Living expenses
Is it worth moving to Hungary? We have prepared for you a guide to prices in Hungary for 2021.
Buying a home
On average in Hungary, the cost per square meter of housing varies from € 1,000 to € 1,600. But the price tag strongly depends on the location of the object, as well as on the specific city. The highest prices are in Budapest: to buy an apartment in the center of the capital, prepare to pay about € 2,000 – 3,000 per sq.m. In the rest of the city, you can find options from about € 1,200 – 1,400.
If we consider other cities, prices are much lower. For example, in Debrecen a square meter of housing in the center costs € 950 – 1,000, and outside the central part – € 750 – 800. In Miskolc, the picture is even more optimistic in this regard: € 580 – 600 in the center and € 400 – 450 in other areas.
Rent
On average, to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Hungary, you will have to pay € 250 – 360 monthly. But again: the final rate is highly dependent on the area and the specific city. For example, in Budapest, you are unlikely to find a one-room apartment for less than € 250. Moreover, the property will be located in an area remote from the center. To rent an apartment in the very heart of the capital, you will have to pay € 350 – 500 per month.
Things are better in other cities. For example, in Debrecen you can rent a one-bedroom apartment for € 150 – 250 per month, depending on the area, and in Miskolc – for € 120 – 170.
Communal payments
Maintenance of a fairly large apartment in Hungary will cost an average of € 140 per month. In many ways, the final figure depends on the season and the area of housing. For example, for a two-room apartment in Budapest you will pay about € 80-90 in the summer, € 60-80 for a one-room apartment, € 110-130 in winter, and up to € 230 for a large house with 4-5 bedrooms in Lake Balaton.
Utility bills include:
- Water: hot – € 5.19, cold – € 1.94 per cubic meter.
- Gas: € 0.54 per 1 cubic meter
- Electricity: € 0.2 per 1 kW.
- Garbage collection: € 4.5 per month.
- Unlimited home internet: from € 25 per month.
- Gardener – € 40 – 100 per month.
If desired, the owner can insure his property: annual payments are approximately 0.1% of the cost of housing. There is also a private property tax in the country, which is also paid once a year and varies from 0.5 to 1.5% of the property price.
A popular option in Hungary is housing maintenance by a management company (MC). The list of services includes payment of utilities, receiving letters, cleaning, maintenance, garbage disposal, laundry, garden maintenance. In the absence of the owners, the Criminal Code checks the condition of the house and equipment twice a month, as well as unscheduled warming up and cleaning the house before the owners return. Cost – from € 50 per month depending on the size of the property and the amount of work.
Food and clothing
The most popular supermarket grocery chains are Spar, Tesko, Lidl, Penny, CBA, Aldi. There is no strong difference in prices between these stores, the peculiarity is only in manufacturers: each chain focuses on certain grocery brands.
Food prices in Hungarian stores:
- Ham (100 gr) – € 1
- Salami (1 kg) – € 7
- Chicken fillet (500 gr) – € 3.5
- Turkey fillet (450 gr) – € 3
- Cottage cheese (450 gr) – € 1
- Milk (1 liter) – € 0.7
- Kefir (1 liter) – € 0.7
- Fruit yogurt (400 gr) – € 1
- Butter (100 gr) – € 1
- Grated cheese (350 gr) – € 1.7
- Eggs (10 pcs) – € 1.2 – 1.4
- Rye bread (400 gr) – € 0.5
- French baguette (110 gr) – € 0.3
- Beer (local) – € 0.6 – 0.9
- Wine (local) – from € 2 per bottle
- Sugar (1 kg) – € 0.8
- Water (1.5 liters) – € 0.3 – 0.7
- Cucumbers (1 kg) – € 1.5
- Sweet pepper (1 kg) – 3.2
- Red onion (1 kg) – € 1
- Bananas (1 kg) – € 1
- Pears (1 kg) – € 1.3
- Strawberries (500 gr) – € 1.6
Fast food and food courts
The most budgetary food option outside the home would be fast food. A popular quick dish in Hungary is kyurtoshklatch: fried dough with various additives, starting at € 2.
In establishments like McDonald’s, you can have a snack for € 3. Big Mac set will cost € 6.
In large shopping centers and supermarkets, there are food courts where you can eat quite hearty food for € 2.5 – 3, for example, taking a duck with rice. Chicken with rice will cost even less – € 2. Having decided to wash down your meal with a cup of coffee, you will have to pay only € 1, and with a glass of beer – € 1.5.
Restaurants
But while in Hungary, you should not get used to fast food to save money: the cuisine in local restaurants is varied, tasty, and relatively inexpensive, and the portion size will not leave you hungry.
In large cities of the country, there are Trofea Grill restaurants where you only need to pay for the entrance, and then there is everything that you can master. Entrance fee – € 12 – 18, depending on the time of day and day of the week. Moreover, this amount includes not only food but also any drinks.
In more familiar restaurants, you can have a hearty meal up to € 10 per person. For example, fish soup or goulash will cost around € 4 – 7, depending on the establishment and serving size. For a complex in the form of goulash, dessert, and a glass of wine, you will pay € 10 – 15.
Clothes and footwear
Prices in Hungary are slightly below the European average, there is a good selection of goods and brands, although in neighboring Austria and Romania you can find many more interesting options. The most expensive stamps can be found on Andrassy Avenue and Vaci Street. But given that these are tourist places, prices here “bite”, so the only option is to come here during the sales season.
The Premier Outlets Center is considered the best outlet in Budapest, which is located outside the city and is open daily (except Sundays) from 10.00 to 20.00. The prices here are very pleasant, but the quality of the goods is average, although among the Chinese things there are quite decent ones. You can go to this place if you have time to look for good goods at a discount – get ready for the fact that you will have to spend a couple of hours on a “walk”. And please note that Tax-Free is not issued here.
Not far from the Keleti railway station, there is a huge shopping center Arena Plaza, which is open daily from 10.00 to 21.00, and on Sunday – until 19.00. There is a supermarket, a huge food court, and a cinema. The prices are different, there are many products.
Don’t forget about the markets where you can find many authentic products and a wide range of leather goods. For example, check out the Escher Flea Market, Central Market, Goba Art Market in Budapest. From other shopping centers – take a look at the West End City in the capital, in Debrecen – in “Debrecen Plaza”, in Miskolc – in the shopping centers “Sinva Park” and “Miskolc Plaza”.
As for the average prices for clothes and shoes – a pair of Levis jeans will cost around € 60, a dress like Zara or H&M – € 30, a pair of good sneakers or leather shoes – € 75 – 90.
And don’t forget the sales! Summer sales run from August to October, winter sales from February to March. Discounts can reach 70 – 80%, although more standard options are 30 – 50%.
Transport and communication
The transport network in Hungary is very well developed: buses, trolleybuses, and trams run in all cities. Electric trains and buses run between cities. Budapest also has a metro, cable car, funicular, and cogwheel railway. Several ticket options can be purchased from orange machines, newsstands / postal kiosks, and the IA of the metro station.
A ticket for 24 hours for all types of transport costs € 5, for one trip (on any type of transport with the ability to change to the metro within an hour) – € 3.5. Seven-day ticket – € 38. The capital also has a Budapest Card for 1.2 or 3 days, the cost of which starts from € 34.5. You can make an unlimited number of trips along with it by any transport, except for the funicular and the cable car. A pass for a specific type of transport will cost € 30, and a single pass – € 1.1.
An exotic option for moving around the capital is a cogwheel road, which is also called “tram line No. 60”. It is located near the Moszkvater metro station and is used to climb Mount Sechenie. All passes described above apply to it.
In the funicular, you can climb the walls of the Buda Castle for € 4.2 – 7. And with the help of the cable car, you will get to Mount Janos. The fare is about € 6.
There are also steamships in Hungary. True, this is more of an excursion transport that will take you along the Danube and the Tisza, along Lake Balaton. The ticket costs about € 7.
Taxi
So that you don’t remember a trip by a local taxi with frenzied fares, choose only government service cars – with yellow license plates and a “Taxi” sign. Fares are fixed here and are displayed on the dashboard or glass. The landing will cost about € 0.7 – 1.5, 1 kilometer of the way – € 1 – 2.1, and a minute of waiting – € 0.2 – 0.4.
Own car or rent
Renting a car for a day will cost € 20 – 30, there are a great many companies where you can rent a car. The roads in the country are good, road signs are clear to everyone. In the city, the speed limit is 50 km / h, on the highway – 130 km / h. Gasoline costs € 1.1 per liter. To buy your car (like Volkswagen Golf 1.4 or Toyota Corolla 1.6l), be prepared to pay € 17,000.
Bicycles and hiking trails
Bicycles are popular in Hungary – the infrastructure for fans of an active lifestyle is very well developed here. Throughout Budapest there are corresponding paths, there are bike rental stations. Prices are affordable: the first 30 minutes are free, a day of driving – € 3.8, three months – € 38, an annual subscription – € 145. Additionally, € 190 is blocked on the card as a deposit.
You can buy cards for rental on the website or at the office of Bubi.
Hungary also has over 11,000 km of marked hiking trails, many of which are national routes. The most famous, crossing the whole country – Blue Trail with a length of 1,100 km.
Mobile phone
There are three main operators in Hungary: Vodafone, Telenor, and Magyar Telekom. The latter is the largest in the country. His Domino Surf package, which includes 150 MB of mobile traffic, will cost € 15.3 when ordering online. An additional Netplusz XL package with 3 GB of traffic will cost an additional € 17.5 per month.
Vodafone’s “Max L” tariff, which includes 100 minutes / SMS and 1 GB of mobile traffic, will cost € 30.6 per month.
Other expenses
In addition to the mandatory expense, it would be nice to take time for yourself. To go to the cinema in Hungary, get ready to pay € 5 – 6, a subscription to a fitness club will cost € 30 – 70, depending on the institution and the city. For a small boat cruise on the Danube, you will pay € 12, for the entrance to the open area of the Granite thermal springs – € 22.6 per day.
So, if you plan to live in Hungary, the average amount you should count on is € 750 – 800. This is provided that you rent a one-bedroom apartment in Budapest, use public transport, cook on your own, but visit cafes and restaurants and also don’t forget to have fun. Living together slightly reduces this amount to € 650 – 700 per person.