Cost of Living Comparison Between Berlin and Essen Cost of Living Comparison Between Berlin and Essen

🙂 Solo nomad: Berlin is 1.7% cheaper than Essen without rent, and 17.4% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Berlin is 2.6% cheaper than Essen without rent, and 15.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.13 €14.79

$18.31 €15.81

-6.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.3 €69.3

$70.7 €61.1

13.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.98 €11.21

$13.96 €12.05

-7.02%

Cappuccino

$4.3 €3.71

$3.66 €3.16

17.49%

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

$3.3 €2.85

$2.5 €2.16

32.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 €2.48

$2.46 €2.12

16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.33 €4.6

$4.78 €4.13

11.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.5 €3.88

$4.56 €3.94

-1.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 €1.17

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.76

$2.14 €1.85

-4.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.62 €3.12

$3.29 €2.84

10.03%

Eggs

$3.89 €3.36

$3.71 €3.2

4.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.44 €12.47

$14.91 €12.88

-3.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.86 €9.37

$14.62 €12.63

-25.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.02 €16.43

$21.88 €18.89

-13.07%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 €2.86

$3.27 €2.82

1.22%

Banana (1kg)

$2.08 €1.79

$1.83 €1.58

13.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 €2.45

$2.26 €1.95

25.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.98 €3.44

$4.89 €4.22

-18.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 €1.67

$1.69 €1.46

14.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 €1.51

$1.63 €1.41

6.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.66 €1.43

$1.88 €1.63

-11.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 €0.9

$1.12 €0.96

-7.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.08 €8.71

$9.25 €7.98

8.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.87 €5.93

$6.84 €5.91

0.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 €1.02

$1.09 €0.94

8.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.9 €1.64

$1.73 €1.49

9.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.98 €3.43

$3.9 €3.36

2.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.1 €57.9

$62.2 €53.7

7.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.88 €5.08

$5.1 €4.41

15.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.34 €2.02

$2.74 €2.36

-14.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.01 €36.27

$41.55 €35.87

1.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 €1.68

$2.09 €1.8

-7.18%

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

$32.1K €27.7K

0.13%

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

$37.6K €32.5K

$38.3K €33.1K

-1.79%

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

$371 €320

$386 €333

-3.94%

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

$19.98 €17.25

$34.88 €30.12

-42.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.51 €40.16

$53.4 €46.12

-12.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.37 €32.27

$37.14 €32.07

0.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.66 €24.75

$35.34 €30.51

-18.90%

Cinema Ticket

$14.22 €12.28

$17.26 €14.9

-17.61%

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

$198 €171

$469 €405

-57.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K €9,109

$9,651 €8,333

9.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$94.5 €81.6

$95.3 €82.3

-0.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.04 €38.02

$74.3 €64.2

-40.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €91.1

$105 €90.5

0.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 €112

$139 €120

-6.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,412 €1,219

$748 €645

88.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,059 €915

$582 €503

81.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,652 €2,290

$1,534 €1,325

72.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,934 €1,670

$1,058 €914

82.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,766 €7,568

$4,419 €3,816

98.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,041 €5,216

$3,340 €2,884

80.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,577 €3,089

$3,402 €2,937

5.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.68

3.97

-7.30%

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

Last update for Berlin: October 28, 2025

Last update for Essen: October 28, 2025

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