Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Haikou and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Haikou: $806 a month against $1,619 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$806

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Haikou and in Budapest

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Haikou and in Budapest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $806 per month in Haikou vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

Haikou $806
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $1,152 per month in Haikou vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

Haikou $1,152
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $1,497 per month in Haikou vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

Haikou $1,497
Budapest $3,429

Haikou is about 50% cheaper than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Haikou sits 40% below the global median, while Budapest is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ¥29.45

$13.94 Ft 4,503

-68.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.72 ¥98.4

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

-75.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.02 ¥40.26

$10.19 Ft 3,291

-40.92%

Cappuccino

$2.43 ¥16.25

$3.26 Ft 1,055

-25.46%

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

$0.86 ¥5.74

$2.14 Ft 690

-59.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ¥2.27

$1.78 Ft 577

-80.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 ¥10.06

$3.71 Ft 1,198

-59.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 ¥18.18

$3.77 Ft 1,217

-27.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 ¥14.26

$1.15 Ft 371

85.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 ¥9.90

$1.79 Ft 578

-17.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.66 ¥4.40

$2.49 Ft 804

-73.49%

Eggs

$1.36 ¥9.07

$3.90 Ft 1,261

-65.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 Ft 3,587

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.92 ¥26.23

$6.62 Ft 2,139

-40.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.42 ¥103

$14.69 Ft 4,745

4.97%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 ¥11.30

$1.83 Ft 591

-7.65%

Banana (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.80

$2.05 Ft 661

-57.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.11 ¥7.40

$2.37 Ft 765

-53.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.24

$3.90 Ft 1,260

-76.15%

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.95

$0.99 Ft 320

-10.10%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.85

$1.00 Ft 322

-27.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 ¥3.12

$1.58 Ft 511

-70.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ¥3.83

$0.67 Ft 216

-14.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 ¥20.68

$7.96 Ft 2,572

-61.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.76 ¥58.6

$6.22 Ft 2,009

40.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ¥3.84

$1.27 Ft 411

-55.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 ¥8.23

$2.03 Ft 654

-39.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 ¥6.17

$1.52 Ft 490

-39.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ¥356

$28.02 Ft 9,053

90.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.19 ¥14.66

$3.31 Ft 1,070

-33.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.86

$1.37 Ft 442

-68.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ¥8.15

$1.82 Ft 589

-32.97%

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

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

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

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

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

$35.41 ¥237

$171 Ft 55.3K

-79.31%

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

$13.21 ¥88.3

$23.51 Ft 7,596

-43.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.38 ¥89.4

$23.29 Ft 7,526

-42.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.67 ¥305

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

-32.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.33 ¥42.35

$18.89 Ft 6,104

-66.49%

Cinema Ticket

$4.50 ¥30.10

$9.30 Ft 3,004

-51.61%

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

$862 ¥5,762

$533 Ft 172.3K

61.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.5K ¥130.4K

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

16.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.00 ¥181

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

-72.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 ¥233

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

-19.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.76 ¥299

$110 Ft 35.7K

-59.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.57 ¥251

$119 Ft 38.4K

-68.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ¥2,523

$830 Ft 268.3K

-54.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 ¥1,966

$622 Ft 200.9K

-52.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$570 ¥3,808

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

-64.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$369 ¥2,469

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

-68.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,154 ¥21.1K

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-45.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,183 ¥14.6K

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

-43.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$727 ¥4,859

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

-55.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.45

-40.31%

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

Last update for Haikou: October 12, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Haikou

$294 36.5%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 112% $328

Groceries & Markets

Haikou

$169 * 20.9%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 53% $89

Eating Out

Haikou

$100 12.4%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 123% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Haikou

$65 8.1%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 158% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Haikou

$62 7.7%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 252% $156

Getting Around

Haikou

$61 7.6%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 27.8% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Haikou

$55 6.8%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 57.5% $31

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $377 in Haikou versus $830 in Budapest. 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 127% 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 $15.00 in Haikou versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $169 vs $258 – making Haikou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Haikou

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

23:38 11:38 PM

17:38 5:38 PM

6 h behind Haikou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,873,358

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

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Between locations

Haikou Budapest 8,460 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Haikou
Budapest

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

Haikou vs Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 101%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,209 per month in Haikou and $2,428 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 90% less in Haikou. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $862 per month in Haikou and $533 in Budapest. 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 Haikou, where all-in costs run around $806, than in Budapest at $1,619. In Haikou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Haikou – 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 Haikou. 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.