Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge and Berlin

For one person, living is cheaper in Berlin: $2,545 a month against $3,193 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index
124

Cost of Living Index in Berlin
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Berlin Living Index

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Cambridge

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,193

/mo nomad

Berlin

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,545

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cambridge and in Berlin

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

A single person spends $3,193 per month in Cambridge vs $2,545 in Berlin, rent included.

Cambridge $3,193
Berlin $2,545

A couple spends around $4,497 per month in Cambridge vs $3,901 in Berlin, rent included.

Cambridge $4,497
Berlin $3,901

A family of three spends $5,801 per month in Cambridge vs $5,257 in Berlin, rent included.

Cambridge $5,801
Berlin $5,257

Cambridge costs about 25% more than Berlin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cambridge and Berlin sit above the global median – Cambridge by 138%, Berlin by 90%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.44 £16.20

$16.81 €15.00

27.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.5 £67.6

$79.6 €71.0

12.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$13.38 €11.94

-22.35%

Cappuccino

$4.65 £3.51

$4.27 €3.81

8.90%

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

$2.82 £2.13

$3.40 €3.03

-17.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 £1.43

$3.12 €2.79

-39.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.64 £5.77

$5.48 €4.89

39.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 £4.93

$4.56 €4.07

43.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 £1.19

$1.27 €1.13

23.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.81 £1.37

$2.45 €2.19

-26.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.48 £1.88

$3.30 €2.94

-24.85%

Eggs

$4.56 £3.44

$4.45 €3.97

2.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.59 £7.25

$17.10 €15.26

-43.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 £6.99

$12.19 €10.88

-24.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.41 £11.65

$18.30 €16.33

-15.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 £2.20

$3.58 €3.19

-18.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.30

$1.98 €1.77

-13.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.66 £2.77

$3.27 €2.92

11.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.43 £2.59

$3.81 €3.40

-9.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 £1.33

$2.13 €1.90

-17.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 £1.39

$2.21 €1.97

-16.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.49 €1.33

-12.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.48

$1.01 €0.90

94.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.60 £17.07

$10.49 €9.37

115.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.17 £8.44

$6.76 €6.03

65.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.28 £2.48

$1.34 €1.20

144.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 £3.11

$2.10 €1.87

96.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.89 £2.94

$4.37 €3.90

-10.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.4 £70.6

$71.0 €63.3

31.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.05 £6.09

$5.29 €4.72

52.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.57 £1.94

$3.05 €2.73

-15.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.3 £38.03

$36.30 €32.39

38.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.58

$2.28 €2.03

-8.33%

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

$38.2K £28.9K

$33.2K €29.7K

15.00%

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

$40.8K £30.8K

$39.1K €34.9K

4.47%

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

$336 £254

$379 €339

-11.41%

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

$18.66 £14.10

$19.31 €17.23

-3.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.12 £31.83

$48.41 €43.20

-12.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.6 £48.79

$40.31 €35.97

60.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.61 £15.57

$35.51 €31.69

-41.96%

Cinema Ticket

$17.06 £12.89

$15.53 €13.86

9.85%

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

$2,538 £1,918

$144 €128

1666.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.2K £26.6K

$15.8K €14.1K

123.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 £66.6

$94.6 €84.5

-6.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.02 £35.54

$46.33 €41.34

1.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.3 £70.5

$103 €92.2

-9.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 £97.2

$141 €126

-8.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,080 £1,572

$1,488 €1,328

39.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,717 £1,297

$1,098 €980

56.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,168 £2,394

$2,665 €2,378

18.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,686 £2,030

$2,080 €1,856

29.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,021 £6,817

$8,578 €7,655

5.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,852 £4,422

$5,438 €4,853

7.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,402 £3,327

$3,487 €3,112

26.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

3.8

32.63%

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

Last update for Cambridge: October 4, 2026

Last update for Berlin: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge

$1.7K 54.4%

Berlin

$1.1K 43.3% 36% $619

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$397 12.6%

Berlin

$447 17.6% 12.7% $50

Eating Out

Cambridge

$329 10.4%

Berlin

$289 11.4% 12.2% $40

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$325 10.3%

Berlin

$351 13.8% 8% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$161 5.1%

Berlin

$174 6.8% 8% $13

Getting Around

Cambridge

$130 4.1%

Berlin

$109 4.3% 16.1% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$99 3.1%

Berlin

$71 2.8% 27.7% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,080 in Cambridge versus $1,488 in Berlin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 26% higher in Cambridge, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $89.0 in Cambridge versus $80.0 in Berlin. Groceries tell a different story – $325 in Cambridge vs $351 in Berlin – so Cambridge wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cambridge

🇩🇪 Berlin

🕒 Local time

05:54 5:54 AM

06:54 6:54 AM

1 h ahead of Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

145,818

3,769,962 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

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

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cambridge Berlin 900 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cambridge
Berlin

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

Cambridge vs Berlin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cambridge is pricier by about 25%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,790 per month in Cambridge and $3,818 in Berlin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Berlin, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,193 in Cambridge and $2,545 in Berlin. That's a gap of about 25%.

Public transport costs about 32% less in Berlin. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$2,500 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $3,193 in Cambridge and $2,545 in Berlin. You'll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Berlin – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Berlin. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cambridge makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.