How to choose a cleaning company in Budapest

CLB teams bring their own vacuum and products. Ask any company for the hours, the rate and the total in writing before the visit.

The short answer

Ask for the price in writing before the visit, ask who comes and which language they speak, and ask what happens if they miss something. A company that answers all three in writing is worth a first booking. A company that dodges them will cost you more on the day, in money or in time spent arguing.

Below are the seven questions we would ask if we had moved to Budapest last month and were booking a cleaner for the first time. After each one we give our own answer, so you can see what a straight reply looks like and compare it with what other companies tell you.

Choosing is harder here than it looks

In Budapest you will find one-person cleaning businesses working from a phone number, agencies that pass your booking to a freelancer, marketplaces where you pick an individual cleaner from a list, and a smaller number of companies with their own team and equipment. From the outside they look alike: a website and an hourly rate.

You see the differences later. Some quote per hour and some per visit. Some bring products and some expect yours. Some give you an invoice and some only take cash. Before you compare prices, decide which kind of cleaning you need, because a weekly tidy and a move-out clean are different jobs with different prices.

If you are not sure which one you need, our guide to regular, deep, move-out and after-renovation cleaning explains what each covers and what it costs.

1. Do I get the price in writing before the visit?

The complaint we hear most often from people who used another company is a price that grew on the day: a range on the phone, then a higher total at the door because the flat was dirtier than expected. Ask for a written quote with the number of hours, the hourly rate and the total. You cannot judge a quote that shows only the rate, because you pay for the hours.

Our answer: we send the price in writing before you book. One-off cleaning is 7,500 Ft per cleaner per hour, and we write in the quote how many hours we plan. A recent example from our own jobs: a lived-in 62 square metre flat, deep clean, two cleaners for three and a half hours each. That is seven hours of work at 7,500 Ft, so 52,500 Ft. We agreed that total before the visit, and the customer paid that figure.

2. Is there a minimum charge?

Most companies have one, because travel, carrying equipment up the stairs and setting up cost the same for a studio as for a large flat. A minimum is fair as long as you hear about it before the visit, so ask for it up front.

Our answer: a standard one-off clean starts from 26,000 Ft, and a deep clean or a move-in or move-out clean from 37,500 Ft. Regular cleaning, from two visits a month, is 6,500 Ft per cleaner per hour with a four-hour minimum. Cleaning after renovation is 9,500 to 10,500 Ft per cleaner per hour, because fine building dust needs several passes over the same surfaces.

3. Who comes, and which language do they speak?

If you do not speak Hungarian, ask whether the cleaner on site speaks English, and not only the person who answers the phone. You give the instructions that matter at the door: which rug must not get wet and where the spare keys go after the job.

Our answer: we work in English and Russian, and you agree the scope with the team that comes, at the start of the visit.

We wrote a separate guide on booking a cleaner in Budapest when you don't speak Hungarian, including building access, parking and what to show the team on arrival.

4. Do they bring their own equipment and products?

Some cleaners expect you to supply a vacuum cleaner, a mop and the detergents. That looks cheaper until a product meant for one surface leaves a film on another, or a vacuum with a rotating brush pulls threads out of a hand-made rug.

Our answer: we bring our own machines and cleaning products. For sofas, mattresses and carpets we use an extraction machine, which pushes cleaning solution into the fabric and pulls the dirty water back out. You do not need to buy anything before we come.

They came at very short notice, equipped with specialist cleaning products and professional tools, and within just two days the apartment looked fresher and cleaner than I had ever seen it.matanb89, Google review, September 2026

5. What is not included?

This is the most useful question on the list. Ask for the exclusions in writing: the inside of the oven, the inside of kitchen cabinets, windows, the balcony, old limescale. The disputes we hear about start with something the customer expected and the company had not planned.

Our answer: the written quote lists what is in and what is out. If the oven, the windows or the balcony are not in the quote, the team will not do them, and if you want them we add them with a price before the visit. Old, burnt-on grease and long-standing limescale we try to remove, but on damaged or worn surfaces we tell you in advance that we cannot promise they will come off in full.

6. What happens if they miss a spot?

Ask whether there is a guarantee, how long it lasts and what it covers. A guarantee without any record of the work turns into an argument about who remembers what.

Our answer: we photograph the place before and after each job and send you the photo report. If we missed a spot, tell us within 48 hours and send a photo, and we come back and clean it at no charge. The guarantee covers the areas we agreed to clean. It does not mean cleaning the whole flat a second time.

7. How do I pay, and do I get an invoice?

Ask before the visit, and ask twice if you need an invoice for an employer, a landlord or your own company. Hungarian companies quote business prices without the 27 percent VAT in most cases, so check which figure you are looking at.

Our answer: you can pay in cash, by Revolut or by bank transfer. We do not take cards on site. Private customers get the payable total in the quote. Companies receive a Hungarian invoice, and business prices are plus 27 percent VAT.

How to compare two quotes

Put the two quotes side by side and compare the total hours first, then the hourly rate, then the exclusions. A company that quotes 6,000 Ft per hour for nine hours charges more than one that quotes 7,500 Ft for six. If one quote includes the inside of the oven and the windows and the other does not, the cheaper one may end up the dearer once you add them.

Then compare what happens after the visit. A photo report and a guarantee window cost the company time, and a company that offers them expects to stand behind the work. If both quotes look the same on paper, book the one that answers your questions faster and in writing, because you will deal with the same office if something goes wrong.

Replies that should worry you

• Only an hourly rate, with no estimate of the hours
• We will see when we get there
• No written list of what is excluded
• No way to report a missed spot after the team leaves
• Cash only, with no receipt or invoice
• A much lower price than everyone else, with no explanation of the hours

Company, agency or individual cleaner?

An individual cleaner from a marketplace often costs less per hour and suits a weekly tidy of a flat you already keep in order. You tend to supply the products yourself, and if the cleaner falls ill or leaves, you start the search again.

A company costs more and suits a deep clean, a move-out before you hand back the keys, cleaning after renovation, or sofa and carpet cleaning that needs a machine. You get a team, the equipment and one number to call if something goes wrong. Many people use both: an individual for the weekly tidy, a company two or three times a year for the jobs that need equipment.

For an accurate quote, send

• The floor area in square metres and the number of rooms and bathrooms
• The date you want, and whether the flat will be empty or lived in
• Three or four photos: the kitchen, the bathroom and the worst corner
• Anything extra: inside the oven, windows, a sofa or a mattress
• Whether there is free parking near the building, and pets on site

The bottom line

Pick the company that puts the hours, the total and the exclusions in writing before the visit, and that has a way to fix a missed spot afterwards. Compare totals: you pay the rate times the hours, and a lower rate with more hours can cost you more.

If you are moving out, our move-out cleaning page lists what landlords in Budapest check at handover.

Common questions