Money, cards and ATMs in Hungary

The forint

• Hungary uses the forint (HUF) and has no target date for adopting the euro.
• As a rough anchor in late August 2026, EUR 1 is around 360 forints and USD 1 around 310. The forint moves; check the National Bank rate before you change anything rather than trusting a figure in any guide, this one included.
• Notes run from 500 to 20,000 forints. A 20,000 note is hard to break in a small shop.
• Prices look alarming until you divide. A 6,000 forint dinner is about EUR 16.

Where not to change money

• Avoid the exchange booths around Váci utca and the tourist streets. Headline rates hide enormous spreads, and the commission appears at the counter.
• Never change money with someone on the street. It is illegal in Hungary and it is always a swindle, usually with worthless notes from another country.
• Avoid Euronet ATMs. They are everywhere in the tourist districts, default to large withdrawals and push a bad conversion at you.
• Use a bank ATM: OTP, K&H, Erste or Raiffeisen.
• Always decline conversion into your home currency. Choose forints and let your own bank convert.
• If you must use a booth, Correct Change and the ones away from the centre are far better than anything on a main tourist street. Check the buy and sell rates on the board before you hand anything over.

Cards

• Cards work almost everywhere, including markets and taxis, and contactless is standard.
• Some places accept euros at a punishing rate and give change in forints. Pay in forints.
• Carry a little cash for market stalls, small bakeries and public toilets.

Tipping, and the double-tip trap

• Most Budapest restaurants add a service charge (szervizdíj) of 10 to 15 percent automatically.
• Check the bill before you tip. If szervizdíj is on it, you are done, and adding another 15 percent means you have tipped 25 to 30 percent.
• If there is no service charge, 10 to 15 percent is normal.
• Say the total including the tip when you pay by card. Leaving cash on the table is less usual than telling the waiter the figure.
• Taxis: round up. Thermal bath attendants: a few hundred forints.

What things cost

• Coffee: HUF 800 to HUF 1,500.
• A half litre of beer: HUF 1,200 to HUF 2,500, higher in the ruin bars.
• A main course in an ordinary restaurant: HUF 3,500 to HUF 7,000.
• A thermal bath day ticket: HUF 9,000 to HUF 13,000 at Széchenyi, depending on day and locker type.