Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Putian

For one person, living is cheaper in Putian: $518 a month against $1,641 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Putian
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Putian Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,641

/mo nomad

Putian

🇨🇳 China

$518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Putian

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

A single person spends $1,641 per month in Budapest vs $518 in Putian, rent included.

Budapest $1,641
Putian $518

A couple spends around $2,562 per month in Budapest vs $854 in Putian, rent included.

Budapest $2,562
Putian $854

A family of three spends $3,483 per month in Budapest vs $1,190 in Putian, rent included.

Budapest $3,483
Putian $1,190

Budapest costs about 217% more than Putian, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 21% above the global median, while Putian is 62% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.04 Ft 4,536

$2.21 ¥14.79

535.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 Ft 19.7K

$23.26 ¥156

161.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 Ft 3,351

$5.17 ¥34.57

100.58%

Cappuccino

$3.46 Ft 1,117

$2.44 ¥16.32

41.80%

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

$2.07 Ft 669

$0.43 ¥2.88

381.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 Ft 572

$0.29 ¥1.92

510.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 Ft 1,191

$0.77 ¥5.16

379.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 Ft 1,229

$2.93 ¥19.58

29.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 Ft 374

$1.47 ¥9.82

-21.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 Ft 598

$2.25 ¥15.07

-17.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 Ft 776

$0.93 ¥6.19

158.06%

Eggs

$3.99 Ft 1,289

$1.58 ¥10.58

152.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 Ft 3,683

$11.73 ¥78.4

-2.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.87 Ft 2,221

$2.43 ¥16.22

182.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.49 Ft 4,682

$12.18 ¥81.4

18.97%

Apples (1kg)

$1.88 Ft 607

$2.55 ¥17.03

-26.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 Ft 693

$1.42 ¥9.49

50.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 Ft 744

$1.70 ¥11.34

35.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.04 Ft 1,304

$1.98 ¥13.25

104.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 329

$1.02 ¥6.79

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 320

$1.77 ¥11.86

-44.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 510

$0.93 ¥6.19

69.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 225

$0.50 ¥3.36

40.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.03 Ft 2,594

$3.04 ¥20.31

164.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 Ft 1,997

$11.18 ¥74.8

-44.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 Ft 401

$0.83 ¥5.58

49.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 Ft 666

$1.71 ¥11.44

20.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 Ft 513

$0.74 ¥4.92

114.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.52 Ft 8,893

$22.38 ¥150

22.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 Ft 1,110

$1.52 ¥10.16

125.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 Ft 431

$0.29 ¥1.94

358.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.45 Ft 6,607

$7.02 ¥46.94

191.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 Ft 624

$1.31 ¥8.76

47.33%

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

$29.1K Ft 9.4M

$19.4K ¥129.8K

50.09%

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

$34.7K Ft 11.2M

$17.8K ¥118.8K

95.45%

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

$175 Ft 56.4K

$44.03 ¥294

296.53%

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

$23.62 Ft 7,631

$8.87 ¥59.3

166.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.60 Ft 7,625

$10.55 ¥70.6

123.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.8 Ft 22.2K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.26 Ft 6,224

Cinema Ticket

$10.31 Ft 3,333

$10.08 ¥67.4

2.28%

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

$535 Ft 172.9K

$492 ¥3,286

8.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$24.5K ¥163.6K

-31.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.9 Ft 32.3K

$39.10 ¥261

155.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.27 Ft 14.0K

$29.11 ¥195

48.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 Ft 36.1K

$103 ¥691

8.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.4K

$85.7 ¥573

38.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 Ft 268.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 203.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 Ft 512.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 Ft 386.6K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,718 Ft 1.8M

$2,637 ¥17.6K

116.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 Ft 1.3M

$1,115 ¥7,452

254.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 Ft 553.1K

$480 ¥3,211

256.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

3.46

86.42%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Putian: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.4%

Putian

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$262 16%

Putian

$215 41.6% 17.7% $46

Eating Out

Budapest

$226 13.8%

Putian

$75 14.5% 66.8% $151

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$222 13.5%

Putian

$63 12.3% 71.4% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.3%

Putian

$116 22.4% 31.2% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.5%

Putian

$20 * 3.9% 77.5% $69

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Putian

$28 5.5% 35.7% $16

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 256% 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 Putian. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $262 vs $215 – making Putian the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇨🇳 Putian

🕒 Local time

23:24 11:24 PM

05:24 5:24 AM

6 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

1,954,000

💱 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 Putian 8,650 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Putian

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 Putian: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 217%, 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 $777 in Putian. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Public transport costs about 23% less in Putian. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $535 per month in Budapest and $492 in Putian. 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 Putian, where all-in costs run around $518, than in Budapest at $1,641. In Putian it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Putian – 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 Putian. 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.