Cost of living comparison
compared to
Berlin vs. Cologne Cost of Living Summary
Berlin is 6.2% cheaper than Cologne.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.3% more in Berlin
- Groceries
-
pay 1.6% more in Berlin
- Transportation
-
pay 9.0% more in Berlin
- Housing
-
pay 6.3% more in Berlin
- Childcare
-
pay 63.6% less in Berlin
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.3% more in Berlin
- Clothing
-
pay 5.0% less in Berlin
The cost of transportation, restaurants, housing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Berlin are more expensive than in Cologne. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Berlin.
Berlin vs. Cologne Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Berlin instead of Cologne, you would:
pay 8.3% more for restaurants
|
Cologne
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.35
€14.04
|
$17.52
€15.05
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.03
|
$13.55
€11.64
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
€2.83
|
$3.49
€3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.85
€2.45
|
$2.98
€2.56
|
|
Cologne vs. Berlin - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.6% more for groceries
|
Cologne
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.33
€2.00
|
$2.25
€1.94
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.48
€6.42
|
$7.10
€6.10
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.88
€4.19
|
$5.13
€4.41
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.13
€3.55
|
$3.88
€3.33
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.34
€6.30
|
$5.52
€4.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.45
€1.24
|
$1.54
€1.33
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.84
€0.72
|
$0.94
€0.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.03
€0.88
|
$1.20
€1.03
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.20
€1.89
|
$1.76
€1.51
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.72
€0.61
|
$0.91
€0.78
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
€0.61
|
$0.78
€0.67
|
|
Cologne vs. Berlin - Cost of groceries
pay 9.0% more for transportation
|
Cologne
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.54
€6.47
|
$7.52
€6.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.74
€58.18
|
$68.91
€59.18
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,745.96
€27,263.78
|
$32,702.07
€28,084.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$24.29
€20.86
|
$32.00
€27.48
|
|
Cologne vs. Berlin - Cost of transportation
pay 6.3% more for housing
|
Cologne
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$45.41
€38.99
|
$50.32
€43.22
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,253.64
€1,076.64
|
$1,427.12
€1,225.63
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$973.32
€835.90
|
$1,068.35
€917.51
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$305.60
€262.45
|
$277.09
€237.97
|
|
Cologne vs. Berlin - Cost of housing
pay 63.6% less for childcare
|
Cologne
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$782.55
€672.07
|
$184.92
€158.81
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,466.49
€16,718.04
|
$9,579.95
€8,227.37
|
|
Cologne vs. Berlin - Cost of childcare
pay 0.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Cologne
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.26
€4.51
|
$5.26
€4.51
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.43
€3.81
|
$4.45
€3.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.58
€8.23
|
$10.16
€8.73
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.80
€37.62
|
$38.79
€33.31
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.02
€12.04
|
$14.89
€12.79
|
|
Cologne vs. Berlin - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.0% less for clothing
|
Cologne
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.11
€84.26
|
$93.79
€80.55
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.80
€37.61
|
$43.63
€37.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$109.99
€94.46
|
$106.67
€91.61
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$147.95
€127.06
|
$129.59
€111.30
|
|
Cologne vs. Berlin - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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