Language Schools in Budapest: Learning Hungarian Compared

A school that does nothing but teach Hungarian, with A1 to C1 modules and the widest timetable on this page: super intensive mornings, 8:00 starts, evening classes, Saturday online and a full online track.

Good to know: Course fees exclude the coursebook: the school states that buying the MagyarOK book and workbook is the student's own responsibility. Private tuition comes in FIX (minimum two lessons a week) and FLEXI versions priced through the application portal rather than on the site, and the school names private lessons as the route if you are preparing for the citizenship exam or a Hungarian language exam. The cultural exam course prepares for the Hungarian cultural knowledge exam introduced for residence card applications in January 2025, not for naturalisation. Contact is [email protected].

The Hungarian state's own language programme, run by KKM Magyar Diplomaciai Akademia Kft. under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and dated on its own site to 1957, with over 300 students a year from more than 40 countries and about 24,000 lessons delivered annually.

Good to know: One of the very few providers with a named ECL exam preparation course at A2, B1, B2 and C1: five Friday sessions of 2 x 90 minutes online, groups of 5 to 12, with a placement interview first; its brochure gives start dates of 25 September and 16 April with application deadlines of 5 September and 18 March. The general language courses are separate and start 21 September 2026, 11 January 2027 and 12 April 2027, with application deadlines of 4 September, 4 December and 19 March. Both listed addresses are teaching venues, with customer service at 1107 Budapest, Zagrabi utca 1-3, and the office states it does not issue visa certificates. The paid language programme is not the same thing as the Balassi scholarship programmes advertised elsewhere on the site.

Teaching languages in Budapest since 1983 and a founding member of the Association of Hungarian Language Schools, a few steps from Deak Ferenc ter, with tailor-made preparation for the state accredited ITK Origo and ECL exams and for the Hungarian citizenship test.

Good to know: The group price falls as the group fills, so ask how many are enrolled before you commit; a two person group is priced at HUF 128,000 for the same 32 lessons. One-to-one lessons can be taken at the school, at your address or online. The cultural knowledge exam course targets the residence card exam, requires A2 Hungarian, and the last intake advertised on the page ran from 12 November to 17 December 2025, so ask for the next date. Two separate Survival Hungarian products exist: the BSM and AIT university course priced in dollars, and a 10 day language and cultural integration programme at EUR 460 for ten days or EUR 300 for five.

The cheapest published classroom route on this page at roughly HUF 1,400 per 45 minute lesson across the 100 lesson course, with the textbook thrown in and levels running A1 to C2.

Good to know: Two warnings before you rely on the price: it is a from-price carried under a validity marker reading 2026.05.31, and the school's own homepage title still advertises 109,990 Ft for a 100 hour course, so get the current figure in writing. The site, the price list and the enrolment form are in Hungarian only, with English going no further than a Hungarian Language for foreigners button, so ask whether a teacher can work with you in English. Same 100 lessons either way: intensive is five weeks at five sessions a week, semi-intensive is three months at two sessions a week, and there is a combined in-person and Zoom option. Groups average six students, exam preparation covers Origo and ECL at A2, B1, B2 and C1 plus the Hungarian citizenship exam, and the office answers on [email protected].

The Buda-side answer, in the university quarter near Muegyetem, with a clear published ladder from an A0 beginner intensive up to a cultural exam preparation course.

Good to know: Course fees exclude a HUF 6,000 materials charge, and the exam preparation course assumes you already have B1 and targets the cultural knowledge exam required for residence cards, not naturalisation. The once weekly evening course at HUF 37,400 for 20 lessons is the lowest entry ticket of any classroom course listed here, and some evening intakes are advertised as online.

A downtown centre that publishes an unusually fine-grained level ladder for Hungarian (A1 through C1 plus the intermediate plus steps) and teaches medical and business Hungarian alongside general courses.

Good to know: Prices are from-prices published across 38 languages, the table is labelled indicative, and specialised or technical courses cost more, so get a written quote. Hungarian group modules are 24 lessons of 45 minutes in groups of two or three to four, timetables are built around the participants, and there is also a 12 lesson tourist Hungarian course. The office answers on WhatsApp and Viber, Monday to Thursday 10:00 to 17:00 and Friday 10:00 to 16:00.

A national chain selling Hungarian one-to-one as prepaid credit rather than fixed terms, in blocks of 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 lessons for one, two or three learners, in person or online.

Good to know: The whole site and the checkout are in Hungarian only, so confirm that a teacher can work with you in English before you buy a block. FIX slots between 9:40 and 17:05 on weekdays are cheaper than FLEX slots: the four lesson solo block is HUF 31,920 on FIX and HUF 33,160 on FLEX. Blocks run 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 lessons solo, from 8 lessons for a pair and from 16 for a trio, and every package expires (30 days for four lessons, up to 240 days for 64), so buy the block you will realistically use. Three Budapest branches: Belvaros at Anker koz 1-3, Ujbuda at 1111 Budapest, Karinthy Frigyes ut 10, and Huvosvolgy at 1028 Budapest, Kertvaros utca 76, with Saturday slots only at the last two.

The first International House member school in Central and Eastern Europe, opened in 1983, teaching twelve languages including Hungarian for new arrivals, with 70 teachers and about 22,000 lessons a year from a Buda base.

Good to know: The HUF 73,000 fee is the school's general group course price, not a Hungarian-specific one, and the Hungarian offer is a short entry on the languages page rather than a course page, so ask whether a Hungarian group is actually running. Group courses run 30 lessons over 5 to 7.5 weeks, mornings 08:30 to 12:30 or evenings 17:00 to 19:30, from A0 to C2, and discounts stack to 20 percent (early bird, returning student, referral). Private lesson rates are individual, quoted per 60 or 90 minute session after a placement test.

The recognisable international chain, whose Vaci utca center lists Hungarian among the languages it teaches and whose Hungarian page is written for people living in, visiting or moving to Hungary, useful if your employer wants an invoice from a name it already knows.

Good to know: No published price list at all, so everything is quote-based and you should ask for the fee per teaching hour in writing before signing. For Hungarian the site offers adults one-to-one or two person lessons, in person or online, and reserves group classes for children aged 7 to 17. The Vaci utca center is open Monday to Friday 8:00 to 20:00 and answers on [email protected].

A Budapest-registered online school (Hungarian Lesson with Zsuzsi Kft.) that puts a price tag on the thing most schools only hint at, and separates the three exams: a constitutional basics course for ordinary naturalisation, a one week in person interview intensive for simplified naturalisation, and a cultural knowledge exam course for residence cards.

Good to know: Courses run in intakes and only the three online group courses were in stock when this page was checked; the two citizenship products and the HUF 65,000 cultural exam course showed as out of stock, so check the store page for the next start date. The naturalisation interview intensive is an in person course despite the rest of the offer being online.

Built entirely around the simplified naturalisation applicant: Hungarian lessons plus help with filling in the application forms and English to Hungarian document translation, in one place.

Good to know: In-person lessons happen in South London and everyone else learns over Skype, so there is no Budapest classroom, only a teacher who knows the naturalisation paperwork. No published price list, though the site offers a free consultation on citizenship enquiries, so ask for a written quote in advance. Treat the contact details as needing a check first: the site footer reads 2012 to 2025 and the testimonials on display are dated 2015 and 2017.

The deepest bench for Hungarian: 100 teachers listed with an average rating of 4.98 out of 5 from 1,774 customers on the platform's own count, as checked in August 2026.

Good to know: The two price figures on the same page do not match, so read the unit: the filter says USD 3 to USD 40 and above per lesson, the question and answer section says USD 7 to USD 100 per hour with an average of USD 27. Preply says an unhappy student gets a free tutor replacement until satisfied, without naming a limit. Quality varies hugely between tutors, so screen for people who actually teach magyar mint idegen nyelv and know the ECL or Origo formats rather than just chatting.

52 Hungarian tutors listed when this page was checked, split between qualified professional teachers and cheaper community tutors, which makes it the natural place to buy pure speaking practice on top of a classroom course.

Good to know: You pay per lesson with no course commitment, and prices are set by each tutor in USD, so a structured curriculum is your responsibility rather than the platform's. Trial lessons are the cheap way to audition several teachers in a week.

The best-known self-study library for Hungarian, from Innovative Language Learning, with a genuinely usable free tier: a Survival Phrases course of more than 50 lessons and the first three lessons of every pathway.

Good to know: The headline monthly prices assume a 24 month subscription, so a one or three month plan costs considerably more; there is a 60 day money-back guarantee. Treat it as vocabulary and listening support, not as a replacement for talking to a teacher.