Berlin vs Cologne - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Berlin Cologne
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2027
$1744
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4661
$4212
🏠 One person rent
$1127
$947
🏘️ Family rent
$2029
$1673
🍽️ Food expenses
$505
$491
🚐 Transport expenses
$258
$174
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3225
$3148
😷 Air quality
Good
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
19 km
15 km
🎓 Higher education
100
92
😀 Quality of life
95
96
🏙️ Population
3.78M
1.09M

The cost of living in Berlin is 16% more expensive than in Cologne. Cities ranked 1762nd and 2551st ($2027 vs $1744) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 24th in Germany.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Berlin compared to 1.8 months in Cologne. Ranked 3rd vs 2nd best cities to live in Germany, and 21st vs 12th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Berlin vs Cologne infographic

Share this infographic!

Prices in Berlin vs Cologne

Prices for goods and services in Berlin and Cologne are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Berlin Cologne
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$14.6
$13.1
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$65.3
$61.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12.5
$10.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.57
$4.67
 Cappuccino
$3.85
$3.64
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.94
$3.1
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1156
$963
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$832
$743
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2233
$1902
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1562
$1332
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$190
$120
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$293
$186
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$40.1
$40.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.88%
4.01%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8133
$6163
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5908
$5539
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.68
$3.35
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$57.5
$56.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$23.9
$22.1
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.81
$1.83
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.28
$1.23
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.93
$1.8
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.88
$2.69
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.66
$3.95
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.2
$13.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11
$13.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.7
$20.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.93
$2.71
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$1.55
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.27
$2.06
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.75
$4.26
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.99
$1.64
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$1.64
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.55
$0.64
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.9
$2.22
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.55
$6.56
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.2
$1.02
🚬 Cigarette pack
$9.01
$8.09
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$9.37
$8.17
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.2
$2.2
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.73
$1.75
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.11
$1.5
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$33.3
$32.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13
$11.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$59.3
$49.2
💇 Haircut, simple
$19.3
$18.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$88.2
$94.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$95.1
$103
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$186
$773
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$9774
$15595

Cost of living in other countries

BerlinCologne

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Berlin

Distance City Cost of living
15 km or 9.2 mi Teltow
$1707
18 km or 11 mi Hohen Neuendorf
$1782
18 km or 11 mi Hennigsdorf
$1770
20 km or 13 mi Falkensee
$1714
21 km or 13 mi Bernau bei Berlin
$1763
25 km or 16 mi Potsdam
$1724
25 km or 16 mi Ludwigsfelde
$1691
28 km or 18 mi Oranienburg
$1796
30 km or 19 mi Konigs Wusterhausen
$1695
34 km or 21 mi Werder
$1665
34 km or 21 mi Strausberg
$1711
46 km or 29 mi Eberswalde
$1714
49 km or 31 mi Furstenwalde
$1632
50 km or 31 mi Luckenwalde
$1663
57 km or 36 mi Brandenburg an der Havel
$1686
60 km or 37 mi Neuruppin
$1723
72 km or 44 mi Rathenow
$1690
81 km or 50 mi Frankfurt
$1534
86 km or 53 mi Schwedt
$1644
88 km or 55 mi Wittenberg
$1354
97 km or 60 mi Neustrelitz
$1442
97 km or 60 mi Eisenhuttenstadt
$1437
104 km or 65 mi Stendal
$1319
106 km or 66 mi Cottbus
$1241
107 km or 67 mi Burg bei Magdeburg
$1315
107 km or 67 mi Zerbst
$1332
109 km or 68 mi Dessau-Rolau
$1340
109 km or 68 mi Torgau
$1350
116 km or 72 mi Neubrandenburg
$1421
119 km or 74 mi Senftenberg
$1351
121 km or 75 mi Waren
$1395
124 km or 77 mi Bitterfeld-Wolfen
$1308
124 km or 77 mi Schonebeck
$1326
125 km or 78 mi Spremberg
$1310
127 km or 79 mi Magdeburg
$1282
128 km or 79 mi Szczecin
$1108
128 km or 80 mi Kothen
$1346
128 km or 80 mi Gorzow Wielkopolski
$1022
131 km or 81 mi Delitzsch
$1419
134 km or 83 mi Hoyerswerda
$1373

Cities near Cologne

Distance City Cost of living
9.2 km or 5.7 mi Hurth
$1578
10 km or 6.4 mi Leverkusen
$1822
10 km or 6.4 mi Frechen
$1569
13 km or 7.9 mi Bruhl
$1559
13 km or 7.9 mi Pulheim
$1572
14 km or 8.4 mi Wesseling
$1554
14 km or 8.5 mi Bergisch Gladbach
$1586
15 km or 9.3 mi Niederkassel
$1551
16 km or 10 mi Rosrath
$1536
18 km or 11 mi Monheim am Rhein
$1576
19 km or 12 mi Dormagen
$1561
19 km or 12 mi Erftstadt
$1534
19 km or 12 mi Langenfeld
$1577
20 km or 12 mi Troisdorf
$1544
20 km or 12 mi Leichlingen
$1559
20 km or 12 mi Kerpen
$1529
21 km or 13 mi Bornheim
$1554
21 km or 13 mi Lohmar
$1523
22 km or 14 mi Bergheim
$1518
23 km or 15 mi Siegburg
$1522
24 km or 15 mi Overath
$1497
25 km or 16 mi Sankt Augustin
$1542
25 km or 16 mi Bonn
$1677
26 km or 16 mi Hilden
$1522
26 km or 16 mi Solingen
$1580
27 km or 17 mi Elsdorf
$1502
28 km or 17 mi Wermelskirchen
$1497
28 km or 17 mi Haan
$1517
28 km or 18 mi Bedburg
$1504
29 km or 18 mi Hennef
$1494
31 km or 19 mi Grevenbroich
$1499
31 km or 19 mi Remscheid
$1494
31 km or 20 mi Erkrath
$1516
33 km or 20 mi Konigswinter
$1446
34 km or 21 mi Euskirchen
$1503
34 km or 21 mi Neuss
$1495
34 km or 21 mi Mettmann
$1479
35 km or 21 mi Zulpich
$1490
35 km or 21 mi Meckenheim
$1500
35 km or 22 mi Dusseldorf
$1772