Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Hefei

For one person, living is cheaper in Hefei: $764 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Hefei
Learn more

Hefei Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Hefei

🇨🇳 China

$764

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Hefei

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $764 in Hefei, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
Hefei $764

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $1,215 in Hefei, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
Hefei $1,215

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $1,666 in Hefei, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
Hefei $1,666

Budapest costs about 112% more than Hefei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while Hefei is 43% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,503

$2.60 ¥17.37

436.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

$22.83 ¥153

168.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,291

$4.53 ¥30.27

124.94%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,055

$2.67 ¥17.83

22.10%

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

$2.14 Ft 690

$0.49 ¥3.27

336.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 577

$0.27 ¥1.78

559.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,198

$1.03 ¥6.88

260.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,217

$1.98 ¥13.27

90.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 371

$1.58 ¥10.59

-27.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 578

$1.97 ¥13.14

-9.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$0.79 ¥5.30

215.19%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,261

$1.83 ¥12.22

113.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

$13.84 ¥92.5

-19.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,139

$4.76 ¥31.85

39.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,745

$11.55 ¥77.2

27.19%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 591

$2.31 ¥15.44

-20.78%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 661

$1.68 ¥11.23

22.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 765

$1.64 ¥10.95

44.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,260

$1.54 ¥10.27

153.25%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$0.88 ¥5.90

12.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 322

$0.99 ¥6.60

1.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 511

$0.84 ¥5.59

88.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 216

$0.66 ¥4.44

1.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

$3.06 ¥20.47

160.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,009

$12.08 ¥80.8

-48.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$0.88 ¥5.88

44.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 654

$1.90 ¥12.73

6.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 490

$0.31 ¥2.10

390.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,053

$44.14 ¥295

-36.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,070

$1.17 ¥7.79

182.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 442

$0.33 ¥2.18

315.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

$3.54 ¥23.65

460.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 589

$1.30 ¥8.69

40.00%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

$19.0K ¥127.2K

56.63%

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

$16.9K ¥112.8K

100.42%

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

$171 Ft 55.3K

$49.24 ¥329

247.52%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,596

$9.03 ¥60.4

160.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,526

$11.71 ¥78.3

98.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

$15.74 ¥105

329.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

$15.63 ¥105

20.86%

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,004

$6.43 ¥43.00

44.63%

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

$533 Ft 172.3K

$246 ¥1,645

116.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$8,528 ¥57.0K

96.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

$90.9 ¥608

9.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

$32.82 ¥219

32.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.7K

$63.2 ¥422

74.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$98.4 ¥658

20.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 268.3K

$249 ¥1,662

234.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 200.9K

$180 ¥1,202

245.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

$550 ¥3,679

189.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

$332 ¥2,221

252.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$3,585 ¥24.0K

62.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$1,910 ¥12.8K

103.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

$1,007 ¥6,734

63.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

3.15

104.76%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Hefei: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Hefei

$180 23.5% 71.1% $442

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Hefei

$230 30.1% 10.8% $28

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Hefei

$78 10.3% 64.8% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Hefei

$70 9.2% 67.9% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Hefei

$128 16.8% 23.4% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Hefei

$29 3.8% 66.8% $58

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Hefei

$48 6.3% 8.9% $3.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $830 in Budapest versus $249 in Hefei. 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 64% 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 $61.0 in Budapest versus $23.00 in Hefei. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $230 – making Hefei the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇨🇳 Hefei

🕒 Local time

23:02 11:02 PM

05:02 5:02 AM

6 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

9,369,881

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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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Between locations

Budapest Hefei 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
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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 Hefei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 112%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,428 per month in Budapest and $1,145 in Hefei. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 58% less in Hefei. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $533 per month in Budapest and $246 in Hefei. 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 Hefei, where all-in costs run around $764, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Hefei it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Hefei – 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 Hefei. 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.