Cost of living comparison

compared to

Frankfurt vs. Bethesda Cost of Living Summary

Frankfurt is 12.7% cheaper than Bethesda.

Restaurants
pay 0.1% more in Frankfurt
Groceries
pay 21.3% less in Frankfurt
Transportation
pay 44.3% more in Frankfurt
Housing
pay 23.9% less in Frankfurt
Childcare
pay 34.3% less in Frankfurt
Entertainment and Sports
pay 17.4% less in Frankfurt
Clothing
pay 14.2% less in Frankfurt

The cost of transportation and restaurants in Frankfurt are more expensive than in Bethesda. Expenses including childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Frankfurt.

Frankfurt vs. Bethesda Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Frankfurt instead of Bethesda, you would:

pay 0.1% more for restaurants

 
Bethesda
Frankfurt
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $22.50
 
$16.80
€15.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.00
 
$13.44
€12.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.00
 
$3.79
€3.38

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pay 21.3% less for groceries

 
Bethesda
Frankfurt
Bread
1 loaf
$4.23
 
$2.19
€1.96
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.43
 
$6.86
€6.13
Milk (1 gallon) $4.47
 
$5.33
€4.76

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pay 44.3% more for transportation

 
Bethesda
Frankfurt
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.63
 
$8.53
€7.61
Monthly public transit pass $100.00
 
$70.54
€62.99
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $23,000.00
 
$32,914.63
€29,389.37

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pay 23.9% less for housing

 
Bethesda
Frankfurt
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$62.00
 
$47.15
€42.10
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,300.00
 
$1,318.90
€1,177.64
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,666.67
 
$1,097.23
€979.71

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pay 34.3% less for childcare

 
Bethesda
Frankfurt
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,597.92
 
$1,086.75
€970.36
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $36,066.67
 
$22,920.26
€20,465.43

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pay 17.4% less for entertainment and sports

 
Bethesda
Frankfurt
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $7.00
 
$5.60
€5.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.50
 
$4.49
€4.01
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$10.55
 
$9.74
€8.70

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pay 14.2% less for clothing

 
Bethesda
Frankfurt
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$55.33
 
$86.76
€77.46
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$56.67
 
$33.49
€29.90
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$102.08
 
$84.22
€75.20

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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