Manned Guarding Cost Calculator: Hungary, 2026

How is manned guarding regulated in Hungary?

Manned guarding in Hungary is governed by Act CXXXIII of 2005 on private security and private investigation. A company may only provide these services with a valid operating licence issued by the police, and every security services company is entered in a mandatory register maintained by the professional chamber. Individual officers must hold a valid security officer ID card. All three are documents you can ask for and verify.

One point worth stating plainly: a Hungarian security officer is not a public authority. Officers may ask a person to identify themselves and to present the contents of a bag or vehicle, but they may not search a person or a bag, and they may not conduct an official identity check. Any provider promising more than that is promising something it cannot legally deliver.

What a security officer may and may not do

What is the statutory minimum service rate in Hungary?

Hungary publishes an annual minimum service charge rate for private security work. For 2026 it is HUF 4,218 per hour excluding VAT, up from HUF 3,942 in 2025. This figure is not a mandatory selling price in private-sector contracts — it applies primarily to public procurement and tender procedures — but it is the single most useful reference point when you assess whether a commercial quote is realistic.

This distinction catches out many foreign buyers. The rate exists, it is published, and it is officially set — but a private client is free to contract below it. What the number gives you is not a legal floor. It gives you a question: if a quote sits well below it, where is the difference coming from?

For orientation, HUF 4,218 is approximately €11.61 per hour using the ECB reference rate of EUR 1 = HUF 363.28 published on 4 September 2026. Use the forint figure for anything that matters; the euro equivalent is context only.

External source: published 2026 minimum service rate

How the calculator works

The calculator starts from weekly service hours: days per week multiplied by hours per day multiplied by the number of officers on post at the same time. That figure is multiplied by 4.33 to get monthly hours, because a year holds 52 weeks and 12 months, so an average month runs 4.33 weeks. Monthly cost is then monthly hours multiplied by the hourly rate.

A 24/7 post: 168 hours per week · 728 hours per month

How headcount is calculated

Headcount is given as a range, because in practice it is a range.

The lower bound assumes twelve-hour shifts and monthly working-time banking, which are both standard in Hungarian private security. Under that arrangement one officer can cover up to 48 hours in a week. Weekly hours divided by 48, rounded up.

The upper bound starts from a conventional 40-hour week and adds 15 percent. That 15 percent covers paid leave, sick days and mandatory rest periods. Without it, the roster collapses the first time someone calls in sick.

Methodology note: The calculator returns the same headcount figures that appear in the Hungarian manned guarding guide. The two must never disagree.

What do the green, amber and red indicators mean?

The calculator compares the hourly rate you enter, or the rate it derives from a quote, against the 2026 statutory minimum service rate of HUF 4,218. Green means the rate meets it. Amber means it falls short by no more than ten percent. Red means the gap is larger than that. The indicator assesses a number, not a company.

Five questions to ask when a quote comes back amber or red

When a quote falls below the reference rate, there is always an explanation. In practice the gap comes from one of three places: the employment arrangement, the length of the subcontracting chain, or a headcount lower than the roster actually requires. These five questions, asked in writing, will usually establish which.

1. How are the officers employed? Employment contract, service contract, or subcontractor?
2. How many parties sit between your contract and the officer on post? Is the person actually standing there employed by the company you are signing with?
3. How many officers are budgeted for this post? If the answer is lower than the calculator shows, ask how leave and sick days are covered.
4. What happens if an officer does not turn up? Is there a contractual obligation to provide cover, and is there a consequence if it fails?
5. How is patrol activity documented? On paper or digitally, and will you receive reports?

If you would rather not run that process yourself, our free provider recommendation service selects the security company that best fits your site and shift pattern, against twelve published criteria. Trinity Security Kft. does not provide manned guarding itself.

What the calculation does not include

The calculator returns the base cost of a single post at the shift pattern and hourly rate you enter. It does not include the premium for dog patrols, holiday or night-shift supplements, one-off mobilisation or setup fees, equipment costs, or travel time between multiple sites. Those items depend on the provider and on the specific assignment.

More than one post? The calculator handles one shift pattern at a time. If your site has several distinct posts — a permanent gatehouse plus a separate night patrol, for example — run them separately and add the results. Hours, headcount and cost all add up.

Important: This is an indicative estimate, not a quote. Actual pricing is also shaped by how the service is organised, by the characteristics of the site, and by contract terms.

Frequently asked questions