Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Bortala

For one person, living is cheaper in Bortala: $758 a month against $1,638 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Bortala
Learn more

Bortala Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,638

/mo nomad

Bortala

🇨🇳 China

$758

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Bortala

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Budapest and in Bortala actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,638 in Budapest versus $758 in Bortala.

Budapest $1,638
Bortala $758

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,553 in Budapest versus $1,168 in Bortala.

Budapest $2,553
Bortala $1,168

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,467 in Budapest versus $1,577 in Bortala.

Budapest $3,467
Bortala $1,577

Living in Budapest is roughly 116% more expensive than in Bortala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Budapest is 20% above, Bortala is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.81 Ft 4,548

$2.99 ¥19.91

361.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.5 Ft 20.2K

$22.84 ¥152

169.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.16 Ft 3,345

$4.86 ¥32.39

109.05%

Cappuccino

$3.22 Ft 1,061

$2.79 ¥18.57

15.41%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 Ft 679

$0.48 ¥3.19

329.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 Ft 604

$0.32 ¥2.11

471.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.60 Ft 1,187

$1.11 ¥7.40

224.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 Ft 1,207

$2.16 ¥14.37

69.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 Ft 392

$1.87 ¥12.48

-36.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 Ft 616

$1.59 ¥10.60

17.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 779

$0.95 ¥6.31

149.47%

Eggs

$3.96 Ft 1,304

$1.60 ¥10.69

147.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.16 Ft 3,677

$13.42 ¥89.5

-16.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.76 Ft 2,226

$3.36 ¥22.41

101.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.35 Ft 4,727

$11.29 ¥75.3

27.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.81 Ft 595

$1.89 ¥12.57

-4.23%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 Ft 695

$1.34 ¥8.90

57.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 Ft 769

$1.51 ¥10.04

54.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.80 Ft 1,253

$1.26 ¥8.37

201.59%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 327

$0.75 ¥5.00

32.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.98 Ft 324

$0.98 ¥6.51

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 Ft 511

$0.59 ¥3.96

162.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 229

$0.59 ¥3.90

18.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.79 Ft 2,567

$3.71 ¥24.75

109.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 Ft 1,993

$11.52 ¥76.8

-47.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 Ft 421

$0.88 ¥5.89

45.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 Ft 671

$1.55 ¥10.32

31.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 Ft 511

$0.28 ¥1.87

453.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.28 Ft 8,987

$15.99 ¥107

70.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,086

$1.57 ¥10.49

110.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.31 Ft 433

$0.32 ¥2.15

309.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.26 Ft 6,673

$7.15 ¥47.68

183.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 599

$1.17 ¥7.82

55.56%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.7K Ft 9.5M

$19.4K ¥129.3K

48.03%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$33.1K Ft 10.9M

$15.2K ¥101.1K

118.06%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$172 Ft 56.7K

$57.1 ¥381

201.44%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$23.95 Ft 7,890

$8.48 ¥56.6

182.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.31 Ft 7,679

$11.13 ¥74.2

109.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.6 Ft 22.6K

$41.95 ¥280

63.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.91 Ft 6,229

$14.98 ¥99.8

26.23%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 Ft 3,353

$6.53 ¥43.50

55.90%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$600 Ft 197.8K

$453 ¥3,021

32.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.5M

$19.3K ¥128.8K

-13.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.0 Ft 32.6K

$42.79 ¥285

131.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.25 Ft 14.2K

$30.92 ¥206

39.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 37.2K

$75.6 ¥504

49.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 Ft 38.6K

$68.3 ¥455

71.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$836 Ft 275.4K

$291 ¥1,937

187.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$640 Ft 210.7K

$214 ¥1,424

199.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 Ft 526.5K

$582 ¥3,881

174.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,205 Ft 396.9K

$343 ¥2,286

251.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,625 Ft 1.9M

$3,687 ¥24.6K

52.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,802 Ft 1.3M

$1,825 ¥12.2K

108.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,671 Ft 550.6K

$625 ¥4,167

167.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

3.36

91.96%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Budapest: October 27, 2026

Last update for Bortala: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$640 39.1%

Bortala

$214 28.2% 66.6% $426

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Bortala

$210 27.7% 18.8% $49

Eating Out

Budapest

$221 13.5%

Bortala

$85 11.2% 61.5% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$219 13.4%

Bortala

$77 10.1% 65% $143

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.2%

Bortala

$98 12.9% 41.6% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.4%

Bortala

$55 7.3% 38.2% $34

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Bortala

$20 2.7% 53.2% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $836 in Budapest and $291 in Bortala. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Budapest pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Budapest vs $23 in Bortala for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $210 per month, with Bortala cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇨🇳 Bortala

🕒 Local time

13:56 1:56 PM

20:56 8:56 PM

7 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

246,706

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.04 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 329 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.04 USD). 1 EUR = 367 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.67 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Between locations

Budapest Bortala 4,730 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
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Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Budapest vs Bortala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bortala wins on cost – living expenses run 54% lower than in Budapest. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bortala the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Budapest is about 2.7 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $836 in Budapest versus $291 in Bortala. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,638 per month in Budapest versus $758 in Bortala – a 116% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bortala runs roughly 41% less than in Budapest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Bortala gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Budapest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.