Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Jinzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Jinzhou: $744 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Jinzhou
Learn more

Jinzhou Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Jinzhou

🇨🇳 China

$744

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Jinzhou

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $744 in Jinzhou, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
Jinzhou $744

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $1,182 in Jinzhou, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
Jinzhou $1,182

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $1,620 in Jinzhou, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
Jinzhou $1,620

Budapest costs about 117% more than Jinzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while Jinzhou is 45% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,525

$2.97 ¥19.85

369.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.9K

$22.15 ¥148

176.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,307

$5.11 ¥34.15

99.41%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,060

$2.81 ¥18.81

16.01%

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

$2.14 Ft 694

$0.47 ¥3.16

355.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 579

$0.31 ¥2.09

474.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,204

$1.09 ¥7.32

240.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,223

$2.06 ¥13.75

83.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 372

$1.78 ¥11.88

-35.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 580

$1.60 ¥10.68

11.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 808

$1.02 ¥6.80

144.12%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,267

$1.67 ¥11.20

133.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,605

$13.84 ¥92.6

-19.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,149

$3.75 ¥25.09

76.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,769

$12.09 ¥80.9

21.51%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 594

$1.83 ¥12.25

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 664

$1.31 ¥8.78

56.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 769

$1.67 ¥11.17

41.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,266

$1.28 ¥8.58

204.69%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 322

$0.71 ¥4.72

39.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 323

$0.95 ¥6.33

5.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 514

$0.60 ¥4.03

163.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 217

$0.52 ¥3.47

28.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,585

$3.35 ¥22.40

137.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,019

$10.49 ¥70.2

-40.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 413

$0.81 ¥5.43

56.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 658

$1.41 ¥9.44

43.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 492

$0.29 ¥1.93

424.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,098

$17.28 ¥116

62.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,075

$1.47 ¥9.80

125.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 444

$0.33 ¥2.18

315.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,438

$6.27 ¥41.94

216.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 591

$1.26 ¥8.46

44.44%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.7M

$20.8K ¥139.2K

43.13%

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

$33.8K Ft 11.0M

$19.4K ¥129.9K

74.13%

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

$171 Ft 55.6K

$61.6 ¥412

177.84%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,634

$9.25 ¥61.8

154.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,563

$10.62 ¥71.0

119.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.9K

$37.37 ¥250

80.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,135

$13.38 ¥89.5

41.18%

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,019

$5.58 ¥37.32

66.67%

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

$533 Ft 173.2K

$425 ¥2,843

25.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$15.7K ¥105.0K

6.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.3K

$42.31 ¥283

135.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.1K

$30.77 ¥206

41.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.8K

$80.1 ¥535

37.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$64.9 ¥434

83.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 269.6K

$266 ¥1,776

212.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 201.9K

$198 ¥1,321

214.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 517.4K

$642 ¥4,293

148.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 380.0K

$387 ¥2,585

202.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$3,375 ¥22.6K

72.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$2,212 ¥14.8K

75.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 536.1K

$448 ¥2,996

268.54%

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 13, 2026

Last update for Jinzhou: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Jinzhou

$198 26.5% 68.2% $424

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Jinzhou

$212 28.4% 17.9% $46

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Jinzhou

$86 11.5% 61.6% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Jinzhou

$81 10.9% 62.6% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Jinzhou

$98 13.2% 41.5% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Jinzhou

$49 6.5% 43.6% $38

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Jinzhou

$22 2.9% 51.3% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $830 in Budapest versus $266 in Jinzhou. 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 269% 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 $22.00 in Jinzhou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $212 – making Jinzhou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇨🇳 Jinzhou

🕒 Local time

10:51 10:51 AM

16:51 4:51 PM

6 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

2,703,853

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.08 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 364 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 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 Jinzhou 7,540 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Jinzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 117%, 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 $1,117 in Jinzhou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 62% less in Jinzhou. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $533 per month in Budapest and $425 in Jinzhou. 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 Jinzhou, where all-in costs run around $744, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Jinzhou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Jinzhou – 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 Jinzhou. 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.