Cost of Living in Berlin

Summary of cost of living in Berlin, Germany:

Restaurants
Edit Range
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 12.50 € 8.00-20.00
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 62.50 € 45.00-100.00
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) 10.00 € 10.00-12.00
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) 4.50 € 2.50-5.30
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 4.00 € 3.00-5.00
Cappuccino (regular) 3.50 € 2.00-5.00
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) 2.96 € 2.00-4.00
Water (12 oz small bottle) 2.56 € 1.50-4.00
Markets
Edit
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) 4.71 € 3.60-7.19
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) 1.76 € 0.91-3.63
Rice (white), (1 lb) 1.27 € 0.68-2.27
Eggs (regular) (12) 3.24 € 2.39-4.80
Local Cheese (1 lb) 5.78 € 3.63-12.25
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) 5.74 € 2.27-7.67
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) 6.88 € 4.53-11.34
Apples (1 lb) 1.18 € 0.45-1.72
Banana (1 lb) 0.75 € 0.54-1.36
Oranges (1 lb) 1.08 € 0.68-1.81
Tomato (1 lb) 1.34 € 0.59-2.71
Potato (1 lb) 0.74 € 0.36-1.36
Onion (1 lb) 0.81 € 0.45-1.36
Lettuce (1 head) 1.50 € 0.89-2.00
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 0.79 € 0.25-2.00
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 5.00 € 3.99-10.00
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 0.97 € 0.65-2.00
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 1.63 € 1.00-2.00
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) 8.20 € 8.00-9.00
Transportation
Edit
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 3.20 € 2.60-3.80
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 49.99 € 49.00-91.00
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 4.30 € 3.50-7.00
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) 3.22 € 3.22-6.44
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 33.00 € 30.00-40.00
Gasoline (1 gallon) 6.93 € 6.57-7.57
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) 30,000.00 € 29,560.00-32,000.00
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) 28,197.78 € 26,700.00-33,340.00
Utilities (Monthly)
Edit
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment 358.97 € 250.00-595.00
Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data 24.07 € 9.99-40.00
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 40.13 € 30.00-50.00
Sports And Leisure
Edit
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 36.46 € 20.00-66.00
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 20.45 € 12.06-29.00
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 13.00 € 10.50-18.00
Childcare
Edit
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child 256.00 € 50.00-500.00
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child 7,972.22 € 4,950.00-12,000.00
Clothing And Shoes
Edit
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 89.79 € 39.00-129.00
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 37.79 € 20.00-60.00
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 92.16 € 50.00-130.00
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes 117.74 € 50.00-200.00
Rent Per Month
Edit
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 1,317.19 € 900.00-1,900.00
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 899.23 € 600.00-1,300.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 2,448.07 € 2,000.00-4,000.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 1,723.40 € 1,300.00-2,300.00
Buy Apartment Price
Edit
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre 768.79 € 631.74-999.99
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 539.73 € 418.06-789.67
Salaries And Financing
Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 3,061.70 €
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate 4.08 3.00-5.00

Prices in Berlin

This city had 4217 entries in the past 12 months by 856 different contributors.
Last update: November 2023
Sources and References
Distribution of Expenses Using Our Statistical Model:
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19 Comments so far
Anonymous on Nov 21, 2023:
90k is enough in Berlin to have an easy life here (even if you are not single, still doable). 50-60k salary in Berlin is standard.
Anonymous on Oct 21, 2023:
Is it worth to live there with a salary = 90k for a couple? I got an offer with a relocation package, but I have heard that CoL in Berlin extremely high and Numbeo doesn't show true CoL there.
Anonymous on Oct 02, 2023:
Software developer with 10 years of experience might expect between €80-90kpa, which will amount to about 41-48k net. Despite extreme rise in cost of living, Berlin is still relatively affordable and rent is "reasonable", i will still suggest renting thru an agency as they tend to be predictable and more responsible.
Anirban on Feb 22, 2022:
How much is good annual compensation for a single person with 10 years of software development to stay & work in Berlin. Can anybody share any views on my request with gross salary and net salary after tax deduction?
Anonymous on Oct 08, 2021:
For the sake of independence and survival, Europe must immediately ban gas throughout Europe and the gas must be immediately replaced with other cheaper alternatives coming from such as hydropower plant, Nuclear energy, wood, coal, etc which can be independently produced in Europe without requiring dependence from untrustworthy source.

It's time to build Nuclear power plant as much as necessary in order to provide sufficient power for Europe as well as to provide the free city transportation including bus and train powered by electricity in order to discourage the public from using the oil fueled cars as the first step to permanently remove oil dependence from Russia and Russia's manipulated OPEC.
d.feuerbach on Oct 04, 2021:
Dear Numbeo, dear Numbeo users,

can you please disaggregate reported data points by zip code and allow for longitude and latitude / exact address?

Once that is done you can use different aggregation levels (city boundaries, metro area vs. zip-Code oder perimeters/polygons)

In a larger city you have subdistricts where e.g. a certain drink costs EUR 3.00 and another district (500m or 10 km away) where the cost ist EUR 12.00. Seeing an average does not help all that much.

The point is: Variability within a city can be much higher and also much more relevatn within one city as compared to between different cities.

Maybe someone can share how this thought may be incorporated within numbeo already or how people typically go about augmenting data in this regard.

Thank you and best regards

D.Feuerbach
Anonymous on Jun 02, 2020:
100% to 150% of tax + duty is imposed by the current shameless Myanmar government to new car import from Europe, especially from Germany.

So Germany should lead Europe to demand the greedy Myanmar to immediately reciprocate import/export tax/duty rate from Europe for all items including car, liquor, etc so that the Germany car should be cheap in Myanmar as much as in UK.

In the meantime, Europe should immediately impose the current high tax/duty rate from Myanmar for all items imported into Europe immediately or else it's the weakness of Germany allowing the shameless, greedy fake-democracy Myanmar to harm the interest of Europe businesses unfairly in Myanmar.
Nansns on Apr 25, 2020:
Because with that kind of income how can they travel to an actual city ... they can’t. They’re like villagers... they have nothing to compare it to.
You want to talk to someone who will give you a realistic picture of the city NOT what the media praise says, and not what the brainwashed people say praising the city. Unless you like living poor and scraping by so you are stuck to your city I would reccomend elsewhere
Anonymous on Apr 25, 2020:
And PS NEVER take a germans advice on if the place has low cost of living!!!
Most of them are used to giving away so much of their income to the state and making peanuts and repeating “this is the best place on earth!!!!”
Ps it’s really really not...
Aksksks on Apr 25, 2020:
Half of Everyone is xenophobic
You see all these “artist” in Berlin?
They either are leaching off the welfare system (aka your taxes) OR they come from rich families
Anonymous on Apr 25, 2020:
Lol don’t move to Berlin. There all kinds of hidden taxes and insurance ! And rents are not as cheap as they used to be’ don’t believe any media . The media is controlled by the state. And everyone looks poor and negative ... because they are...
ravi on Apr 14, 2020:
hi, i'm looking forward to move to berlin . but my net monthly salary would be 2400 euro. Is it good to take such offer ?
Please suggest ! Can i survive there in this low budget salary ? Your help would be appreciated.
Arthur on Mar 03, 2020:
Is Berlin the best German city for foreign persons to study and live?
Tom on Feb 23, 2020:
Hi!

If I lived let's say 20-30 minutes from downtown in a 40m2 apartment close to the subway, how much would I pay for this per month? Is it easy to find an available apartment? What website should I use to find a long term rental?
JuleStein on Jan 24, 2020:
@anonymous Jan 18: you can compute the net salary on this page: https://www.brutto-netto-rechner.info - sorry, only in German...
Anonymous on Jan 18, 2020:
I am planing to move to Berlin. I am married and have 2 daughters. what about schools and universities fees(I am looking for schools that teach french)? and how can I calculate gross salary from net salary?
Jt on Dec 05, 2019:
Spent 2wks in Berlin. I stayed with a friend. I'm from th U.S. People were extremely nice and I loved the food. I've lived in New York and Boston in the past. I liked Berlin better than either of these cities.
AnonI on Nov 10, 2019:
Hi. I'm looking to move to Berlin with a job offer where we are currently negotiating salary. I have 10+ years of work ex. The position will report into the Director of Brand for a large organisation, so I was wondering if someone could help me assess if Euro 90k gross is a good salary to ask for? It's a significantly higher amount than what I make now but Berlin also has nearly a 150% higher cost of living compared to India, plus my tax liability as a single person will be double what I pay here. Thoughts?
Ulrich Hille on Nov 03, 2019:
Berlin is a great place to live. I've been living here for the last 35 years. Consumer prices are still moderate which includes rents. With a budget of 2,500€ you will easily make ends meet. Provided you find an appropriate apartment or share a more expensive one. Berlin has turned into an international place within the last 30 years. It is also a very open city. Berliners are seen as grumpy and snappish sometimes; but they are not :)
The city is famous for its cultural life, it's educational facilities and the it's social life. Generally speaking, Berlin is a city where you can have a good live even with a modest income. That's why the city attracts so many young people.