Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Shantou

For one person, living is cheaper in Shantou: $692 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Shantou
Learn more

Shantou Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Shantou

🇨🇳 China

$692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Shantou

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

A single person spends $1,619 per month in Budapest vs $692 in Shantou, rent included.

Budapest $1,619
Shantou $692

A couple spends around $2,524 per month in Budapest vs $1,104 in Shantou, rent included.

Budapest $2,524
Shantou $1,104

A family of three spends $3,429 per month in Budapest vs $1,516 in Shantou, rent included.

Budapest $3,429
Shantou $1,516

Budapest costs about 134% more than Shantou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while Shantou is 49% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.94 Ft 4,525

$2.29 ¥15.35

508.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 Ft 19.9K

$23.70 ¥158

158.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 Ft 3,307

$5.17 ¥34.59

97.10%

Cappuccino

$3.26 Ft 1,060

$3.38 ¥22.63

-3.55%

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

$2.14 Ft 694

$0.47 ¥3.12

355.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 Ft 579

$0.31 ¥2.05

474.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 Ft 1,204

$0.88 ¥5.92

321.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 Ft 1,223

$2.13 ¥14.28

77.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 372

$1.60 ¥10.71

-28.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 Ft 580

$1.45 ¥9.73

23.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 808

$0.77 ¥5.18

223.38%

Eggs

$3.90 Ft 1,267

$1.69 ¥11.33

130.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,605

$13.63 ¥91.1

-18.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 Ft 2,149

$3.43 ¥22.91

93.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,769

$13.16 ¥88.0

11.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 594

$1.95 ¥13.03

-6.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 664

$1.50 ¥10.05

36.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 769

$1.81 ¥12.14

30.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 Ft 1,266

$1.30 ¥8.70

200.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 322

$0.82 ¥5.49

20.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 Ft 323

$1.06 ¥7.11

-5.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 Ft 514

$0.59 ¥3.96

167.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 Ft 217

$0.43 ¥2.88

55.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,585

$3.69 ¥24.71

115.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 Ft 2,019

$12.00 ¥80.2

-48.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 413

$0.83 ¥5.57

53.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 Ft 658

$1.79 ¥11.98

13.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 Ft 492

$0.36 ¥2.41

322.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.02 Ft 9,098

$24.27 ¥162

15.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 Ft 1,075

$1.53 ¥10.24

116.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 444

$0.38 ¥2.56

260.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,438

$7.31 ¥48.86

171.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 591

$1.23 ¥8.25

47.97%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.7M

$19.8K ¥132.4K

50.53%

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

$33.8K Ft 11.0M

$18.0K ¥120.5K

87.64%

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

$171 Ft 55.6K

$56.7 ¥379

202.01%

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

$23.51 Ft 7,634

$8.89 ¥59.5

164.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.29 Ft 7,563

$13.86 ¥92.7

68.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.5 Ft 21.9K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,135

Cinema Ticket

$9.30 Ft 3,019

$7.54 ¥50.5

23.34%

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

$533 Ft 173.2K

$540 ¥3,614

-1.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

$24.2K ¥162.1K

-30.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 Ft 32.3K

$55.6 ¥372

79.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 Ft 14.1K

$39.70 ¥265

9.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.8K

$73.1 ¥489

51.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.6K

$91.4 ¥611

30.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 Ft 269.6K

$298 ¥1,991

178.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 Ft 201.9K

$151 ¥1,011

311.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,594 Ft 517.4K

$602 ¥4,027

164.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 Ft 380.0K

$294 ¥1,969

297.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

$2,278 ¥15.2K

155.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

$4,469 ¥29.9K

-12.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,651 Ft 536.1K

$1,062 ¥7,099

55.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

3.35

92.54%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Last update for Shantou: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$622 38.4%

Shantou

$151 21.8% 75.7% $471

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.9%

Shantou

$214 31% 16.9% $44

Eating Out

Budapest

$223 13.8%

Shantou

$86 12.5% 61.3% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$218 13.5%

Shantou

$79 11.5% 63.6% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.4%

Shantou

$117 16.9% 30.2% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$86 5.3%

Shantou

$15 * 2.2% 82.5% $71

Getting Around

Budapest

$44 2.7%

Shantou

$29 4.2% 34.1% $15

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $830 in Budapest versus $298 in Shantou. 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 56% 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 $24.00 in Shantou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $214 – making Shantou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇨🇳 Shantou

🕒 Local time

10:02 10:02 AM

16:02 4:02 PM

6 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

5,389,328

💱 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 Shantou 8,660 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
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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 Shantou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 134%, 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 $1,038 in Shantou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 15% less in Shantou. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $533 per month in Budapest and $540 in Shantou. 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 Shantou, where all-in costs run around $692, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Shantou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Shantou – 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 Shantou. 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.