Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Dalian

For one person, living is cheaper in Dalian: $895 a month against $1,621 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Dalian
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Dalian Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Dalian

🇨🇳 China

$895

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Dalian

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $895 in Dalian, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Dalian $895

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $1,433 in Dalian, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Dalian $1,433

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $1,970 in Dalian, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Dalian $1,970

Budapest costs about 81% more than Dalian, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Dalian is 33% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,551

$3.63 ¥24.25

285.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.6K

$24.88 ¥166

142.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,241

$5.12 ¥34.24

94.53%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,100

$3.30 ¥22.04

2.42%

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

$2.13 Ft 692

$0.49 ¥3.30

334.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 608

$0.25 ¥1.67

648.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,221

$0.92 ¥6.17

307.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,162

$1.53 ¥10.23

133.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 368

$1.59 ¥10.63

-28.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 599

$1.42 ¥9.52

29.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$1.02 ¥6.80

134.31%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,245

$1.59 ¥10.61

140.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,686

$20.36 ¥136

-44.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,192

$3.46 ¥23.10

94.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,780

$13.05 ¥87.2

12.57%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 597

$1.31 ¥8.74

40.46%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 653

$1.13 ¥7.52

77.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.93 ¥12.90

22.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,226

$0.89 ¥5.96

323.60%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 313

$0.82 ¥5.50

17.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 334

$0.71 ¥4.77

45.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.35 ¥9.00

15.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.62 ¥4.16

6.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,591

$3.75 ¥25.08

112.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,954

$14.55 ¥97.2

-58.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 421

$1.10 ¥7.32

18.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 676

$1.93 ¥12.92

7.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 489

$0.31 ¥2.10

383.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,982

$30.05 ¥201

-8.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,074

$1.53 ¥10.23

115.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.43 ¥2.87

202.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,436

$3.98 ¥26.60

396.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.26 ¥8.43

43.65%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$19.6K ¥130.8K

49.87%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$17.5K ¥117.0K

94.85%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$63.8 ¥426

166.57%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,802

$9.13 ¥61.0

162.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,621

$13.34 ¥89.1

75.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$40.35 ¥270

64.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,239

$36.04 ¥241

-46.78%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,098

$6.85 ¥45.75

38.98%

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

$537 Ft 174.6K

$393 ¥2,627

36.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$20.6K ¥137.9K

-19.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$75.4 ¥504

34.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$54.9 ¥367

-21.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$114 ¥762

-1.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$117 ¥784

1.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.0K

$402 ¥2,684

100.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.7K

$244 ¥1,628

158.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.1K

$702 ¥4,688

120.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 379.7K

$445 ¥2,971

162.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$2,684 ¥17.9K

109.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$1,585 ¥10.6K

150.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.0K

$1,090 ¥7,287

49.09%

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 Dalian: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Dalian

$244 26.6% 61.3% $386

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Dalian

$239 26.1% 7.3% $19

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Dalian

$95 10.3% 57.8% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Dalian

$86 9.4% 60.3% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Dalian

$163 17.8% 3.7% $6.3

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Dalian

$54 5.9% 36.6% $31

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Dalian

$35 3.8% 19.4% $8.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $402 in Dalian. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 49% higher in Budapest, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60.0 in Budapest versus $25.00 in Dalian. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $239 – making Dalian the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇨🇳 Dalian

🕒 Local time

08:14 8:14 AM

14:14 2:14 PM

6 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

7,450,785

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Budapest Dalian 7,740 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Budapest vs Dalian: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 81%, 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 $1,342 in Dalian. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 9% less in Dalian. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $537 per month in Budapest and $393 in Dalian. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Dalian, where all-in costs run around $895, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Dalian it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Dalian – 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 Dalian. 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.