Cost of Studying in Hungary: Tuition, Rent and Everyday Expenses
Real fees from current university price lists, living costs by city and a sample budget for one academic year.
The cost of studying in Hungary for an international student is usually tuition of about €6,000–10,000 (or $6,000–8,000) a year for a non-medical bachelor's degree, plus roughly €800–1,300 a month to live in Budapest. English-taught medicine costs more: about €15,800–18,700 or $16,750–17,900 a year at the four classic medical universities.
Each university sets its own fees and currency: Semmelweis and Szeged bill in euros, Debrecen and Pécs in US dollars. So every price here is in the university's currency, with the year of the price list.
Below: fees by university type, living costs by city, insurance, a sample budget and scholarships. For the wider picture, see our study in Hungary guide.
Tuition fees for bachelor's and master's programs
Outside medicine, the gap between state and private universities is small. For example, the private Budapest Metropolitan University (METU) charges about €7,000–10,000 a year, while the state Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) charges €6,400–7,000 a year for a bachelor's degree.
| University | Type | Program | Fee for non-EU students | Price list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
BME, Budapest | State | Bachelor's: civil engineering, electrical engineering and informatics, natural sciences | €3,200 per semester | Current price list |
BME, Budapest | State | Bachelor's: mechanical engineering | €3,500 per semester | Current price list |
BME, Budapest | State | Master's |
A few details change the final bill. Debrecen adds an application fee of $150 and an entrance fee of $350, and its fee already includes health insurance. METU warns that its fees may rise each year in line with inflation. Debrecen has not yet published its current price list for non-medical programs, so check the university's site before you plan.
Private universities such as IBS Budapest and McDaniel College Budapest publish their own fees; we confirm current figures during a consultation.
Semester fees at BME and METU
EUR per semester, current price lists
- BME bachelor's: civil, electrical, sciences€3,200
- BME bachelor's: mechanical engineering€3,500
- BME master's€3,500–4,000
- METU bachelor's: business, marketing, tourism€3,500
- METU bachelor's: design, animation, media€4,990
- METU master's: business€3,600
Medicine and dentistry fees in Hungary
English-taught medicine is a six-year program, and each university sets its own exam and fees. Details on exams and admission are on our medicine in Hungary page.
| University | Tuition, General Medicine | One-off fees | Price list |
|---|---|---|---|
Semmelweis University, Budapest | €9,340 per semester (about €18,680 a year) | Entrance procedure $400; deposit $2,000 (counts toward semester one, non-refundable); registration $230 | Intake with deadline 31 May |
$16,900 a year paid at once, or $9,500 + $8,400 by semester ($17,900) | Application and exam fees apply (see below) | Current price list | |
University of Szeged | €7,900 per semester (€15,800 a year); semester one is €7,100 + €800 deposit | Application and entrance assessment €300 |
Dentistry at Debrecen costs $17,500 a year ($10,000 + $8,500 by semester).
For Debrecen medicine, the application fee is about $150 and the exam fee about $350, based on the university's latest published non-medical price list. Confirm these with the admissions office. At Szeged, the fee includes basic health insurance in Hungary.
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Living costs in Budapest and Debrecen
A realistic figure for a student in Budapest is about €800–1,300 a month. The lower end means a shared flat or a dorm room; the upper end means your own apartment. Debrecen and other regional cities are about 15–25% cheaper, from around €650 a month.
| City | Monthly costs without rent (one person) | One-bedroom apartment, city center | One-bedroom apartment, outside center | Student estimate, all-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Budapest | about €758 (about 274,000 HUF) | about €741 | about €577 | about €800–1,300 per month |
Debrecen | about €677 | about €554 | about €421 | from about €650 per month |
Source: user-reported data (Numbeo); Debrecen has few data points. A cheap café lunch in Budapest costs about €12.
Transport in Budapest (BKK prices)
- Monthly pass, full price: 8,950 HUF.
- Monthly pass, student price: 3,450 HUF. Check with your university which student card you need to qualify.
- Single ticket: 500 HUF, or 700 HUF if bought from the driver.
Health insurance and residence permit costs
Health insurance is mandatory for a student residence permit: you need a policy or enough money to cover medical costs. Many universities include insurance in tuition. Debrecen and Szeged do this.
If your university does not, a full-time foreign student can sign a health care agreement with NEAK, the national health insurance fund. The contribution is linked to 30% of the minimum wage, which currently gives about 96,840 HUF a month.
The residence permit itself has a fee. The first student permit costs €110 at a Hungarian consulate. Inside Hungary, it costs 26,000 HUF online through Enter Hungary or 39,000 HUF in person. Renewal online costs 26,000 HUF. Stipendium Hungaricum holders pay no permit fee. Full steps are on our Hungary student visa page.
Sample budget: the real cost of studying in Hungary for one year
Two example budgets for 12 months, based on published fees and the estimates above. Flights and document translation are not included.
| Item | Business bachelor's at METU, Budapest | Medicine at Debrecen |
|---|---|---|
Tuition | €7,000 | $16,900 paid at once |
Living costs, 12 months | about €9,600–15,600 (€800–1,300 a month) | from about €7,800 (from €650 a month) |
Health insurance | Check with the university | Included in tuition |
First residence permit at a consulate | €110 | €110 |
One-off admission fees | Check with the university |
Hungary's immigration office (OIF) does not set a fixed minimum amount for your bank account. Figures you see online are estimates. What you do need is proof that you can pay tuition and living costs for the whole year, through bank statements, income documents or a scholarship.
How to plan your study budget for Hungary
Pick two or three programs and download each university's current price list. Note the currency and the year.
Add one-off costs: application, entrance exam, registration and any deposit.
Choose your city and housing type, then multiply the monthly estimate by 12.
Check whether health insurance is included. If not, add the NEAK contribution or a private policy.
Add the residence permit fee, flights and document legalization in your home country.
Prepare proof of funds that covers the full total for the first year.
Scholarships and ways to lower the cost
The Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship is the main way to study in Hungary without paying tuition. In the latest round it covered:
What Stipendium Hungaricum covers
- Free tuition.
- A monthly stipend of 43,700 HUF (about €110) for 12 months a year for bachelor's, master's and one-tier master's students.
- A dormitory place or 40,000 HUF a month toward rent.
Pakistan, India, Nigeria, Egypt and Bangladesh are on the list of partner countries. Among Gulf states, the UAE, Oman and Bahrain are on the list, while Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait are not. You can apply only through your country of citizenship, and your application counts only if your country's partner institution nominates you. In the latest round the program included 30 universities and about 900 programs, including medicine, dentistry and pharmacy.
The next call is not yet published. Based on previous years, the deadline is expected around mid-January. Read the full details on our Stipendium Hungaricum page.
Fee-paying students also have options:
Other ways to reduce costs
- Pay the full year at once where it is cheaper. At Debrecen, medicine costs $16,900 paid at once versus $17,900 by semester.
- Enroll early. Szeged gives a €300 discount on the first semester to medical students who enroll by 30 April (terms of the last intake).
- Choose a regional city. Living in Debrecen is about 15–25% cheaper than in Budapest.
What to know before you apply
Here is what we tell every student before they commit money.
Honest points about costs in Hungary
- Stipendium Hungaricum is competitive and partial. Your country, the university and the Tempus Public Foundation all assess you. A pass at the university does not guarantee the scholarship. The foundation itself says 40,000 HUF does not cover rent in big cities, especially Budapest. Plan your own money for living costs anyway.
- Scholarship holders must learn Hungarian. In year one, you attend a Hungarian course and take an exam at the end of semester two. Skip the course and the stipend stops. Fail the exam and it drops to 30,000 HUF a month.
- Medicine starts with an entrance exam. Semmelweis tests biology, chemistry and English online, followed by an interview. Debrecen tests biology plus chemistry or physics, in writing and orally. The program is six years long, so budget for all six, not just year one.
Documents and legalisation: a checklist for nine destinations
Where an apostille is enough, where consular legalisation is required, and what separate recognition step each destination asks for — with the order of steps and timings.
- The basic document pack needed everywhere
- Apostille or consular legalisation — a table by destination
- Denklik, homologación, CIMEA, NCEQE: what they are and how long they take
- Three mistakes that cost applicants a year
Send us the programs you are considering, and we will build a first-year budget with you. It will cover tuition in the right currency, one-off fees, living costs in your city, insurance and proof of funds for the visa. The first consultation is free, and you can reach us via the form, WhatsApp or Telegram on the contacts page.
