Shopping from abroad in Hungary
Updated
Shopping across a border is ordinary here: of the Hungarians who bought something online in the last three months, close to half bought from a seller in another country, and one in six from outside the EU entirely (Eurostat). Being in the EU and on every courier network makes the delivery part easy — the hard part is the price, because a forint shopper is quoted in euro, dollars or zloty and then has to work out what the parcel really costs once 27% VAT and the customs charges land on it.
How cross-border shopping into Hungary works
Most of the big names are already here in forint: Zara, H&M, Zalando, IKEA, Decathlon, Notino and Temu all run Hungarian stores, and Next sells here duty paid. There is no Amazon Hungary — amazon.hu simply redirects to Amazon Germany, which has its own Hungary delivery rates and, as an EU order, no customs at all. The real gaps are few; Back Market, which has no Hungarian site, is the clearest one.
On costs, one line decides everything: EU or not. From inside the EU the price you see is the price you pay. From outside it, every parcel picks up 27% Hungarian VAT whatever its value, plus the €3 customs duty per itemthat replaced the old €150 duty-free allowance on 1 July 2026 — and, if the seller did not settle the charges at checkout, Magyar Posta’s own fee for clearing it, which runs from 800 Ft to 3,380 Ft paid online and more at the door. Get delivery and the true landed price right and the rest is shopping.
A quick checklist before you buy
- Will it ship here? Check the ships-to-Hungary directory — and whether the store has a Hungarian site, which is usually the cheaper route.
- What’s the real total? Run it through the import calculator in forint.
- EU or non-EU? EU orders avoid customs entirely — see the import charges guide.
- Is it actually cheaper? Compare the price across marketplaces on OroScout and filter to what ships to you.