local 80, nomad 820, expat 310, family 480, tourist 48
- Doctor Visit (GP) 73.6 102
- Fast Food Combo 10.01 8.55
- Gasoline 2.02 1.98
- Groceries local 250.24, nomad 132.48, expat 323.84, family 765.44, tourist 8.83 local 248, nomad 136, expat 318, family 822, tourist 8
- Gym Membership 64.77 52.17
- Haircut 25.02 15.9
- Health Insurance local 0, nomad 70.66, expat 103.04, family 279.68 local 0, nomad 67, expat 120, family 285, tourist 2.2
- Housing local 485.76, nomad 1207.04, expat 691.84, family 1413.12, tourist 111.87 local 618, nomad 1220, expat 803, family 1480, tourist 85
- Internet & Mobile local 27.97, nomad 64.77, expat 41.22, family 82.43, tourist 7.36 local 29, nomad 40, expat 32, family 55, tourist 0.21
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 22.08 23.03
- Jeans 94.21 100.95
- Laundry 13.25 6.18
- Leisure Activities local 44.16, nomad 323.84, expat 132.48, family 235.52, tourist 22.08 local 82, nomad 271, expat 98, family 2280, tourist 22
- Meal (Inexpensive) 12.36 7.41
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 70.66 53.9
- Milk 1.53 0.97
- Mobile Plan 27.08 6.45
- Monthly Transport Pass 27.97 27.63
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 10.01 9.54
- Rice 2.3 1.79
- Ride-hailing (5km) 12.07 10.19
- Running Shoes 111.87 111.45
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 19.14 1.82
- Scooter Rental 14.13 12
- Summer Dress 42.69 43.38
- Taxi Start 3.97 3.4
- Taxi per km 1.62 1.36
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 22.08 18.52
- Transportation local 27.97, nomad 44.16, family 132.48, tourist 19.14 local 28, nomad 99, expat 48, family 115, tourist 18
- Utilities local 123.65, nomad 161.92, expat 147.2, family 250.24, tourist 0 local 151, nomad 0, expat 165, family 212, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 35.33, expat 52.99, family 73.6 local 0, nomad 10, expat 25, family 45
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.62 0.31
- Wine (Mid-range) 9.42 3.39
Coffee moved to McCafé Cappuccino 0.3 L 1,110 Ft listing Source

Budapest cost of living