Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Datong

For one person, living is cheaper in Datong: $715 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Datong
Learn more

Datong Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Datong

🇨🇳 China

$715

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Datong

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

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Budapest vs $715 in Datong, rent included.

Budapest $1,641
Datong $715

A couple spends around $2,562 per month in Budapest vs $1,133 in Datong, rent included.

Budapest $2,562
Datong $1,133

A family of three spends $3,483 per month in Budapest vs $1,551 in Datong, rent included.

Budapest $3,483
Datong $1,551

Budapest costs about 130% more than Datong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.04 Ft 4,536

$2.77 ¥18.50

406.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

$21.44 ¥143

184.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 Ft 3,351

$4.93 ¥32.98

110.34%

Cappuccino

$3.46 Ft 1,117

$3.05 ¥20.42

13.44%

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

$2.07 Ft 669

$0.47 ¥3.11

340.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 Ft 572

$0.27 ¥1.80

555.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 Ft 1,191

$0.94 ¥6.31

292.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 Ft 1,229

$2.06 ¥13.76

84.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 Ft 374

$1.82 ¥12.16

-36.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 Ft 598

$1.62 ¥10.80

14.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 Ft 776

$0.89 ¥5.92

169.66%

Eggs

$3.99 Ft 1,289

$1.55 ¥10.36

157.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 Ft 3,683

$12.59 ¥84.2

-9.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.87 Ft 2,221

$3.23 ¥21.62

112.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.49 Ft 4,682

$10.12 ¥67.7

43.18%

Apples (1kg)

$1.88 Ft 607

$1.87 ¥12.52

0.53%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 Ft 693

$1.26 ¥8.39

69.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 Ft 744

$1.47 ¥9.83

56.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.04 Ft 1,304

$1.15 ¥7.68

251.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 329

$0.73 ¥4.89

39.73%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$0.92 ¥6.13

7.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 510

$0.56 ¥3.77

182.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 225

$0.51 ¥3.44

37.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.03 Ft 2,594

$3.17 ¥21.22

153.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 Ft 1,997

$10.71 ¥71.6

-42.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 Ft 401

$0.79 ¥5.29

56.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 Ft 666

$1.60 ¥10.69

28.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 Ft 513

$0.27 ¥1.80

488.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

$16.82 ¥112

63.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 Ft 1,110

$1.42 ¥9.48

141.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 Ft 431

$0.33 ¥2.19

303.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.45 Ft 6,607

$6.87 ¥45.96

197.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.17 ¥7.83

64.96%

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

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

$19.4K ¥129.6K

50.31%

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

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

$17.4K ¥116.3K

99.64%

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

$175 Ft 56.4K

$44.62 ¥298

291.28%

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

$23.62 Ft 7,631

$9.53 ¥63.7

147.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.60 Ft 7,625

$11.92 ¥79.7

97.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

$42.32 ¥283

62.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

$13.88 ¥92.8

38.76%

Cinema Ticket

$10.31 Ft 3,333

$5.84 ¥39.05

76.54%

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

$535 Ft 172.9K

$329 ¥2,198

62.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$16.5K ¥110.5K

1.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

$44.27 ¥296

125.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

$30.48 ¥204

41.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 Ft 36.1K

$71.5 ¥478

56.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$70.7 ¥473

68.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 Ft 268.8K

$283 ¥1,890

194.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 203.3K

$193 ¥1,289

226.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

$598 ¥3,999

165.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

$363 ¥2,424

230.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

$3,069 ¥20.5K

86.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

$2,036 ¥13.6K

93.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

3.89

65.81%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Datong: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.4%

Datong

$193 27% 69.4% $436

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$262 16%

Datong

$198 27.7% 24.4% $64

Eating Out

Budapest

$226 13.8%

Datong

$85 11.9% 62.3% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$222 13.5%

Datong

$66 9.2% 70.2% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.3%

Datong

$98 13.7% 42% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.5%

Datong

$54 7.6% 39.6% $35

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Datong

$21 2.9% 52.4% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $832 in Budapest versus $283 in Datong. 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 $61.0 in Budapest versus $21.00 in Datong. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $262 vs $198 – making Datong the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇨🇳 Datong

🕒 Local time

01:25 1:25 AM

07:25 7:25 AM

6 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

3,318,057

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Budapest Datong 7,130 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Budapest vs Datong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 130%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,461 per month in Budapest and $1,072 in Datong. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Datong, 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 Datong. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $535 per month in Budapest and $329 in Datong. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Datong, where all-in costs run around $715, than in Budapest at $1,641. In Datong it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Datong – 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 Datong. 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.