Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Zaozhuang

For one person, living is cheaper in Zaozhuang: $667 a month against $1,638 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
Learn more

Budapest Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Zaozhuang
Learn more

Zaozhuang Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,638

/mo nomad

Zaozhuang

🇨🇳 China

$667

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Zaozhuang

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

A single person spends $1,638 per month in Budapest vs $667 in Zaozhuang, rent included.

Budapest $1,638
Zaozhuang $667

A couple spends around $2,553 per month in Budapest vs $1,022 in Zaozhuang, rent included.

Budapest $2,553
Zaozhuang $1,022

A family of three spends $3,467 per month in Budapest vs $1,378 in Zaozhuang, rent included.

Budapest $3,467
Zaozhuang $1,378

Budapest costs about 146% more than Zaozhuang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 20% above the global median, while Zaozhuang is 51% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.81 Ft 4,552

$1.82 ¥12.14

658.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.5 Ft 20.3K

$11.81 ¥78.6

420.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.16 Ft 3,349

$2.26 ¥15.04

349.56%

Cappuccino

$3.22 Ft 1,062

$1.47 ¥9.80

119.05%

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

$2.06 Ft 680

$0.39 ¥2.58

428.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 Ft 605

$0.15 ¥0.97

1120.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.60 Ft 1,188

$0.91 ¥6.07

295.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 Ft 1,208

$1.77 ¥11.81

106.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 Ft 392

$1.45 ¥9.63

-17.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 Ft 617

$1.42 ¥9.44

31.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.37 Ft 780

$1.23 ¥8.15

92.68%

Eggs

$3.96 Ft 1,305

$1.06 ¥7.07

273.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.16 Ft 3,680

$11.74 ¥78.2

-4.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.76 Ft 2,228

$3.29 ¥21.90

105.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.35 Ft 4,731

$11.16 ¥74.3

28.58%

Apples (1kg)

$1.81 Ft 596

$1.47 ¥9.76

23.13%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 Ft 695

$1.03 ¥6.83

104.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 Ft 770

$1.36 ¥9.07

71.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.80 Ft 1,254

$1.09 ¥7.24

248.62%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 Ft 327

$0.59 ¥3.92

67.80%

Onion (1kg)

$0.98 Ft 324

$0.70 ¥4.65

40.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 Ft 512

$0.57 ¥3.80

171.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 Ft 230

$0.62 ¥4.09

12.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.79 Ft 2,569

$3.65 ¥24.27

113.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 Ft 1,995

$9.84 ¥65.5

-38.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 Ft 421

$0.71 ¥4.72

80.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 Ft 672

$1.36 ¥9.05

50.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 Ft 511

$0.28 ¥1.83

453.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.28 Ft 8,995

$15.73 ¥105

73.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,087

$1.61 ¥10.72

104.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.31 Ft 433

$0.25 ¥1.65

424.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.26 Ft 6,679

$4.48 ¥29.81

352.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 600

$1.30 ¥8.67

40.00%

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

$28.7K Ft 9.5M

$19.7K ¥131.0K

45.93%

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

$33.1K Ft 10.9M

$15.3K ¥101.7K

116.55%

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

$172 Ft 56.8K

$74.1 ¥493

132.39%

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

$23.95 Ft 7,897

$6.84 ¥45.51

250.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.31 Ft 7,685

$5.08 ¥33.83

358.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.6 Ft 22.6K

$43.72 ¥291

56.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.91 Ft 6,235

$15.67 ¥104

20.68%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 Ft 3,356

$5.33 ¥35.47

90.99%

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

$600 Ft 197.9K

$215 ¥1,430

179.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.5M

$19.7K ¥130.9K

-14.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.0 Ft 32.6K

$33.72 ¥224

193.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.25 Ft 14.3K

$42.01 ¥280

2.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 37.2K

$72.4 ¥482

55.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 Ft 38.6K

$71.2 ¥474

64.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$836 Ft 275.6K

$321 ¥2,135

160.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$640 Ft 210.9K

$172 ¥1,146

271.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 Ft 526.9K

$630 ¥4,192

153.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,205 Ft 397.3K

$318 ¥2,113

279.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,625 Ft 1.9M

$2,866 ¥19.1K

96.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,802 Ft 1.3M

$1,665 ¥11.1K

128.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,671 Ft 551.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

3.13

106.07%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 27, 2026

Last update for Zaozhuang: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$640 39.1%

Zaozhuang

$172 25.9% 73.1% $468

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Zaozhuang

$186 27.9% 28% $72

Eating Out

Budapest

$221 13.5%

Zaozhuang

$49 7.4% 77.6% $171

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$219 13.4%

Zaozhuang

$86 12.9% 60.8% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$168 10.2%

Zaozhuang

$99 14.8% 41.1% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$89 5.4%

Zaozhuang

$54 8.2% 38.9% $35

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Zaozhuang

$20 3% 54.6% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $836 in Budapest versus $321 in Zaozhuang. 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 in Budapest versus $12 in Zaozhuang. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $186 – making Zaozhuang the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇨🇳 Zaozhuang

🕒 Local time

02:18 2:18 AM

09:18 9:18 AM

7 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

2,125,000

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.03 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.72 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 330 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.03 USD). 1 EUR = 367 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.72 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

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Between locations

Budapest Zaozhuang 7,790 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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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 Zaozhuang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 146%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,457 per month in Budapest and $1,000 in Zaozhuang. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zaozhuang, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $321 there versus $836 in Budapest.

Public transport costs about 42% less in Zaozhuang. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $600 per month in Budapest and $215 in Zaozhuang. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Zaozhuang, where all-in costs run around $667, than in Budapest at $1,638. In Zaozhuang it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Zaozhuang – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Zaozhuang is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 59% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.