Cost of living in Hungary – 2015

Would it be possible for your site developers to create an option list for any registered user to fill out their cost experiences on different topics? And then display collective results/averages/ranges in some page for each country? It would be more useful to query by visitors rather than seeking for comments in a forum post.

Just a thought.

@ klsallee > Thank you for your suggestion. I will also advise you to post your ideas here for more visibility: Help us improve the website.

Thanks

Priscilla

Accommodation prices -> With A/c: 150k HUF to 180k HUF for 35 - 60 sqm apartment in a good locality (Dist 7, 8,9, 2, 13 etc.) and without AC the cost can vary erratically from 70000 HUF to 130000 HUF,
Busz/Tram/Boat/Metro  -> 1 Euro - For one way no matter where you get down = 300-350 HUF
Food prices (your monthly budget) -> 1 Person @ 20000 HUF
Health prices (for those who need medical insurance) ->10000 - 15000 HUF (Allianz, Generali etc.)
Oil -> 340 HUF per litre,
Electricity -> around 5000 HUF for 45 sqm flat
Internet -> 5000 HUF (20+ Mbps)
TV -> around 4500 HUF (UPC, Digi)
Mobile -> Postpaid - around 10000 HUF (unlimited plan) or prepaid at 3000 HUF (Vodafone for 100 minutes)
Restaurant Dining (in avg. restaurant) -> Around 1000 - 1500 HUF per person
Price for a coffee or a drink -> 150 - 350 HUF
Price for cinema tickets  -> Yet to watch a movie here   

Price for giving this information - ummm...priceless 
Couldn't find this (ground level) data anywhere when I was planning to come but then with Forint's latest depreciation to record low I assume that these figures will hold true till it reaches below that 300HUF/EUR mark.

Good luck!

nick18xtn wrote:

Price for cinema tickets  -> Yet to watch a movie here   

For movie pricing and schedules see here Cinema City HU.   Click the flag on the right to see in English.  The only cinema seeming to show movies in OV (Original Version) these days is Mom Park next to the Novotel.  Things have become pretty dire for OV movies and language skills here have declined because of not subtitling and showing OV movies by default - unlike some of the neighbours - Croatia, Serbia, Romania etc whose language skills are excellent.

In Budapest
All prices monthly unless otherwise stated

Accommodation:
The most expensive thing about living in Budapest.  There isn't as much of a rental market as e.g. in the UK, and so rental prices are very high compared to income: probably aimed at foreigners and foreign students wielding €-grantmoney.
I can only talk about the flat I live in, because we got so few replies from applying to hundreds of flat adverts that I really don't know whether those flats really existed, whether the ads were hangovers from months ago, or whether the price got bid up.  120,000Ft, which is more than we'd like to afford, for a very nice (but ill-heated), 70m2, 2-room flat in Ferencváros.  (NB: Hungarian property adverts don't include kitchen and bathroom in the room-count.  Also, many "2-room" flats like this one do have two rooms that could be bedrooms, but with one only accessible through the other.  The Hungarian for "separately-accessible" rooms is "külön nyíló").
Tip: do NOT look for a flat to rent just after all the foreign students have flooded into Budapest (i.e. in late Aug, September)!

Közös költség
This is the "common cost" each flat household pays to the block (or stair) of flats, for things like bins, cleaning and maintenance of common areas.  Sometimes includes hot water.  As a tenant you have no control over how high this is (though it's fixed during the tenancy) or what it's used for.  Sometimes it's included in the quoted rental price.  Where I live it's 20,000Ft extra.  Tends to be higher for smarter, more modern flats.

Gas and electricity
Monthly bills vary wildly according to the size of flat, what kind of heating is in use, how well-insulated it is and how warm you like to be (also, of course, how much time you spend at home).  Here, with a relatively mild winter, and a flat in which only one room is heated, we got away with a maximum of 14,000Ft for gas and 6000Ft for electricity.  You'd pay much more if you have central heating.

Mobile phone
Haven't tried to get a contract yet, but Hungarian friends say it's very expensive compared to the UK.  Pay as you go, I top up about 12000Ft a month, and I hardly use my phone.

Transport
Here it's good news.  A single ticket is 350Ft, but it can only be used on one line of transport.  Change from one tram to another, or to the Metro, and you have to use another ticket.
The 10-ticket book (gyűjtőjegy) brings the price down to 300Ft a ticket.
Best deal, if you use at least two tickets each workday, is the monthly pass for 9500Ft.  Valid on almost every form of public transport within Budapest (this page Monthly pass suggests it's not valid on the boats at weekends).

Medical
Free if you have an EU health insurance card, or a Hungarian TAJ card.  Prescriptions are not free.  A (non-prescription) skin cream was 1800Ft.  People tell me they always use private dentists, rather than the free ones, as they're not that expensive, are excellent and are better than the free ones.

Food
Meat is excellent and cheap.  Vegetables can be relatively expensive, especially out of season, even if you stick to Hungarian produce (which is great in season).  Anything imported, like specialities you know from back home, is very expensive.  Can't put a monthly budget on it as it's combined with the budget for...

Beer
Cans of big-brand Hungarian beer in a supermarket are 220-350Ft.  Price of a korsó (0.5l) on tap varies a lot, depending on where you are: in a backstreet you can get a Soproni or Borsodi for 300-350Ft - in Dob utca, Rádai utca or the 5th district it'll be more like 500Ft .  Anything bought in a restaurant will have the "restaurant markup" applied (e.g. Heineken at 750Ft!). Hungarian microbrewery beer is great, but more expensive: 0.5l for 450-1000Ft (though the more expensive ones tend to be stronger, so you'd drink less of them).

Wine
Excellent!  1000Ft will buy a decent bottle, but you can get cheaper bottles which are still drinkable.  Or you can spend 3000Ft on a bottle which will blow your mind.  Wineshops (e.g. the Borhálózat franchise) sell 2L plastic bottles of various wine varieties, which are great and only cost 1000-1500Ft.

Eating out
This is hard to put a number on - how much do you want to spend?  Lots of lunch places do a "napi menü" of soup and a main (large portions!) for 800-1300Ft.  Price depends on the area you're in: on Rádai utca I remember paying 1000Ft just for a soup (which was very good, though).

Brilliantly explained, but bro I have a suggestion for you, I think you are spending too much on your mobile bill if you hardly use it. Go with vf Max M, 3k Ft. for 100 min to any network per month. can help you save some 9k Ft. 

Prices are rising : Restaurants, Flats to rent, Pubs, Gyms

More and more people want to sell their flats so to buy a flat is cheap but rental prices go up....

While its true you can still find some restaurants (i'm not talking about the daily menu for lunch time and not about fancy tourist places in city centre either) where you can have a decent meal (MEAT) for 1.000-1.200 HUF ( that used to be the norm 4 years ago) now its more like 1.600-1.800 with side dish if you want some decent quality (nothing special). Beer used to be 400-450 HUF in pubs in city center now we see more like 600-650. Sure you can find cheaper ones but you need to search harder than before.

Let's talk about gyms... 4 years ago it was about 9.000 - 10.000 HUF now we reached 14.000 - 18.000. For that price I can find a decent gym in germany. And you know what peoples wages are here? Like 150k - 500 Euro...

I know there is such thing like inflation but its pretty low in Hungary and we talk about 50% up in 4 years...

Oh and that tourist XMAS market near Deak/Vorosmarty Ter have almost the same prices as in Vienna. Ridiculous.

You'll get better prices if you have a Hungarian friend help you find a flat, if you are patient, and look outside the city center.
Eat local fare, if you try to cook foreign food all the time you're prices will go up dramatically (i miss beef, but pork is so much cheaper)
My entire budget, with student loan interest payments, prescription meds, and a little travel now and then is less than $500 a month.  If you have an American paycheck, its incredibly cheap (i have no income though, so... ha)

> accommodation prices
68,000 for 2 room flat, +15,000 common fee (9th)
45,000 for 1 room flat, I don't remember common fee, probably the same (10th)
75,000 for large 2-room flat in Buda 11th, horrible neighbors


> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)
100- day pass is best option for students = 10,350 huf.  once you graduate its about 10,000 per month :-(

> food prices (your monthly budget)
between 15,000-20,000 a month, i don't eat out often

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
First Med Centers is around 175,000 a person for a year of all-inclusive service.  If you need regular appointments for medical issues, it's recommended.  Otherwise very expensive for English, private care, but the Hungarian health system is the most horrible thing I've ever experienced.

> energy prices (oil, electricity)
Electricity ~ 3,000 for 2 people a month
Gas~ 3,000-5,000
Heat~ 6-16,000 for 2 rooms

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
Vodafone refills - 3,000 huf lasts me 2 months with 3G internet access (I rarely use my phone)
UPC internet - 3600 a month, DIGI is cheaper and faster if you can get it in your area

> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant
2-3000 huf with drinks and dessert
750-1000 in cafeterias

> price for a coffee or a drink
200 - 400 huf for coffee

> price for cinema tickets

Hard to exactly nail down prices month to month.
We own our flat and like to eat good food cooked at home.
We don't waste but we are also not super cheap with buying food products.
As senior aged people we think eating fresh healthy food is more important then ever in our lives.
My husband is also a fantastic cook.
I would say on average in the winter months we easily live on around $500. a month for everything, wine, food, utilities, common house costs and health care.
in the summer it all depends, if the weather is good we will spend perhaps $400 or more on petrol just to get out to the lakes a few times per week.
Clothing is not a big purchase in Hungary. We have tons of clothing and usually buy allot every 2 years or so when we visit the states.
I don't like most of the clothing offered for older people here in HU, I can still wear jr. size clothing and jeans, the old lady look is not for me, Long skirts below the knee and practical shoes.
We do not eat out very often and have not gone to a fancy restaurant in HU for years now. We do not spend $ at St. fairs on pricey drinks or foods from vendors.
We live more or less like everyday Hungarians and save to spend on vacations else where.
We know another senior aged couple who blast through the one SS check they get as of late every month, they buy drinks in bars, eat fast food daily and only buy the most pricey wines and toss out allot of good food.
Very weird as they are both born Hungarians, thought they would be more frugal then me an American.
If you don't own your own place then on average I would guess it would cost at least $400. a month for rent and then another $300. to $400 for everything else. If you make car payments that is extra.
We buy used cars since we only drive in summer to the lakes and once a week to big shop. All other times we walk everywhere. have to park on the street so not good to have a very nice car that would be a worry.
We have cable at home which is on average 7,000 a month depending on if we use the phone or not.
All pricey beauty products I buy every 18 to 24 months in the states, haircuts 4 to 5 times a year on average.
That's the nice thing about getting older, you have almost everything as far as clothing goes and household items.
We have not gone to a movie in HU in years, nothing worth seeing, Netflix at home works for us and is cheaper then 2 movie tickets.
I hardly never use BKV, only literally if my life depends on it. I have issues with them, will walk or drop before buying another monthly pass with them.