Cost of living in Hungary in 2024

    There are aspects of life in Hungarian which are price controlled and aspects which are subject to inflation, quite high, in fact. I live in Budapest and do not have a car, so I am looking at my monthly fees, utilities, and groceries.  Two years ago, the non-energy inflation rate was over 40%, last year it was over 20%, and this year it's approx 4%.
The effect for me has been that a 1.5 litre bottle of water went from 100 Fts to 300Fts. Meat and vegetables have about doubled in price. My once a month big shop has gone from about 80k to 120k. As I usually shop at Tesco to deliver hard goods I don't want to carry and doesn't really matter where you buy them, think durum pasta, rice, canned goods, bottled water, wine, cat food, etc. The prices have definitely gone up as I've stated, but also I've noticed more and more foreign products are either even more expensive or simply not available. My guess would be this is due to the weak Forint.
My monthly apartment fee has risen from 30k to 50k in the past 2 years, about a 10k rise each year.
My utilities have gone up but I can't complain when I remember what I used to pay in the US. I would say that the number of people I know who wear extra clothes, sweaters, etc to keep the thermostat down has gone up significantly. Most Hungarians are feeling the inflation.
As for my local market, which is at Lehel Piac, prices have increased, especially meats, but I still go for the vegetables and produce. Meats and odd snacks like specialty cheese and stuffed olives are for special occasions and I know will be expensive. Otherwise, the pre-packaged chicken breast and minced meat from Tesco does the trick just fine. I have decreased my meat consumption significantly however. Both due to prices and for health reasons.
HTH!
   

    -@Vicces1

We find the prices a  bit off at Lehel Piac. They are overpriced.

Sometimes you can find deals on a few produce items but not as often as in the past. I do tend to buy my buckwheat and millet at the grain vendor in that market.

Usually do not buy much there these days.

We go to an open air farmers market on Saturdays sometimes.

I will ask the name of the market, located in perhaps in the 21st. district. The bus drops off right outside the place.

Some of those vendor also have lost their minds and charge as much or more then the big stores do per kilo and who knows how fresh their produce really is.

Went to Penny Market on King St. today afer leaving my dentists office. \Bought some nice fresh broccoli for 399. Looks fresh, at the outdoor market they were selling it for a bit more and it was already brown, just nasty.

We keep our eyes peeled for deals whenevr we are out and about.

    @cdw057 By the way, barber does not only mean shaving, but also too many hairs in nose, neck, ears, ...Of course (like in Hungary) I could and did shaving myself, but the additions no way (my wife is happy (I am not so much, I can as far as I am concerned have a big beard as well (not maintained), just in a marriage one has to conceed to certain things.By the way the treatment at barber is around EUR 5.50 (which includes tip). Shaving tools also cost something (I would even say that cost just below).Still I do not like at all to go to the barber, I prefer to go to restaurants.   

-@cdw057

I did my husband hair etc. yesterday.

I give him a custom cut. \Take into account the places where it is thinning and make adjustments to cover best possible.

I clip the sides with a  razor and do the rest with a shear cut, about a 2 finger length.

I only 3 times in 50 years let him get anyone else to cut his hair.

Once was my old friend, boss and well known hairdressing friend Jerry Tyler, he has his own Wikipedia page!

Even he with all his skills had a hard time with my husbands hair, too many cowlicks and it is rather fine hair.

I like his hair short now days as he ages. I think an older man looks sloppy with shaggy hair. That is just me though everyone has to feel good about themselves. Some people however look nice with longer hair, if it is neatly cut and tied back.

I have not added it all up but 50 years of cuts by at least once every 3 weeks at the most, must add up to some savings? My friend charged over $40. a cut in the late 1970s... I know in the US a standard cut is at least $50. if not much more.

In HU I think the average womens short cut is around 8,000 or more minus the tip.I have paid more in HU then 8,000 for a simple cut but overall have not thought the more pricey cuts were much better then the lower priced ones. They all basically should go back to cutting classes...I usually give most new hairdressers two tries. A few, once was more then enough to know I could have my husband do a better job then they do. When I was super ill and my hair was getting thinner from the meds, he trimmed it with more care then most stylist do here. He also took nearly 2 hours to cut it! I suppose my trust was not that great since I had him go tiny section by section with instructions.

Just got home from the dentist. As I promised I would post how much it was going to cost for a new crown with my TAJ card. Was quoted at 40,000 forints. Make that 50,000 at least by the time I walk out next week with a new tooth!

Ground down to a nub ATM , she did not make a temp crown as I had expected but it will only be a nub for a week.

Checked online the average US cost for a dental crown and it started at $1,100.

    There are aspects of life in Hungarian which are price controlled and aspects which are subject to inflation, quite high, in fact. I live in Budapest and do not have a car, so I am looking at my monthly fees, utilities, and groceries.  Two years ago, the non-energy inflation rate was over 40%, last year it was over 20%, and this year it's approx 4%.The effect for me has been that a 1.5 litre bottle of water went from 100 Fts to 300Fts. Meat and vegetables have about doubled in price. My once a month big shop has gone from about 80k to 120k. As I usually shop at Tesco to deliver hard goods I don't want to carry and doesn't really matter where you buy them, think durum pasta, rice, canned goods, bottled water, wine, cat food, etc. The prices have definitely gone up as I've stated, but also I've noticed more and more foreign products are either even more expensive or simply not available. My guess would be this is due to the weak Forint.My monthly apartment fee has risen from 30k to 50k in the past 2 years, about a 10k rise each year.My utilities have gone up but I can't complain when I remember what I used to pay in the US. I would say that the number of people I know who wear extra clothes, sweaters, etc to keep the thermostat down has gone up significantly. Most Hungarians are feeling the inflation.As for my local market, which is at Lehel Piac, prices have increased, especially meats, but I still go for the vegetables and produce. Meats and odd snacks like specialty cheese and stuffed olives are for special occasions and I know will be expensive. Otherwise, the pre-packaged chicken breast and minced meat from Tesco does the trick just fine. I have decreased my meat consumption significantly however. Both due to prices and for health reasons.HTH!        -@Vicces1

We don't pay rent because we own our own house but we have to pay for maintenance and development of the plot.  That can be significant but I suppose it's investment.

But the cost of food is the biggest cost. I think it's gone up 40% during the past year and a bit.   And I've noticed some shortages.  I tried to buy some spinach yesterday.  Nada.

There are 4 of us here - 6 if we include the furry kids (aka the cat and dog).  The kids eat whopping amounts of lot of stuff.   It's become very noticeable.  I haven't really noticed a massive increase in energy or utilities cost at the house but have at the petrol/gas station.  Perhaps 30% up in a year or more.  I used to put in 10K HUF every 2 weeks but now it's creeping up to like 12-15K HUF.

What I have noticed is an increase in telecoms costs as a proportion of our monthly expenditure.  I'm convinced we're paying way over the odds. We've got Internet with cable TV and phone (so called Triple Play), a separate mobile Internet we can use in the car, 4 mobile phones.  The monthly costs are becoming really significant.  Mrs F is on the job to try and consolidate everything into perhaps one deal if we can.  It's very annoying as they don't offer "family" packages only up to  2 phones in the same deal.  What family  with teenagers don't have constantly on mobile phones?!   Subscriptions are becoming significant too.

We're hampered here by not having alternatives like Telekom in the street.  We use PR Telecom as they are the only ones. They are quite rubbish (our house phone didn't work for 5 months, but we didn't care so much as we use mobiles).  But we've noticed more providers  have been putting in cables for it - Digitel are here now and Telekom just put in a cable earlier this year but it's not activated.   We might be able to consolidate as I think we're being ripped off. 

I travel a great deal.  Air tickets have significantly increased. Wizzair used to be cheap enough but prices have gone up maybe 50%.  Even Ryanair can be pricey now.  I'm not going to mention Easyjet who are never cheaper.  I went somewhere on Lufthansa/Austrian via Frankfurt/Vienna and it was significantly cheaper per km distance in a higher class of travel  than it was on the alternative airline Wizzair in a lower class on the same route.

I suppose the message is, shop around and keep shopping around every few months.

I found spinach last week at Aldi, have not seen any at the farmers market , at least not the one we frequent.

The large market hall usually has some.

We do not have a phone plan.

We use the internet to chat with our son in Japan and in Hungary no one really calls us.

We get phone time, like 3,000 to 10,000 at a time and it lasts forever.

We only use our mobile phone to make quick doc appointments with , no just chatting away.

Our neighbor calls us once in awhile on our land line .

In Vegas where I knew people I still had a unused 3,000 plus hours of phone time left over when we left. The SIMs card from there does not work here in HU, maybe it is still good time left over if we ever go back there?

They have roll over mins in the US that is how we collected so many hours of time. I really dislike talking long on the phone as it is. Old habit, mom used to time our after school phone calls, no more then 15 mins and she would hang up the phone on us!

My husband was making a list every month of expenses but seems he has stopped doing that.

IDK, how much we spend a month to be honest.

I know we live cheaper then we need to do but it is just our habit to save money in case we need a change fast.

I used to waste tons every month of shopping, buying everything that caught my eye. Dog toys, toys for our son, video games, flowers, clothing, makeup even bought things for my mother and sister if I saw something I knew they would enjoy.

Funny, how I think twice or three times now before buying anything extra.

Most times I notice I can live without it.

I have a huge collection of handbags, some cost a pretty penny. I do not even carry a handbag these days.

Just dust collectors now all stored away.

I think move people are going to change and live a very simple lifestyle if prices keep going up.

My husband this morning told our son that wages are going high here in Hungary.

IDK if that is true or not. He told him a simple store clerk in Aldi makes a million forints per month?

Most are just out of college or so they appear to be.

Does anyone know if wages are really catching up to those in the west that fast?  If so, no wonder prices are also going up so fast.

We don't pay rent because we own our own house but we have to pay for maintenance and development of the plot.  That can be significant but I suppose it's investment.

But the cost of food is the biggest cost. I think it's gone up 40% during the past year and a bit.   And I've noticed some shortages.  I tried to buy some spinach yesterday.  Nada.

There are 4 of us here - 6 if we include the furry kids (aka the cat and dog).  The kids eat whopping amounts of lot of stuff.   It's become very noticeable.  I haven't really noticed a massive increase in energy or utilities cost at the house but have at the petrol/gas station.  Perhaps 30% up in a year or more.  I used to put in 10K HUF every 2 weeks but now it's creeping up to like 12-15K HUF.

What I have noticed is an increase in telecoms costs as a proportion of our monthly expenditure.  I'm convinced we're paying way over the odds. We've got Internet with cable TV and phone (so called Triple Play), a separate mobile Internet we can use in the car, 4 mobile phones.  The monthly costs are becoming really significant. 
I travel a great deal.  Air tickets have significantly increased. Wizzair used to be cheap enough but prices have gone up maybe 50%.  Even Ryanair can be pricey now.  I'm not going to mention Easyjet who are never cheaper.  I want somewhere on Lufthansa/Austrian via Frankfurt/Vienna and it was significantly cheaper per km distance in a higher class of travel  than it was on the alternative airline Wizzair in a lower class on the same route.

I suppose the message is, shop around and keep shopping around every few months.

    -@fluffy2560

I can only agree. I have a choice of one provider here in Bp -- Vodafone who bought out UPC years back. So it's not like I have a choice or there's competition. The price for 2GBs data/month has nearly doubled (5k to 9k forints). I keep looking for package deals but nothing... And my Hungarian friends say they spend the same or are on the exact same package themselves.

Flying costs are way up and selection is way down. Carriers are just not using HU as a hub and I can only think it's due to fees, taxes, and, of course, demand. Which means we will have to keep paying these fees as again, lack of choice and competition mean they charge what they want.

I can only agree. I have a choice of one provider here in Bp -- Vodafone who bought out UPC years back. So it's not like I have a choice or there's competition. The price for 2GBs data/month has nearly doubled (5k to 9k forints). I keep looking for package deals but nothing... And my Hungarian friends say they spend the same or are on the exact same package themselves.

Flying costs are way up and selection is way down. Carriers are just not using HU as a hub and I can only think it's due to fees, taxes, and, of course, demand. Which means we will have to keep paying these fees as again, lack of choice and competition mean they charge what they want.
   

    -@Vicces1

Mrs F got two unlimited data and calls even with roaming in the EU on Vodafone for 2 contract phones - mine and hers.  I think it's like 14-15K HUF a month. The kids are PAYG but they really should have unlimited data considering how much traffic they use a month. Absolutely huge amounts.  We'd burn up 2 GB of data in a day or just the morning.

Yes, flying costs are becoming crazy. I'm off again during the week and I'm only going on Lufthansa because I can get a discount for trading in my frequent flyer miles.  That brought it below Wizzair.   I have to book tickets up for April and they are nuts with the prices, even now, months away.

It's still quite busy at BUD airport but to boost it up,  they need to start doing services like direct Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing etc. I don't usually go the other way.  I think I flew to Toronto but maybe I misremembered.  Just another plane ride.

I'm trying to book parking there and that's gone up a lot. It used to be about 15K for a week's parking in the Holiday section.  Now it's like 22K HUF. If only their web site actually worked.  Bonkers. Still cheaper than a taxi. 

    I found spinach last week at Aldi, have not seen any at the farmers market , at least not the one we frequent.The large market hall usually has some.We do not have a phone plan.We use the internet to chat with our son in Japan and in Hungary no one really calls us.We get phone time, like 3,000 to 10,000 at a time and it lasts forever.We only use our mobile phone to make quick doc appointments with , no just chatting away.Our neighbor calls us once in awhile on our land line .In Vegas where I knew people I still had a unused 3,000 plus hours of phone time left over when we left. The SIMs card from there does not work here in HU, maybe it is still good time left over if we ever go back there?They have roll over mins in the US that is how we collected so many hours of time. I really dislike talking long on the phone as it is. Old habit, mom used to time our after school phone calls, no more then 15 mins and she would hang up the phone on us!My husband was making a list every month of expenses but seems he has stopped doing that.IDK, how much we spend a month to be honest.I know we live cheaper then we need to do but it is just our habit to save money in case we need a change fast.I used to waste tons every month of shopping, buying everything that caught my eye. Dog toys, toys for our son, video games, flowers, clothing, makeup even bought things for my mother and sister if I saw something I knew they would enjoy.Funny, how I think twice or three times now before buying anything extra.Most times I notice I can live without it.I have a huge collection of handbags, some cost a pretty penny. I do not even carry a handbag these days.Just dust collectors now all stored away.I think move people are going to change and live a very simple lifestyle if prices keep going up.My husband this morning told our son that wages are going high here in Hungary.IDK if that is true or not. He told him a simple store clerk in Aldi makes a million forints per month?Most are just out of college or so they appear to be.Does anyone know if wages are really catching up to those in the west that fast?  If so, no wonder prices are also going up so fast.        -@Marilyn Tassy

We got some spinach in Tesco.  There was none in Aldi.  I suppose there's no shortage if you're prepared to pay.

Logistics and lack of joined up thinking here in Hungary are awful.  I tried to buy a certain item from Obi online this morning.  I looked online and "helpfully" it said "there are LESS than 3 available".  Well that's no good.  We'd already been to my local Obi and indeed there were 0 available.  Yup, 0 is less than 3.   So if they'd had 1 it would have been OK.  So I tried ordering it for pickup.  E-mail came back, none in stock.  It didn't offer to get it from another branch in say 3 days where they have a positive overflowing bounty of the desired item.  When I looked at the web based stock levels, the items were all gone and out of stock except at a branch 190km away.   They cancelled my order. So I looked online and other shops had the item but for 10K HUF more.  I've now given up as it's the weekend.   I'm thinking of a different brand now, bought from another online store. 

Store workers in Aldi to not make 1M HUF a month.  The salary is maybe 200-400K depending on level and hours worked. I'm guessing a bit as I remember a campaign they did a while back.  Surprisingly, stores like Ikea do not pay very well at all.  You'd think they'd be more progressive and generous than that.  We used to know someone who worked in Aldi and they get sent to any store in the area.  Like a roster but they don't get paid gadzillions. All the stores are exactly the same and work exactly the same way, so there's no difference between them.

Most PAYG phones here have credit on them for only a certain period.  And the entire thing expires.  I went to a certain country (came back this week), my 3rd trip there and I hadn't been for maybe 9 months. So I got the local SIM card out, put it in my phone and I had about a week before it expired!   So I put on about $11 using my credit card and it extended the validity period by about 6 months and I got unlimited Internet, messaging apps, 500 SMS and 10000 minutes for 1 month.   That's pretty cheap.  I also "hotspotted" my phone in the office so my colleagues could use my phone as an Internet gateway.  Speed was good.  How come they can do all that for $11 there but not here!?

The HU Army is paying 700K HUF a month for something - was on billboards around here. But for that, one accepts one's potential fate being recruited into something one might regret considering current geo- and local politics. 

They have adds on the back of trams and buses with the amount of bonus money they will pay new drivers.

One was 500,000 and one was 750,000.

IDK, might help somebody out but that is not going to make a long term dent in anyone bills.

I did not see this on the internet in US news but this morning, days after the fact, my husband said their were at least 50,000 protestors in Heros Square on Friday.

Anti OV protests due to his involvement with the pedo pardon.

We can miss allot by not understanding the language here or watching local news.

I did think my husband was a bit off with the pay for store clerks... I know way back when in the US they made good money in stores but this is Hungary.

My friend Lisa s mom was a store clerk, she just liked working although she was a home maker with 5 children. My mom had 6 children and never had a spare moment outside the home.

I suppose if one puts their mind to something , they can do it.

My son over 20 years back was hired at one of the Budapest casinos. He just had to learn to shout out the numbers in Hungarian which we was working on learning.

When he learned how little they paid ,he decided to leave HU and work in the US instead.

IDK, but lately when we just jump in a shop to buy bread we walk out at least 7 to 10,000 forints lighter.

We generally tend to purchase meat at one store and produce at another shop or the farmers market.

Yesterday we went to the market in the morning, the selection was not that great. No avacados to be found and no fresh greens.

Picked up loads of peppers though.

Lidl has avacados now for 599 each, no, if everyone would boycott higher prices they may lower the prices.

I have seen avacados as high as 800 foints at vendors inside  Lehal Piac. No way... In NV we used to buy good ones for 3 for a buck in a Mexican market.

I am hoping they lower avacado prices soon. Last week at Tesco we picked some up for 299 each.

Never know here how they price items from week to week. Next Tesco trip they may be up to 600 like Lidl.