Cost of living comparison
compared to
Essen vs. Berlin Cost of Living Summary
Essen is 21.1% cheaper than Berlin.
Essen vs. Berlin Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Essen instead of Berlin, you would:
pay 6.3% more for restaurants
|
Berlin
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.80
€14.95
|
$20.16
€17.94
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.44
€11.96
|
$13.44
€11.96
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.44
€3.06
|
$3.20
€2.85
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.10
€2.76
|
$2.71
€2.41
|
|
Berlin vs. Essen - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.4% less for groceries
|
Berlin
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.40
€2.14
|
$2.13
€1.90
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.59
€7.65
|
$8.23
€7.33
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.72
€4.20
|
$4.70
€4.18
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.47
€3.98
|
$3.70
€3.29
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.44
€4.84
|
$4.73
€4.21
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.61
€1.43
|
$1.49
€1.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.90
€0.81
|
$0.94
€0.84
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.52
€1.35
|
$1.00
€0.89
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.70
€1.51
|
$1.81
€1.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.84
|
$0.61
€0.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.98
€0.87
|
$0.58
€0.52
|
|
Berlin vs. Essen - Cost of groceries
pay 2.2% less for transportation
|
Berlin
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.66
€7.71
|
$8.44
€7.51
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$70.54
€62.79
|
$64.94
€57.80
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,914.63
€29,295.20
|
$32,914.63
€29,295.20
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$30.29
€26.96
|
$32.65
€29.06
|
|
Berlin vs. Essen - Cost of transportation
pay 48.9% less for housing
|
Berlin
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.20
€42.90
|
$41.21
€36.68
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,478.95
€1,316.32
|
$637.02
€566.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,114.14
€991.62
|
$492.12
€438.01
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$295.08
€262.63
|
$297.02
€264.36
|
|
Berlin vs. Essen - Cost of housing
pay 38.9% more for childcare
|
Berlin
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$144.45
€128.56
|
$467.83
€416.38
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,853.22
€14,109.93
|
$9,450.01
€8,410.85
|
|
Berlin vs. Essen - Cost of childcare
pay 1.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Berlin
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.43
€4.83
|
$6.16
€5.48
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.34
€3.86
|
$3.82
€3.40
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.53
€9.37
|
$9.74
€8.67
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.06
€35.65
|
$41.21
€36.68
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.68
€13.95
|
$15.11
€13.45
|
|
Berlin vs. Essen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.3% more for clothing
|
Berlin
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$95.44
€84.95
|
$96.07
€85.51
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.03
€41.86
|
$83.79
€74.58
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.60
€93.09
|
$109.88
€97.80
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$141.17
€125.65
|
$156.72
€139.48
|
|
Berlin vs. Essen - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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