Berlin vs Zurich - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Berlin	Zurich
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2222	$3691
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4975	$8778
🏠 One person rent	$1217	$2299
🏘️ Family rent	$2066	$4069
🍽️ Food expenses	$555	$919
🚐 Transport expenses	$304	$198
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3412	$8151
😷 Air quality	Good	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	19 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	100	81
😀 Quality of life	96	100
🏙️ Population	3.78M	449K

The cost of living in Berlin is 40% less expensive than in Zurich. Cities ranked 1418th and 23rd ($2222 vs $3691) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 3rd in Germany and Switzerland, respectively. Check Germany vs Switzerland comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Berlin compared to 2.2 months in Zurich. Berlin ranked 4th best city to live in Germany vs Zurich ranked 1st in Switzerland, while ranked 35th and 2nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Berlin vs Zurich infographic

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Prices in Berlin vs Zurich

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

	Berlin	Zurich
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$16.6	$27.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$66.5	$90.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$13.4	$20.1
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.2	$9.69
☕ Cappuccino	$4.41	$7.32
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.43	$5.52
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1250	$2543
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$928	$1977
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2200	$4563
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1631	$3579
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$180	$157
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$277	$240
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$45.2	$52.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.62%	2.08%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$8887	$24740
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$6036	$9963
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$4.44	$4.35
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$66.5	$109
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$28.6	$33.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.98	$2.26
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.38	$2.29
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.12	$3.29
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.73	$3.54
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.11	$8.34
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.1	$24.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.2	$23.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.3	$53.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.44	$4.29
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.05	$2.89
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.7	$3.33
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.89	$5.27
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.48	$2.97
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.09	$2.27
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.75	$1.11
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.13	$3.93
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.24	$18.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.22	$2.74
🚬 Cigarette pack	$10.1	$11.2
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.5	$20.8
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.6	$5.39
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.93	$4.88
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.89	$3.84
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$36.4	$83.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.8	$23.3
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$67	$138
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.1	$55.6
👖 Brand Jeans	$86.5	$138
👟 Brand Sneakers	$104	$150
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$149	$2616
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$9480	$22875

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 Zurich

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Altstetten	$3392
6.4 km or 4 mi	Dubendorf	$3276
11 km or 6.6 mi	Dietikon	$3239
14 km or 8.6 mi	Horgen	$3282
14 km or 8.6 mi	Uster	$3249
16 km or 9.7 mi	Bulach	$3153
19 km or 12 mi	Wettingen	$3207
19 km or 12 mi	Wadenswil	$3225
19 km or 12 mi	Winterthur	$3207
20 km or 13 mi	Wetzikon	$3180
20 km or 13 mi	Baden	$3240
20 km or 13 mi	Baar	$3381
23 km or 15 mi	Zug	$3836
28 km or 17 mi	Rapperswil-Jona	$3169
33 km or 21 mi	Frauenfeld	$2747
36 km or 22 mi	Schaffhausen	$2699
37 km or 23 mi	Waldshut-Tiengen	$1684
37 km or 23 mi	Aarau	$2489
38 km or 24 mi	Emmen	$3197
40 km or 25 mi	Wil	$2650
40 km or 25 mi	Lucerne	$3231
43 km or 27 mi	Kriens	$3175
48 km or 30 mi	Singen	$1705
51 km or 32 mi	Radolfzell	$1766
56 km or 35 mi	Kreuzlingen	$2924
57 km or 36 mi	Konstanz	$1887
60 km or 37 mi	Rheinfelden	$1690
63 km or 39 mi	St. Gallen	$2694
63 km or 39 mi	Uberlingen	$1810
64 km or 40 mi	Donaueschingen	$1537
70 km or 44 mi	Riehen	$3565
71 km or 44 mi	Tuttlingen	$1593
71 km or 44 mi	Lorrach	$1694
74 km or 46 mi	Weil am Rhein	$1698
74 km or 46 mi	Basel	$2964
76 km or 47 mi	Villingen-Schwenningen	$1397
77 km or 48 mi	Saint-Louis	$1447
77 km or 48 mi	Friedrichshafen	$1839
77 km or 48 mi	Schaan	$2443
78 km or 48 mi	Allschwil	$3041