Berlin vs Columbus - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Berlin	Columbus
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2222	$2181
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4975	$5273
🏠 One person rent	$1217	$1256
🏘️ Family rent	$2066	$2214
🍽️ Food expenses	$555	$662
🚐 Transport expenses	$304	$125
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3412	$3957
😷 Air quality	Good	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	19 km	10 km
🎓 Higher education	100	72
😀 Quality of life	96	90
🏙️ Population	3.78M	906K

The cost of living in Berlin is 2% more expensive than in Columbus. Cities ranked 1418th and 1512th ($2222 vs $2181) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 1292nd in Germany and the United States, respectively. Check Germany vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Berlin compared to 1.8 months in Columbus. Berlin ranked 4th best city to live in Germany vs Columbus ranked 64th in the United States, while ranked 35th and 217th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Berlin vs Columbus infographic

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Prices in Berlin vs Columbus

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

	Berlin	Columbus
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$16.6	$19.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$66.5	$68
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$13.4	$12.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.2	$6.21
☕ Cappuccino	$4.41	$4.98
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.43	$2.74
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1250	$1298
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$928	$973
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2200	$2399
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1631	$1787
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$180	$157
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$277	$244
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$45.2	$60.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.62%	6.42%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$8887	$3028
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$6036	$2566
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$4.44	$2.01
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$66.5	$61.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$28.6	$15.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.98	$0.83
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.38	$0.92
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.12	$3.13
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.73	$4.38
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.11	$4.13
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.1	$13.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.2	$14.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.3	$16.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.44	$6.06
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.05	$2.14
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.7	$6.2
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.89	$4.57
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.48	$3.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.09	$3.6
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.75	$1.36
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.13	$3.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.24	$18.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.22	$2.88
🚬 Cigarette pack	$10.1	$9.33
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.5	$9.22
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.6	$3.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.93	$4.04
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.89	$2.23
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$36.4	$40.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.8	$11.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$67	$86.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.1	$19.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$86.5	$56.1
👟 Brand Sneakers	$104	$86.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$149	$1105
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$9480	$28983

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Berlin

Distance	City	Cost of living
15 km or 9.2 mi	Teltow	$1868
18 km or 11 mi	Hohen Neuendorf	$1893
18 km or 11 mi	Hennigsdorf	$1892
20 km or 13 mi	Falkensee	$1862
21 km or 13 mi	Bernau bei Berlin	$1888
25 km or 16 mi	Potsdam	$1902
25 km or 16 mi	Ludwigsfelde	$1851
28 km or 18 mi	Oranienburg	$1887
30 km or 19 mi	Konigs Wusterhausen	$1841
34 km or 21 mi	Werder	$1826
34 km or 21 mi	Strausberg	$1856
46 km or 29 mi	Eberswalde	$1862
49 km or 31 mi	Furstenwalde	$1776
50 km or 31 mi	Luckenwalde	$1810
57 km or 36 mi	Brandenburg an der Havel	$1839
60 km or 37 mi	Neuruppin	$1826
72 km or 44 mi	Rathenow	$1822
81 km or 50 mi	Frankfurt	$1681
86 km or 53 mi	Schwedt	$1852
88 km or 55 mi	Wittenberg	$1454
97 km or 60 mi	Neustrelitz	$1484
97 km or 60 mi	Eisenhuttenstadt	$1567
104 km or 65 mi	Stendal	$1430
106 km or 66 mi	Cottbus	$1363
107 km or 67 mi	Burg bei Magdeburg	$1425
107 km or 67 mi	Zerbst	$1424
109 km or 68 mi	Dessau-Rolau	$1436
109 km or 68 mi	Torgau	$1471
116 km or 72 mi	Neubrandenburg	$1501
119 km or 74 mi	Senftenberg	$1486
121 km or 75 mi	Waren	$1479
124 km or 77 mi	Bitterfeld-Wolfen	$1421
124 km or 77 mi	Schonebeck	$1417
125 km or 78 mi	Spremberg	$1435
127 km or 79 mi	Magdeburg	$1411
128 km or 79 mi	Szczecin	$1166
128 km or 80 mi	Kothen	$1422
128 km or 80 mi	Gorzow Wielkopolski	$1113
131 km or 81 mi	Delitzsch	$1563
134 km or 83 mi	Hoyerswerda	$1446

Cities near Columbus

Distance	City	Cost of living
8.6 km or 5.3 mi	Upper Arlington	$2105
11 km or 7.1 mi	Grove	$2091
13 km or 8.3 mi	Gahanna	$2020
15 km or 9 mi	Hilliard	$2094
17 km or 11 mi	Reynoldsburg	$2030
18 km or 11 mi	Dublin	$2084
19 km or 12 mi	Westerville	$1836
22 km or 13 mi	Pickerington	$2014
38 km or 24 mi	Delaware	$2028
43 km or 27 mi	Lancaster	$1951
43 km or 27 mi	Marysville	$2019
51 km or 32 mi	Newark	$1932
69 km or 43 mi	Springfield	$1933
70 km or 43 mi	Chillicothe	$1933
70 km or 44 mi	Marion	$1954
84 km or 52 mi	Zanesville	$1928
86 km or 53 mi	Xenia	$1918
89 km or 55 mi	Fairborn	$1842
94 km or 59 mi	Beavercreek	$1918
97 km or 60 mi	Huber Heights	$1934
97 km or 60 mi	Mansfield	$1697
98 km or 61 mi	Riverside	$1947
103 km or 64 mi	Kettering	$1961
103 km or 64 mi	Troy	$1965
104 km or 65 mi	Athens	$1571
104 km or 65 mi	Centerville	$1942
105 km or 65 mi	Dayton	$1917
105 km or 65 mi	Sidney	$2025
108 km or 67 mi	Piqua	$1980
112 km or 69 mi	Trotwood	$1957
116 km or 72 mi	Ashland	$1684
120 km or 74 mi	Lebanon	$1850
128 km or 80 mi	Middletown	$1495
128 km or 80 mi	Lima	$2188
130 km or 81 mi	Wooster	$1482
131 km or 81 mi	Mason	$1899
132 km or 82 mi	Findlay	$1922
136 km or 84 mi	Portsmouth	$1493
144 km or 90 mi	New Philadelphia	$1743
146 km or 91 mi	Norwalk	$2061