Cost of living comparison
compared to
Berlin vs. Essen Cost of Living Summary
Berlin is 3.0% more expensive than Essen.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.3% more in Berlin
- Groceries
-
pay 1.3% more in Berlin
- Transportation
-
pay 2.0% more in Berlin
- Housing
-
pay 52.2% more in Berlin
- Childcare
-
pay 31.4% less in Berlin
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.5% more in Berlin
- Clothing
-
pay 13.7% less in Berlin
The cost of housing, restaurants, transportation, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Berlin are more expensive than in Essen. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Berlin.
Berlin vs. Essen Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Berlin instead of Essen, you would:
pay 10.3% more for restaurants
|
Essen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.86
€17.05
|
$17.52
€15.05
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.85
€11.03
|
$13.55
€11.64
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
€2.24
|
$3.49
€3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
€2.24
|
$2.98
€2.56
|
|
Essen vs. Berlin - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.3% more for groceries
|
Essen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.20
€1.89
|
$2.25
€1.94
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.54
€6.47
|
$7.10
€6.10
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.02
€4.31
|
$5.13
€4.41
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.80
€3.27
|
$3.88
€3.33
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
€5.70
|
$5.52
€4.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.49
€1.28
|
$1.54
€1.33
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.86
€0.74
|
$0.94
€0.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.04
€0.90
|
$1.20
€1.03
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
€1.90
|
$1.76
€1.51
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.76
€0.65
|
$0.91
€0.78
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.76
€0.66
|
$0.78
€0.67
|
|
Essen vs. Berlin - Cost of groceries
pay 2.0% more for transportation
|
Essen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.70
€6.61
|
$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) |
$30.37
€26.08
|
$32.00
€27.48
|
|
Essen vs. Berlin - Cost of transportation
pay 52.2% more for housing
|
Essen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.84
€35.94
|
$50.32
€43.22
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$734.67
€630.94
|
$1,427.12
€1,225.63
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$528.19
€453.62
|
$1,068.35
€917.51
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$301.44
€258.88
|
$277.09
€237.97
|
|
Essen vs. Berlin - Cost of housing
pay 31.4% less for childcare
|
Essen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$463.98
€398.47
|
$184.92
€158.81
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,857.25
€8,465.51
|
$9,579.95
€8,227.37
|
|
Essen vs. Berlin - Cost of childcare
pay 0.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Essen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.72
€4.92
|
$5.26
€4.51
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.80
€3.26
|
$4.45
€3.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.58
€8.23
|
$10.16
€8.73
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.94
€32.58
|
$38.79
€33.31
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.51
€15.04
|
$14.89
€12.79
|
|
Essen vs. Berlin - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.7% less for clothing
|
Essen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$100.21
€86.06
|
$93.79
€80.55
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$73.78
€63.36
|
$43.63
€37.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.84
€90.04
|
$106.67
€91.61
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$142.45
€122.34
|
$129.59
€111.30
|
|
Essen 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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