Cost of living comparison

Beijing, China

compared to

Budapest, Hungary

Budapest vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Budapest is 36.8% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 2.7 times more in Budapest
Groceries: pay 14.0% more in Budapest
Transportation: pay 51.5% more in Budapest
Housing: pay 38.1% more in Budapest
Childcare: pay 49.2% less in Budapest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.2% more in Budapest
Clothing: pay 4.0% more in Budapest

The cost of restaurants, transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in Budapest are more expensive than in Beijing. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Budapest.

Budapest vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Budapest instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.7 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	Budapest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.17 CN¥30.22	$10.52 HUF3,861.91	+152.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.57 CN¥40.29	$7.89 HUF2,896.43	+41.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 CN¥3.59	$1.53 HUF559.95	+207.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.24	$1.18 HUF434.15	+282.6%
Average			+171.0%

Beijing vs. Budapest - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.0% more for groceries

	Beijing	Budapest
Bread 1 loaf	$1.43 CN¥10.38	$1.48 HUF543.35	+3.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.31 CN¥52.89	$4.42 HUF1,620.80	-39.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.17 CN¥51.90	$3.98 HUF1,460.55	-44.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.74 CN¥12.58	$2.43 HUF892.74	+39.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥11.08	$2.44 HUF895.68	+59.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.92 CN¥6.64	$0.71 HUF259.56	-22.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥5.15	$0.80 HUF292.65	+12.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 CN¥6.42	$0.81 HUF296.28	-9.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 CN¥4.22	$1.17 HUF430.40	+101.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 CN¥2.67	$0.51 HUF186.85	+38.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 CN¥3.41	$0.55 HUF200.84	+16.2%
Average			+14.0%

Beijing vs. Budapest - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 51.5% more for transportation

	Beijing	Budapest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.36 CN¥31.56	$6.17 HUF2,265.41	+41.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.40 CN¥241.74	$23.54 HUF8,641.01	-29.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,872.18 CN¥151,087.44	$26,962.74 HUF9,896,133.23	+29.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.59 CN¥33.24	$12.15 HUF4,460.50	+164.7%
Average			+51.5%

Beijing vs. Budapest - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.1% more for housing

	Beijing	Budapest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.28 CN¥96.16	$17.98 HUF6,600.81	+35.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$929.88 CN¥6,731.11	$642.83 HUF235,937.98	-30.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$492.44 CN¥3,564.64	$478.04 HUF175,455.17	-2.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.04 CN¥304.32	$105.42 HUF38,692.22	+150.8%
Average			+38.1%

Beijing vs. Budapest - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 49.2% less for childcare

	Beijing	Budapest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$763.49 CN¥5,526.70	$423.92 HUF155,590.24	-44.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,913.01 CN¥165,860.43	$10,554.11 HUF3,873,675.53	-53.9%
Average			-49.2%

Beijing vs. Budapest - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Budapest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.11 CN¥8.06	$2.63 HUF965.48	+136.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥26.08	$2.37 HUF871.14	-34.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.48 CN¥25.18	$5.98 HUF2,196.46	+72.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.46 CN¥473.82	$49.31 HUF18,099.17	-24.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.35 CN¥60.43	$7.63 HUF2,799.88	-8.6%
Average			+28.2%

Beijing vs. Budapest - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.0% more for clothing

	Beijing	Budapest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.65 CN¥453.54	$74.81 HUF27,457.53	+19.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.69 CN¥251.09	$36.73 HUF13,480.38	+5.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.45 CN¥604.09	$86.74 HUF31,834.37	+3.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$107.64 CN¥779.15	$93.52 HUF34,324.35	-13.1%
Average			+4.0%

Beijing vs. Budapest - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: March 2025

More cost comparisons

Beijing vs.

Rome

Beijing vs.

Kiev

Beijing vs.

Moscow

Beijing vs.

Reykjavik

Beijing vs.

Wellington

Beijing vs.

Ottawa

Beijing vs.

London

Beijing vs.

Phnom Penh

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in China vs. Hungary. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within China and Hungary.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Beijing

Add prices for Budapest

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Budapest or Beijing. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.