Cost of living comparison
compared to
Essen vs. Paris Cost of Living Summary
Essen is 29.0% cheaper than Paris.
Essen vs. Paris Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Essen instead of Paris, you would:
pay 1.6% more for restaurants
|
Paris
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.92
€15.95
|
$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) |
$4.55
€4.05
|
$3.20
€2.85
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.76
€2.46
|
$2.71
€2.41
|
|
Paris vs. Essen - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.8% less for groceries
|
Paris
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.49
€2.21
|
$2.13
€1.90
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.08
€9.87
|
$8.23
€7.33
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.83
€5.19
|
$4.70
€4.18
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.41
€3.93
|
$3.70
€3.29
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.25
€5.56
|
$4.73
€4.21
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.47
€1.31
|
$1.49
€1.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.90
|
$0.94
€0.84
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.32
€1.17
|
$1.00
€0.89
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.92
€1.71
|
$1.81
€1.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.89
€0.79
|
$0.61
€0.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.13
€1.01
|
$0.58
€0.52
|
|
Paris vs. Essen - Cost of groceries
pay 7.9% less for transportation
|
Paris
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.46
€7.53
|
$8.44
€7.51
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$101.67
€90.49
|
$64.94
€57.80
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,599.83
€30,795.09
|
$32,914.63
€29,295.20
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.60
€18.34
|
$32.65
€29.06
|
|
Paris vs. Essen - Cost of transportation
pay 46.7% less for housing
|
Paris
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$29.90
€26.61
|
$41.21
€36.68
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,564.13
€1,392.13
|
$637.02
€566.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,192.71
€1,061.55
|
$492.12
€438.01
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$188.92
€168.15
|
$297.02
€264.36
|
|
Paris vs. Essen - Cost of housing
pay 69.3% less for childcare
|
Paris
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,800.03
€1,602.09
|
$467.83
€416.38
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,004.30
€23,144.76
|
$9,450.01
€8,410.85
|
|
Paris vs. Essen - Cost of childcare
pay 11.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Paris
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.84
€6.98
|
$6.16
€5.48
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.05
€4.50
|
$3.82
€3.40
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.56
€12.96
|
$9.74
€8.67
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.05
€34.75
|
$41.21
€36.68
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.56
€12.96
|
$15.11
€13.45
|
|
Paris vs. Essen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.2% more for clothing
|
Paris
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$110.29
€98.16
|
$96.07
€85.51
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$52.46
€46.69
|
$83.79
€74.58
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$118.77
€105.71
|
$109.88
€97.80
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$158.84
€141.38
|
$156.72
€139.48
|
|
Paris 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
Change currency:
Compare further: Paris vs. Essen
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in France vs. Germany.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within France and Germany.
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
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Essen or Paris. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.