Budapest dormitory costs depend heavily on the university. ELTE lists self-paying international students at about 50,000 to 70,000 forints (HUF) a month in its Budapest dormitories, with utilities and internet included. Corvinus University of Budapest lists 2026/27 fees of about €750 to €1,250 a semester for new self-funded students. BME says it offers a limited number of free placements and sends fee-paying students to their faculty. This guide sets out what each university publishes and what I could not verify.
Details come from the ELTE dormitory pages and fee table, the BME international dormitory page and Corvinus University of Budapest’s dormitory page, checked on 8 November 2026 (the Corvinus page on 28 October). Amounts are in euros (EUR) or Hungarian forints (HUF), as each university states them, and are approximate. I have not converted them, because exchange rates move.
Cost at a glance: what to add up
Before you compare the prices on this page, check what each figure actually covers:
- Rent period: per week, month or semester, and per person or per room.
- What is included: utilities, internet, contents insurance and any meal plan.
- One-off costs: deposit, application or booking fee, and any first-month payment.
- Getting to campus: travel passes, or the extra cost of living further out.
- Currency: prices here are in the local currency. Convert them at your bank’s current rate and add the transfer fee. Rates change daily, so we do not publish rupee figures.
Anything we could not confirm from an official source is flagged on this page as “could not verify”, so read those notes before you rely on a figure.
ELTE dormitories: fees for self-paying international students
ELTE’s dormitory page links a “Comparison of the dormitory fees” table for the 2026/27 academic year. The figures below are the self-paying fees it lists, in HUF per person per month. They match the fee levels in ELTE’s own dormitory fee regulation, but the table’s text carries no date, and I could not read its place-count columns reliably, so I have not quoted availability.
| Dormitory | Two-bed room | Three-bed room |
|---|---|---|
| Ajtósi Dürer | 60,000 | Not listed |
| Damjanich | 65,000 | 55,000 |
| Erdős Pál | 70,000 | 55,000 |
| Kőrösi Csoma Sándor | 70,000 | 55,000 |
| Márton Áron (Budapest) | 70,000 | 55,000 |
| Nándorfejérvári | Not listed | 55,000 |
| Vezér | 55,000 | 50,000 |
- Billing: the fee must be paid for each begun calendar month, and half-month or daily fees are not available.
- Included: electricity, water, heating and internet. Payment goes through the Neptun study system.
- Rooms: international students are usually placed in a two-bed room with its own bathroom. Single rooms are not available unless stated, so expect at least one roommate. Each resident gets a bed, mattress, wardrobe, shelf, table and chair, and each room has a fridge and freezer.
- Deposit: refunded to residents with no unpaid fees, usually three to four weeks after the end of the semester they move out. The amount is in a separate guide that I could not read, so I have not quoted it.
- Who can apply: every ELTE student and applicant, whatever their faculty, scholarship or citizenship, with placement following a priority order that starts with ELTE applicants or students with special needs. The page says the 2026/27 waiting list resets on 7 September, and results are usually announced around 10 July, 5 January (spring semester) and 10 June (summer dormitory).
BME dormitories
The Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) page for international students does not list monthly rent. It says BME offers a limited number of free placements, with Stipendium Hungaricum and Diaspora students applying for the Óbudai Diák Hotel and SCYP scholarship holders for Martos Flóra Kollégium, while fee-paying students apply through KEFIR with their Neptun code and their faculty manages the process. For fee-paying rates, the page tells you to contact imt.accommodation@bme.hu or your faculty.
- Óbudai Diák Hotel: two-bed rooms, each with its own fridge, shared bathrooms on each corridor, internet and a study room. The deposit is 20,000 HUF in cash on moving in, refunded on moving out if there is no damage.
- Martos Flóra Kollégium: rooms with up to four beds, each resident having a cupboard, desk, lamp, bed and bedding. Some rooms have en-suite bathrooms, and kitchens are shared within each room group.
- Selection: freshmen are selected by admission points and senior students by their credit-weighted average. Penalty points can reduce a senior student’s average or bar them from applying.
For the 2026/27 autumn semester, scholar applications for senior students ran from 7 to 17 July 2026 and for freshmen from 27 July to 9 August 2026, with freshmen moving in on 25 August. Treat those as last year’s pattern only, and check the page for the next intake.
Corvinus dormitory fees, 2026/27
| Student group | Approximate fee |
|---|---|
| Self-funded, September 2026 intake | €750 to €1,250 per semester, paid in advance |
| Self-funded, upper-year students | €110 to €210 per month per person |
| Stipendium Hungaricum and Diaspora | HUF 38,500 to 75,200 per month per person |
| Preparatory Programme | €115 to €140 per month per person |
- Deposit: €110 to €180 for all groups, due by 24 August 2026 and refundable if there are no outstanding fees or damage.
- Scholarship housing allowance: Stipendium Hungaricum students receive HUF 40,000 a month and pay any difference above that.
- Rooms: two to five beds, some with private or shared bathrooms, and no single rooms. Rooms have basic furniture, internet and a fridge, with shared kitchens and laundry in all dormitories.
- How to apply: through the university’s Neptun system (Administration, then Dormitory Application). All 2026/27 windows have closed, and the page recommends the partner long-term and short-term housing it lists.
For the September 2026 intake, self-funded students had to have paid first-semester tuition and the tuition deposit by 8 June 2026 and indicated interest in a dormitory. Erasmus, bilateral and CEMS students were not offered Corvinus dormitory places for that intake. Plan for next year’s deadlines early, and check the current page for the 2027/28 rules.
How the three compare
The three universities publish different kinds of figures, so do not compare them directly. ELTE quotes a monthly fee in forints that includes utilities. Corvinus quotes euros per semester for new students and per month for upper-year students. BME publishes no rent at all. Convert each into your own currency at today’s rate, and ask each housing office what is included, how long the contract runs and what the deposit is.
What I could not verify
I did not confirm fees for other Budapest universities, BME’s fee-paying rates, ELTE’s deposit amount or current private rents, so I have not quoted them. I also have not listed private flats or ranked districts, and I did not verify Hungarian tenancy rules. If you rent privately, view the room in person or on a live video call, get a written contract and never pay before you have one. Before you commit, read our guide to university halls versus private housing, the checklist of what to look for before you sign and our safety guide. For another Hungarian city, see our Debrecen guide, or browse all student accommodation in Hungary.
Talk to us about your budget and city
Not sure which option suits you or your family? Send us your city, budget and room type, and we will point you to the right guide and the next steps to check. Students and parents are both welcome to ask.
FAQs about student accommodation in Budapest
How much is an ELTE dormitory?
ELTE’s fee table lists self-paying international students at 50,000 to 70,000 HUF per person per month in its Budapest dormitories, depending on the dormitory and whether the room has two or three beds. Utilities and internet are included.
How much is a Corvinus dormitory?
For 2026/27, about €750 to €1,250 per semester for new self-funded students, €110 to €210 a month for upper-year self-funded students and HUF 38,500 to 75,200 a month for Stipendium Hungaricum students.
Can I get a single room?
Not usually. ELTE says single-bed rooms are not available unless stated, and Corvinus lists no single rooms, with two to five beds per room.
Can Erasmus students use Corvinus dormitories?
For the September 2026 intake, the page says dormitory accommodation is not available to Erasmus, bilateral and CEMS students.
Is there a deposit?
Yes, at all three. Corvinus lists €110 to €180 and BME’s Óbudai Diák Hotel lists 20,000 HUF, both refundable if there are no outstanding fees or damage. ELTE refunds its deposit three to four weeks after the semester ends but does not state the amount on the page I read.
Sources
- ELTE: dormitory information for students
- ELTE: comparison of the dormitory fees, 2026/27 (PDF)
- BME: dormitory information for international students
- Corvinus University of Budapest: dormitories
ELTE and BME checked 8 November 2026. Corvinus checked 28 October 2026.
