Cost of living comparison

Germany

compared to

France

France vs. Germany Cost of Living Summary

France is 1.4% cheaper than Germany overall.

Restaurants: pay 0.2% less in France
Groceries: pay 14.4% more in France
Transportation: pay 6.7% less in France
Housing: pay 11.3% less in France
Childcare: pay 14.0% more in France
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.5% more in France
Clothing: pay 1.0% more in France

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

Planning a move to France? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

France vs. Germany Cost Breakdown

If you lived in France instead of Germany, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.2% less for restaurants

	Germany	France
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.14 €14.48	$17.55 €15.74	+8.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.34 €11.07	$12.68 €11.38	+2.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.38 €3.03	$3.10 €2.78	-8.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.93 €2.63	$1.94 €1.74	-33.7%
Average			-0.2%

Germany vs. France - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.4% more for groceries

	Germany	France
Bread 1 loaf	$2.14 €1.92	$1.96 €1.76	-8.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.24 €6.49	$9.38 €8.42	+29.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.98 €4.47	$5.01 €4.49	+0.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.69 €3.31	$4.05 €3.63	+9.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.17 €4.64	$5.80 €5.20	+12.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.44 €1.29	$1.38 €1.24	-4.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.91 €0.82	$1.06 €0.95	+16.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.01 €0.90	$1.28 €1.15	+26.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.87 €1.68	$1.60 €1.44	-14.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 €0.57	$0.93 €0.83	+46.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 €0.54	$1.01 €0.91	+68.5%
Average			+14.4%

Germany vs. France - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.7% less for transportation

	Germany	France
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.07 €7.24	$8.00 €7.18	-0.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.73 €58.97	$53.34 €47.86	-18.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,242.72 €28,926.56	$33,426.60 €29,988.68	+3.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.60 €23.87	$20.80 €18.66	-21.8%
Average			-6.7%

Germany vs. France - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.3% less for housing

	Germany	France
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$45.10 €40.46	$31.99 €28.70	-29.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$839.53 €753.18	$816.57 €732.58	-2.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$674.34 €604.98	$649.54 €582.74	-3.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$256.19 €229.84	$153.65 €137.85	-40.0%
Average			-11.3%

Germany vs. France - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.0% more for childcare

	Germany	France
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$525.85 €471.77	$901.10 €808.43	+71.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,045.97 €15,292.79	$12,924.68 €11,595.38	-24.2%
Average			+14.0%

Germany vs. France - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Germany	France
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.03 €4.51	$7.05 €6.33	+40.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.91 €3.51	$3.64 €3.27	-7.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.66 €8.67	$13.52 €12.13	+40.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.74 €35.65	$38.05 €34.13	-4.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.03 €12.59	$12.82 €11.50	-8.6%
Average			+5.5%

Germany vs. France - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.0% more for clothing

	Germany	France
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$89.23 €80.06	$93.79 €84.14	+5.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.05 €39.52	$44.21 €39.66	+0.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$100.05 €89.76	$102.75 €92.18	+2.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$134.94 €121.06	$129.67 €116.33	-3.9%
Average			+1.0%

Germany vs. France - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Germany vs. France

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in France?

Quality of Life Comparison · 16 statistics

Be 2.0 times more likely to be unemployed in France

Size Comparison · See true size

Germany is about 1.5 times smaller than France.

Moving from Germany to France · OECD 2023

7,105 people moved from Germany to France.

City Size Comparison · See true size

Compare the size of Berlin vs Paris

More cost comparisons

Germany vs.

Australia

Germany vs.

United Kingdom

Germany vs.

United States

Germany vs.

California

Germany vs.

Canada

Germany vs.

Denmark

Germany vs.

Netherlands

Germany vs.

Texas

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Berlin vs. Paris

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Germany

Add prices for France

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about France or Germany. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.