Cost of Living in Budapest

Hi, does 825,000 HUF (Gross salary) good enough for a family of 2 persons to have a healthy life in Budapest?

I'm not sure where some of the commenters live but it's certainly not Budapest that's for sure. The reason there isn't anybody out nowadays is the nationwide curfew from 8 pm. In the before times, the city centre was packed every night non stop.

There are no random groups of people going around shooting stuff. That is simply a lie and it's amazing how you can even write such things down. Contrary to popular belief, the cops aren't quite so bribable, as many of them are young and despise bribery. Use your common sense people, don't believe such egregious made up lies from people that never lived in the city.

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are moving to Budapest. Just us to. I met €1300 and she would still need to find work there.

Is it possible to survive on this?

When some commenter from France says Budapest is dangerous (it is not) and goes back to Paris where there was bombing, cathedral set on fire, and vandalism by protesters. :D

800,000 huf net minimum for a single person would cover all expenses depending upon lifestyle but 950,000 huf net each month would be much better. If you wanted to live an hour out of Budapest 546,000 net each month would allow you to scrape by barely.The numbers here aren't correct,I've lived in Budapest 5 years so I know.

None of costs listed here are accurate from food, entertainment rentals or even monthly salaries. Bump salaries 30% lower,food costs 25% higher, entertainment 50% higher depending upon the venue.Utilities should be 40% more.
I'm from Budapest and I know the costs of things.The only things that are accurate here are transportation via busses or taxies,and internet costs each month.Anyone can post anything online,however it's much different when one needs to budget for daily expenses as I do.

Hi guys,

I am planning to move to Budapest with my wife and two daughters (2 and 5 y.o).
I'm trying to calculate if the salary around 2700 euro (net) would be enough to live comfortably.
Including house bills, grocery, entertainment, rent apartment, driving on the weekends, Preschool/Kindergarten for children and medicine, holidays, etc

Thanks

I am planning to move to Budapest with wife and 9 years daughter. Let me know cost of leaving and howmuch salary I need so that i can accomadate daughter school and all other daily grosary and etc...end of the month i want save few mone

@Pawan Kohli - hope this helps!

- https://www.profession.hu/en
- https://www.cvonline.hu/en
- https://dreamjo.bs/en
- https://www.workania.hu/en/
- https://jobline.hu/

We are a family of three (me, hubby and our pre teen) I’d say to live in a decent area Rose Hill in a decent space 90sqm. We dont drive just either public transport or taxi and still have the freedom to live comfortably- monthly running cost is about 1.4M all in rent, grocery, entertainment, school fees and house bills but does not include holiday budget or Christmas pressies

That average salary is NOT what a teacher, nurse, doctor or fire fighter gets...

The salary is real what is here on numbeo. Hungarian poeople in average can earn around this 250.000 Huf. This is usually start from 130.000 Huf to 350.000 Huf but the most hungarian people can earn under 300k. If you are from abroud or you have higher position or you are leader you can earn more. There are some professsion what can pay you over 400 but is not typical. So average hungarian people can earn from 130-350 so average net 220-270. It means the data is correct net 250.000.

OK guys,

So you consider this thread updated for 2020, whereas you do not take care of your data at all..

Anyways I tried to dig out the latest data regarding the salaries for Budapest.

These are official data from the Statistical Office for Q1-Q3 in 2019, you can see the regional figures here. (Since, there is a general salary hike in the country and the CEE region, this will be higher for the whole year.)

https://www.ksh.hu/docs/hun/xstadat/xstadat_evkozi/e_qli029b.html

So average gross salary was around 450 000 HUF in Budapest in the aforementioned period. In net terms:300 000 HUF. Quite a difference..

George, you may survive from that money, even two of you. Not super convenient, but manageable. If you want comfortable life, then also your partner should get a job.

Well no,It is a little bit lower actually,thats what you get from this shithole. If you dont believe it than come and see

2000 USDis quite enogh to live and additionale save money in Budapest But here in Budapest salaries are definitely lower Dont believe anyone you can get such high money per mounth in Budapest if you are not high qualified specialist Basic selary in Butapest is in the range of 500-600 USD.If you are planning to come and work in Central Europe you should consider Prague or Warsaw

Hi guys I have offered a job with 2680 euro gross, we are a couple with a child that is about 6 month, Does this salary is the good one and we are able to cover expenses?

Dear all,

After 2yrs of living in Budapest- i can share you some basic things I figured. We are a family of 3.

We live in the Buda side- 2nd District

Property type: 2bedroom, 1 kitchen dining, living room, bath, toilet, 95sqm flat in an old but
Maintained building, double glazed not carpeted

For the common cost: 24,500

Electric: (summer-no AC with occasional use of 2blowers) average of 15,000
Electric During winter: 18,000
•we have 2 fridge freezer and the normal appliances constantly running; washing machine, electric hob /oven, microwave, toaster, kettle, dishwasher etc.

Gas (summer) average 7,000
Winter: 22,000
We run hot water all year and during winter it heating is on all day maintaining a room temperature of 21degrees

Monthly pass for 2 adults: 9,500 each (19,000 both)
1child month pass: 3,450

UPC family bundle 300mbps w/ tv and landline: 9,990 mo ty

Grocery: this varies depends on what I obviously cook or prepare. Ours is between 280-380k in a month. We are a mix household and I cater for 2picky eater! My main diet is seafood (thus increases the budget a lot) i order from a supplier with an average cost of 18,000 weekly spent on seafood alone. Hubby loves red meat and daughter is in between. This also includes things such laundry and cleaning materials etc and other household stuff

Eating out: again varies every month. Range from 60-80k in a month

Recreational: we dont have any gym membership or such but we do go out to see movie, concerts, circus, exhibitions regularly. This can be between 50-100k a month depends what you want to watch or see

School: our daughter is bilingual. She attends a bilingual program and it cost just about 800,000 in a year or a monthly instalment for 90k extra on her tuition alone. This is A LOT cheaper than international schools that can cost as little as 1.8m to 7m in a year! This does not included school meal of which is approx 12,000 a month, class money 20,000 in a year, field trips 80,000 a year etc

Extras: for 2hour violin lesson cost us 12,000
Private tutoring per hour 3,500 (math, Hungarian)

Holidays: we go for 3holidays in a year during summer break, autumn break and winter break

I do not work in Budapest but has an income from abroad. I was offered a job here but turned it down coz wage was a joke! 350k net for a full time in Finance sector and was an insult when got an offer in education sector for 180,00”net. It would cost me more to hire somebody to look after our daughter and run the household with our crazy routine and schedules. Hubby works in aviation and we can’t complain with how much they give as a wage.

Point is: depends on your lifestyle and cost will change. If we would eat salami everyday and kifli then we would save loads but we are quite happy how we live here compare to the pressure we had back when living in London.

I know families of 3 that lives on a 380k a month but they are a proper Hungarian household that eats only if not mainly Hungarian diet. That is good for them but for us it won’t work.

#Developer

one small flat with utility rate + 2 monthly ticket for publick transport is around 200k.
the food price in supermarkat is little bit cheaper or similar like wet EU. If you are cooking it can be stop 100-150k. So you can alive :)

@Rachel: the costs of an international private school varies greatly, so no estimation on that, but its expensive (minimum 300-500 per child per month, but can be much more). Also I don't know if you plan to rent or buy, but renting a 2-3 bedroom flat will be above 700 euro minimum with bills(in an old block flat). Check out( https://realestatehungary.hu/ ). Personally I wouldn't even think about Budapest in your case with a monthly net salary below 3000 EUR (1.000.000 HUF after tax). For taxes check ( https://www.humancentrum.hu/wage-calculator )

To "#Anonymous on Jul 26, 2019":
Rent prices have increased a lot since 8 years. Also HUF lost a lot to EUR (sitting around 330 HUF/EUR). Regarding the job it really depends on you area of expertise. For example with junior IT jobs its not uncommon to get 350k HUF after taxes, but I'm not familiar with other jobs. For a start you could check https://www.profession.hu/ for job search. It is used here in Hungary. Also LinkedIn is popular, so you can get up to relevant job offerings there. Also you can check Hays salary guide 2019:
https://www.hays.hu/cs/groups/hays_common/@hu/@content/documents/digitalasset/hays_2396534.pdf
The estimations are a bit high (10-20 percent depending on different areas) but the relation to of wages to each other are fair. Hope it was helpful!

How much is the cost of staying in Budapest for 15days on tourist visit

Hi All,

To answer the recent questions about the living costs in Hungary: it really depends on your needs. If you live prudently, Budapest is a very cheap city despite the increasing rent prices. but if you want to enjoy the bars, restaurants and various programmes, want to eat healthily and so on, you will need more money. Expect good places to rent above 500EUR plus costs. Apart from that 500Eur per person should cover any basic needs. Of course if you want to enjoy the city to its full you'll need a higher salary. A gross salary of ~12 mil a year will allow you a fantastic life here.

Hi, I'm a student who would like to continue education in Hungary, if possible in Budapest. How much would it cost me to rent a flat? I'm not looking for anything supermodern or anything, just good conected with center.

Hi,

we are a couple in 60' hoping to retire into Budapest , please advise what will be the cost of living and how much will it cost to buy an apartment in possible city ?

Hi Eli,

Please find one of the biggest estate site here: https://realestatehungary.hu/reszleteskereso

3000 EUR gross is a pretty good salary in Hungary, but it isn't the heaven. It highly depends how do you define good life. :) You can check here how much you will have after taxes: https://www.nexon.hu/en/salary-calculator.

It's around 650.000 HUF. You can compare it with the expenses above. Assuming that you are one income family, you won't have huge saving potential, but you can cover all your expenses for sure.

Also it's recommended to double check, if you will have health insurance. In Hungary it is included in your taxes, but you get state health service for that. In average it's much better than state services in other countries and worse, than private health services. Beside some languege support, you'll have to know how the system works.

Hope this helps.

I lived in Budapest from 1982 to 1986. We were getting scholarship of 3000 forints which was just sufficient for living.
I want to take my family to Budapest to revisit old memory lanes. Want to know exact living cost know and whether we can live in guest house of Hungarian Academy of sinces or hostel of Budapest Technical University at krusper utca.

Restaurant prices have a large variation. Tourist places can cost 4 times of a normal cheap restaurant

@Gabriel81,

I totally agree with you, but still the description says "average salary", not "median salary" ;)

Dear Numbeo!

The average net salary for Budapest is outdated on the site. According to the latest statistics, it is 272 254 HUF (2018 1st half). The salary on the site is 17% lower. I think it was better if the average salary would come from the statistics and not from the users.

Source: https://www.ksh.hu/docs/hun/xstadat/xstadat_evkozi/e_qli030b.html

I aim to move soon in Budapest. I will start a job with Net 700 Euro monthly. Rent is covered by employer but electricity and water bill are not. First two months they said I have to be on a testing period and if they decide to keep we they will sign a year period contract. I am an IT engineer. Somebody who knows better the procedures of employment, an the common salaries, and the cost of living what is suggesting me about this situation?

Hey Benjamin, of course you aren't saving any money if you go on vacation once per month. Duh

Budapest is a fun city to live in however, be careful. If you haven’t got a good salary, you will struggle a lot at the end of the month. I wouldn’t suggest anyone under 450-500k net to live there. Unless you work in IT, are a consultant or a manager then it’s tough. I used to live in Budapest, I wasn’t a manager but I had a good skilled job and so did my partner. We were both making around 280k net each, we lived at her parents house, so we didn’t have to pay for rent however, we struggled to save up. We had a car that needed to be fixed from time to time, we went out to restaurants maybe twice a month, we bought maybe one clothing item per month, we went away on weekends once per month, yet we still ended up with no money. The thing that people don’t understand is that as soon as you would like to travel outside of Hungary in the Euro zone, it’s game over. Simply because the price of a coffee in Vienna or Berlin is in line with the euro salaries. So it reallt depends what you would like to do in Hungary. If you’re going to go to work, then come home, not have a car, and stay at home on weekends then yes, if you make around 500k you’ll be fine. But for young couples who like to do other things, Hungary isn’t the best country to live in. We used to live in London with my partner and even though the rent is outrageous, we still managed to save up around £700 together per month. I think you want to live in Hungary, you will have to restrict yourself more than in any other European countries unless you’re making more than 500k. So if you’re making 600k or 700k which is quite unusual unless you’re high up in the market, then yeah! Go for it! You will absolutely love it!

If you rent an apartment outside of the city 400 euros + utilities 150 euro. You have left 550. That enough to
buy food and shoping as well.

Hi For those who wants move in Hungary. The rent plus the overheads 200.000 (700 euro). To living fine you need plus 200000 (700) euro per month.

#Amine (answer for Amine)
700 euro is not enough. 450-500 euro the rent in the city plus the cable, inernet, electricity , gas after all you need food pay the transport. 1500 euro is enough.

@egen

I've got great news for you, that's plenty. 1.2 mln HUF gross a month comes out to around 810 thousand HUF et after income tax, pension fund and health insurance, considering you're a parent, which is more than plenty to rent a decent apartment and support a child, even save up a decent amount on the side.

@egen Hey there, I’m an expat currently studying in Budapest. Is 1.2 mln HUF, your annual salary? If so, that’s definitely not enough to support oneself, another adult and a child as it is less than 400€ per month. You’d need at least 800€ a month for that, excluding renting.

@Croat Hey there, I’m an expat currently studying in Budapest. In my opinion, 1200€ for two person would be more or less enough for a thrifty but secure life in the city, if we exclude rent that is. I’d say for a comfortable life for two, pref. a couple in a lofty apartment in the suburbs, you’d need at least 2200€ per month, including rent and utilities. Keep in mind that that number can be cut in HALF if you don’t mind living just outside of Budapest and take the public transport or drive into the city every day as I do.

Hey guys, can someone tell me is 1200 euros net (around 385k forints) sufficient salary for 2 people to normally live in Budapest? We are not really used to eat outside or have high expenses. Just normal, usual everyday life.
Thanks for any help.

No Paulo, 1054 EUR is not a good ANNUAL salary.

I received a job offer of 1054 euros (gross) and I would like to know if it is enough to live more or less comfortably in Budapest.

Thanks

Hi There.
I Have a potential job offer at Director level with an investment bank in Budapest. The role will be residential, so will have to sort accommodation. Am struggling with identifying a reasonable, liveable salary. This is all new to me, so forgive me if I come across as a bit 'naive'!!

Thanks in advance.

I am doing a project for my online course and I found your site to be very informative.

Alena, considering that rent priced have been steadily increasing, 450dollars won't be enough in Budapest. If you speak foreign languages you could work for an SSC like 10-20 hours a week and with that wage (at least 500usd) and personal savings life will be easy in Budapest.

Hamed: 580Eur is not sufficient for a family either so check the advice above!

Hi,everyone!
I plan to study at CEU in Fall 2018. However, they didn't give me scholarship. My own savings allow me to spend about 450$/month. I plan to rent a room not in the center of the city and to cook mostly at home. Do you think it will be enough for me?

5 days 4 nights what will be the expense if hotel & flight is paid off. Eg. what is the cost of a bottle of mineral water

Oh and night life is quite nice and when you get used to it its not that expensive. Usually I spend 5k on a very fun night out on Saturday or Friday evening. So thats a maximum of 20k for that, but usually its half of that since I dont go out every weekend.

Transport outside of Budapest is crazy cheap. Thats one of the best things about this city.
Extremely cheap to travel to Berlin for example. I payed only 12k for a return ticket.
Buses, especially those to Prague, Bratislava, Krakow etc. are really a nice bargain.
This month (November) you could travel to Tel Aviv (Israel) for only 7-8k forints return ticket.
Tickets to Dublin and some other European cities are also ridiculously cheap mostly. Wizair, Ryanair and Easyjet are all in Budapest.
The bus station is new and beautiful, the airport is also really nice. Personally I don't like any of the train stations, but people travel with trains a lot as well.

Hello to everyone. I see that we wave different prices on the rental fees than the locals which is relatively normal. I need to know if the amount of 350K per month is enough to cover a studio rent with self expenses for a single person with an average lifestyle.
Thanks

Hi everyone,

Just to update the figures a bit (of course finances vary according to individual earnings and expenses)

Ours are as follows: based on the last 3months of living here

Rent and bills (common cost, gas and electric) = 200,000

Monthly pass for 2adults + 1child= 22,450 (we save on this as partner works at the airport and can use the pass too!

Grocery= 160,000 (we cook international cuisine thus a bit higher than average

UPC subscription= 9,499

Out and about expenses= 60,000-150,000 (dine out concert tickets etc) concert ticket makes it expensive as it can be as much as 32,000 per person for a decent seat or can be as cheap as 13,000 for an okay-ish. Of course this is based on your lifestyle, we tend to watch concert, live performances, musicals at least once a month and pop in exhibitions or small events whenever we can

Child education fee= 2,500,000 in a year (school fee, meal, uniform, supplies)

Hungarian language private lesson for our child= 4,000 per hour

violin private lesson at home= 6,000 per hour

Going to neighbouring country can be as cheap 100euro or roughly 30,000 for a family of 3 i.e Prague via train or bus, in our case this would the same cost for us to fly with a discounted ticket (staff tickets)

Hey everyone!

I'm going on a city break to Budapest, in November for three nights with my boyfriend. I was wondering how much money would you recommend to take? Hotel is all paid for.. we do like to go out a lot drinking ( going for my 21st birthday haha) and eat out three/two times a day.

can someone suggest something please? as I have no idea!

Thank you!!

@Rick Sanchez
400.000 HUF net is okay for living in Budapest with your fiancé. Please keep in mind that the monthly rental fees can be insane now! (50 sqm in 8th district - bad neighbourhood - can cost you 140.000 HUF)
If you find a good deal on rented flat you should have no problem with the rest of the expenses.