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

😐 Solo nomad: Munich is 4% more expensive than Essen without rent, and 37.6% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Munich is 6.2% more expensive than Essen without rent, and 37.1% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.21 €18.32

$18.31 €15.81

15.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.9 €81.1

$70.7 €61.1

32.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.64 €11.78

$13.96 €12.05

-2.29%

Cappuccino

$4.38 €3.78

$3.66 €3.16

19.67%

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

$3.96 €3.42

$2.5 €2.16

58.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 €3.15

$2.46 €2.12

48.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.75 €4.96

$4.78 €4.13

20.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.71 €4.93

$4.56 €3.94

25.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.5 €1.3

$1.35 €1.17

11.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 €1.91

$2.14 €1.85

3.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.24 €2.79

$3.29 €2.84

-1.52%

Eggs

$3.97 €3.43

$3.71 €3.2

7.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.88 €15.44

$14.91 €12.88

19.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.71 €9.25

$14.62 €12.63

-26.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.82 €16.25

$21.88 €18.89

-13.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 €2.8

$3.27 €2.82

-0.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.22 €1.92

$1.83 €1.58

21.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.51 €2.17

$2.26 €1.95

11.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.92 €3.38

$4.89 €4.22

-19.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.68 €1.45

$1.69 €1.46

-0.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 €1.32

$1.63 €1.41

-6.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.61 €1.39

$1.88 €1.63

-14.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 €0.88

$1.12 €0.96

-8.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.88 €8.53

$9.25 €7.98

6.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.05 €6.95

$6.84 €5.91

17.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 €1.05

$1.09 €0.94

11.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 €1.46

$1.73 €1.49

-2.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.51 €3.89

$3.9 €3.36

15.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66 €57

$62.2 €53.7

6.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.3 €5.44

$5.1 €4.41

23.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.64 €2.28

$2.74 €2.36

-3.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$44.16 €38.13

$41.55 €35.87

6.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 €1.69

$2.09 €1.8

-6.22%

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

$31.7K €27.4K

$32.1K €27.7K

-1.05%

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

$36.7K €31.7K

$38.3K €33.1K

-4.22%

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

$401 €346

$386 €333

3.84%

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

$16.71 €14.43

$34.88 €30.12

-52.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.3 €39.98

$53.4 €46.12

-13.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.4 €45.22

$37.14 €32.07

41.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.89 €29.26

$35.34 €30.51

-4.10%

Cinema Ticket

$16.48 €14.23

$17.26 €14.9

-4.52%

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

$975 €842

$469 €405

108.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.3K €13.2K

$9,651 €8,333

58.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$108 €93

$95.3 €82.3

13.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.44 €38.37

$74.3 €64.2

-40.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.1 €84.7

$105 €90.5

-6.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 €115

$139 €120

-4.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 €1,549

$748 €645

140.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,334 €1,151

$582 €503

129.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,376 €2,915

$1,534 €1,325

120.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,590 €2,236

$1,058 €914

144.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.1K €11.3K

$4,419 €3,816

196.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,363 €8,084

$3,340 €2,884

180.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,194 €3,621

$3,402 €2,937

23.29%

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 Munich: October 27, 2025

Last update for Essen: October 28, 2025

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