Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Berlin and Ashgabat

For one person, living is cheaper in Berlin: $2,545 a month against $3,331 in Ashgabat, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

124

Cost of Living Index in Berlin
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Berlin Living Index
164

Cost of Living Index in Ashgabat
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Ashgabat Living Index

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Berlin

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,545

/mo nomad

Ashgabat

🇹🇲 Turkmenistan

$3,331

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Berlin and in Ashgabat

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Berlin and in Ashgabat actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,545 in Berlin versus $3,331 in Ashgabat.

Berlin $2,545
Ashgabat $3,331

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,901 in Berlin versus $5,094 in Ashgabat.

Berlin $3,901
Ashgabat $5,094

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,257 in Berlin versus $6,857 in Ashgabat.

Berlin $5,257
Ashgabat $6,857

Living in Berlin costs roughly 24% less than in Ashgabat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Berlin 90% above, Ashgabat 149% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.81 €14.99

$31.23 TMT 105

-46.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.6 €71.0

$85.1 TMT 285

-6.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.38 €11.93

$12.65 TMT 42.39

5.77%

Cappuccino

$4.27 €3.81

$6.59 TMT 22.07

-35.20%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.03

$1.53 TMT 5.14

122.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 €2.78

$0.82 TMT 2.74

280.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.48 €4.88

$5.67 TMT 18.98

-3.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 €4.06

$13.74 TMT 46.04

-66.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$4.48 TMT 15.00

-71.65%

White Bread (500g)

$2.45 €2.18

$2.05 TMT 6.88

19.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.30 €2.94

$5.82 TMT 19.48

-43.30%

Eggs

$4.45 €3.97

$5.93 TMT 19.87

-24.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.10 €15.25

$37.90 TMT 127

-54.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.19 €10.87

$20.09 TMT 67.3

-39.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.30 €16.32

$23.50 TMT 78.7

-22.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.58 €3.19

$4.98 TMT 16.70

-28.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$8.53 TMT 28.58

-76.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.27 €2.91

$7.32 TMT 24.52

-55.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.81 €3.40

$3.61 TMT 12.09

5.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$2.33 TMT 7.80

-8.58%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.46 TMT 4.90

51.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 €1.33

$2.69 TMT 9.00

-44.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 €0.90

$1.12 TMT 3.74

-9.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.49 €9.36

$25.56 TMT 85.6

-58.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.76 €6.03

$42.09 TMT 141

-83.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 €1.20

$5.26 TMT 17.62

-74.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.89 TMT 9.67

-27.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.37 €3.90

$0.15 TMT 0.49

2813.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$71.0 €63.3

$9.89 TMT 33.13

617.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.29 €4.72

$2.90 TMT 9.73

82.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.05 €2.72

$0.88 TMT 2.96

246.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.30 €32.36

$8.41 TMT 28.17

331.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$0.44 TMT 1.48

418.18%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$33.2K €29.6K

$44.6K TMT 149.3K

-25.40%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$39.1K €34.8K

$57.2K TMT 191.5K

-31.67%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$379 €338

$580 TMT 1,944

-34.63%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$19.31 €17.22

$56.8 TMT 190

-66.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.41 €43.17

$103 TMT 347

-53.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.31 €35.94

$191 TMT 640

-78.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.51 €31.66

$45.50 TMT 152

-21.96%

Cinema Ticket

$15.53 €13.85

$8.53 TMT 28.58

82.06%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$144 €128

$23.05 TMT 77.2

523.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K €14.0K

$24.8K TMT 83.0K

-36.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$94.6 €84.4

$54.8 TMT 184

72.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.33 €41.31

$115 TMT 385

-59.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.1

$365 TMT 1,224

-71.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 €126

$189 TMT 632

-25.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,488 €1,327

$1,402 TMT 4,695

6.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 €979

$1,000 TMT 3,351

9.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,665 €2,376

$2,288 TMT 7,663

16.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,080 €1,855

$1,920 TMT 6,433

8.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,578 €7,648

$3,527 TMT 11.8K

143.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,438 €4,849

$2,813 TMT 9,422

93.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,487 €3,109

$736 TMT 2,467

373.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.8

9.5

-60.00%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Berlin: October 3, 2026

Last update for Ashgabat: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Berlin

$1.1K 43.3%

Ashgabat

$1K 29.5% 8.9% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Berlin

$447 17.6%

Ashgabat

$741 21.8% 65.7% $294

Groceries & Markets

Berlin

$351 13.8%

Ashgabat

$671 19.8% 91.3% $320

Eating Out

Berlin

$289 11.4%

Ashgabat

$432 12.7% 49.8% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Berlin

$174 6.8%

Ashgabat

$326 9.6% 87.6% $152

Getting Around

Berlin

$109 4.3%

Ashgabat

$18 0.5% 83.7% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Berlin

$71 2.8%

Ashgabat

$208 6.1% 192% $137

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,488 in Berlin and $1,402 in Ashgabat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Berlin pays 373% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $80.0 in Berlin vs $85.0 in Ashgabat for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $351 vs $671 per month, with Berlin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Berlin

🇹🇲 Ashgabat

🕒 Local time

05:41 5:41 AM

08:41 8:41 AM

3 h ahead of Berlin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,769,962 Capital

909,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Turkmenistani Manat TMT m

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 TMT = 0.299 USD

1 TMT = 0.266 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TMT, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Turkmenistani Manat exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.35 TMT (1 TMT = 0.299 USD). 1 EUR = 3.76 TMT (1 TMT = 0.266 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Berlin Ashgabat 3,800 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Berlin
Ashgabat

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Berlin vs Ashgabat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Berlin and Ashgabat differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($2,545 vs $3,331 including rent). Berlin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 373% higher in Berlin, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,488 in Berlin versus $1,402 in Ashgabat. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $144 in Berlin versus $23.05 in Ashgabat. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 91% higher in Ashgabat. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Berlin is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Berlin and Ashgabat are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Berlin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Ashgabat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.