Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Changshu

For one person, living is cheaper in Changshu: $707 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Changshu
Learn more

Changshu Living Index

Jump to prices

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Changshu

🇨🇳 China

$707

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Changshu

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 Changshu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $707 in Changshu, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Changshu $707

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $1,120 in Changshu, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Changshu $1,120

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $1,532 in Changshu, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Changshu $1,532

Budapest costs about 129% more than Changshu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Changshu is 47% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,570

$2.71 ¥18.12

416.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.7K

$21.35 ¥143

182.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,255

$4.98 ¥33.30

100.00%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,105

$3.09 ¥20.67

9.39%

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

$2.13 Ft 696

$0.43 ¥2.88

395.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 611

$0.27 ¥1.80

592.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,226

$0.94 ¥6.27

298.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,167

$2.06 ¥13.78

73.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 370

$1.87 ¥12.49

-39.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 602

$1.56 ¥10.44

17.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 780

$0.90 ¥6.03

165.56%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,250

$1.54 ¥10.31

148.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,702

$12.88 ¥86.1

-12.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,201

$3.17 ¥21.16

112.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,800

$10.11 ¥67.5

45.30%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 600

$1.82 ¥12.19

1.10%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 656

$1.25 ¥8.33

60.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 770

$1.54 ¥10.29

53.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,232

$1.14 ¥7.64

230.70%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 315

$0.69 ¥4.60

39.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 336

$0.89 ¥5.98

15.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 511

$0.56 ¥3.76

178.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 217

$0.50 ¥3.37

32.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,602

$3.04 ¥20.35

161.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,963

$10.65 ¥71.2

-43.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 423

$0.74 ¥4.97

75.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 679

$1.63 ¥10.91

27.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 491

$0.27 ¥1.78

455.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 9,021

$16.85 ¥113

63.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,079

$1.37 ¥9.16

140.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 426

$0.35 ¥2.35

271.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,465

$6.82 ¥45.56

190.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 593

$1.14 ¥7.61

58.77%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.6M

$19.4K ¥129.4K

51.52%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$16.9K ¥113.2K

101.43%

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

$170 Ft 55.5K

$44.92 ¥300

278.32%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,836

$9.95 ¥66.5

141.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,654

$11.63 ¥77.7

101.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$42.26 ¥282

56.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,266

$13.67 ¥91.3

40.31%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,112

$5.88 ¥39.29

61.90%

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

$537 Ft 175.4K

$340 ¥2,272

57.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$17.1K ¥114.4K

-3.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.1K

$43.35 ¥290

133.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$30.09 ¥201

42.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.8K

$70.8 ¥473

59.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.8K

$73.3 ¥490

61.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 263.1K

$277 ¥1,853

190.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 205.6K

$192 ¥1,281

228.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 506.3K

$596 ¥3,986

159.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 381.4K

$355 ¥2,370

229.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$3,056 ¥20.4K

83.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$2,007 ¥13.4K

97.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 531.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

3.89

65.30%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Changshu: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Changshu

$192 26.8% 69.5% $438

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Changshu

$198 27.7% 23.2% $60

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Changshu

$85 12% 61.9% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Changshu

$67 9.3% 69.4% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Changshu

$98 13.7% 42.1% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Changshu

$54 7.6% 36.7% $31

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Changshu

$21 3% 51.6% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $277 in Changshu. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60.0 in Budapest versus $21.00 in Changshu. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $198 – making Changshu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇨🇳 Changshu

🕒 Local time

09:42 9:42 AM

15:42 3:42 PM

6 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

1,677,050

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.06 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 13, 2026: 1 USD = 327 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.06 USD). 1 EUR = 366 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Between locations

Budapest Changshu 8,260 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Changshu

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 Changshu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 129%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,432 per month in Budapest and $1,061 in Changshu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Changshu, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 64% less in Changshu. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $537 per month in Budapest and $340 in Changshu. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Changshu, where all-in costs run around $707, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Changshu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Changshu – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Changshu. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Budapest makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.