Cost of Living Comparison Between Essen and Munich Cost of Living Comparison Between Essen and Munich

🙂 Solo nomad: Essen is 3.8% cheaper than Munich without rent, and 27.3% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Essen is 5.8% cheaper than Munich without rent, and 27.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.31 €15.81

$21.21 €18.32

-13.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.7 €61.1

$93.9 €81.1

-24.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.96 €12.05

$13.64 €11.78

2.35%

Cappuccino

$3.66 €3.16

$4.38 €3.78

-16.44%

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

$2.5 €2.16

$3.96 €3.42

-36.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 €2.12

$3.65 €3.15

-32.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.78 €4.13

$5.75 €4.96

-16.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 €3.94

$5.71 €4.93

-20.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 €1.17

$1.5 €1.3

-10.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.14 €1.85

$2.21 €1.91

-3.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.29 €2.84

$3.24 €2.79

1.54%

Eggs

$3.71 €3.2

$3.97 €3.43

-6.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.91 €12.88

$17.88 €15.44

-16.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.62 €12.63

$10.71 €9.25

36.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.88 €18.89

$18.82 €16.25

16.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 €2.82

$3.25 €2.8

0.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 €1.58

$2.22 €1.92

-17.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.26 €1.95

$2.51 €2.17

-9.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.89 €4.22

$3.92 €3.38

24.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 €1.46

$1.68 €1.45

0.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.63 €1.41

$1.53 €1.32

6.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.88 €1.63

$1.61 €1.39

16.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 €0.96

$1.02 €0.88

9.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.25 €7.98

$9.88 €8.53

-6.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.84 €5.91

$8.05 €6.95

-15.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.94

$1.22 €1.05

-10.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.49

$1.69 €1.46

2.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.9 €3.36

$4.51 €3.89

-13.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$62.2 €53.7

$66 €57

-5.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.1 €4.41

$6.3 €5.44

-19.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.74 €2.36

$2.64 €2.28

3.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.55 €35.87

$44.16 €38.13

-5.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 €1.8

$1.96 €1.69

6.63%

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

$32.1K €27.7K

$31.7K €27.4K

1.06%

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

$38.3K €33.1K

$36.7K €31.7K

4.40%

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

$386 €333

$401 €346

-3.70%

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

$34.88 €30.12

$16.71 €14.43

108.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.4 €46.12

$46.3 €39.98

15.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.14 €32.07

$52.4 €45.22

-29.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.34 €30.51

$33.89 €29.26

4.28%

Cinema Ticket

$17.26 €14.9

$16.48 €14.23

4.73%

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

$469 €405

$975 €842

-51.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,651 €8,333

$15.3K €13.2K

-36.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.3 €82.3

$108 €93

-11.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$74.3 €64.2

$44.44 €38.37

67.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €90.5

$98.1 €84.7

6.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 €120

$133 €115

4.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$748 €645

$1,794 €1,549

-58.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$582 €503

$1,334 €1,151

-56.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,534 €1,325

$3,376 €2,915

-54.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 €914

$2,590 €2,236

-59.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,419 €3,816

$13.1K €11.3K

-66.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,340 €2,884

$9,363 €8,084

-64.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,402 €2,937

$4,194 €3,621

-18.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.97

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

Last update for Essen: October 28, 2025

Last update for Munich: October 27, 2025

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