Berlin vs Zurich - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Berlin	Zurich
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2027	$3296
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4661	$8076
🏠 One person rent	$1127	$1966
🏘️ Family rent	$2029	$3466
🍽️ Food expenses	$505	$863
🚐 Transport expenses	$258	$211
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3225	$7242
😷 Air quality	Good	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	19 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	100	81
😀 Quality of life	95	98
🏙️ Population	3.78M	449K

The cost of living in Berlin is 38% less expensive than in Zurich. Cities ranked 1762nd and 59th ($2027 vs $3296) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 2nd in Germany and Switzerland, respectively. Check Germany vs Switzerland comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Berlin compared to 2.2 months in Zurich. Berlin ranked 3rd best city to live in Germany vs Zurich ranked 1st in Switzerland, while ranked 21st and 5th 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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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/berlin/zurich.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Berlin vs Zurich infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/berlin/zurich" target="_blank">Berlin vs Zurich - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

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	$14.6	$26
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$65.3	$111
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12.5	$17.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$4.57	$8.89
☕ Cappuccino	$3.85	$6.48
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.94	$5.47
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1156	$2155
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$832	$1671
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2233	$4080
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1562	$2967
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$190	$148
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$293	$226
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$40.1	$50.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.88%	2.17%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$8133	$24070
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5908	$5867
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3.68	$4.88
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$57.5	$94.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$23.9	$41.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.81	$2.08
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.28	$1.99
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.93	$2.98
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.88	$3.45
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.66	$7.49
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.2	$22
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11	$22.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.7	$45.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.93	$3.52
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.94	$2.34
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.27	$2.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.75	$5.08
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.99	$2.6
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.81	$2.32
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.55	$0.79
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.9	$3.38
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.55	$14.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.2	$2.32
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.01	$10
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.37	$21.1
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.2	$5.47
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.73	$3.9
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.11	$4.01
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$33.3	$72.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13	$21.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$59.3	$138
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.3	$54.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$88.2	$120
👟 Brand Sneakers	$95.1	$124
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$186	$2498
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$9774	$29610

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

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 Zurich

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Altstetten	$3037
6.4 km or 4 mi	Dubendorf	$2988
11 km or 6.6 mi	Dietikon	$2934
14 km or 8.6 mi	Horgen	$2976
14 km or 8.6 mi	Uster	$2974
16 km or 9.7 mi	Bulach	$2873
19 km or 12 mi	Wettingen	$2970
19 km or 12 mi	Wadenswil	$2960
19 km or 12 mi	Winterthur	$3032
20 km or 13 mi	Wetzikon	$2893
20 km or 13 mi	Baden	$3059
20 km or 13 mi	Baar	$3099
23 km or 15 mi	Zug	$3426
28 km or 17 mi	Rapperswil-Jona	$2861
33 km or 21 mi	Frauenfeld	$2379
36 km or 22 mi	Schaffhausen	$2419
37 km or 23 mi	Waldshut-Tiengen	$1472
37 km or 23 mi	Aarau	$2252
38 km or 24 mi	Emmen	$2897
40 km or 25 mi	Wil	$2262
40 km or 25 mi	Lucerne	$2931
43 km or 27 mi	Kriens	$2891
48 km or 30 mi	Singen	$1555
51 km or 32 mi	Radolfzell	$1609
56 km or 35 mi	Kreuzlingen	$2614
57 km or 36 mi	Konstanz	$1731
60 km or 37 mi	Rheinfelden	$1447
63 km or 39 mi	St. Gallen	$2464
63 km or 39 mi	Uberlingen	$1641
64 km or 40 mi	Donaueschingen	$1382
70 km or 44 mi	Riehen	$3234
71 km or 44 mi	Tuttlingen	$1453
71 km or 44 mi	Lorrach	$1434
74 km or 46 mi	Weil am Rhein	$1442
74 km or 46 mi	Basel	$2643
76 km or 47 mi	Villingen-Schwenningen	$1267
77 km or 48 mi	Saint-Louis	$1286
77 km or 48 mi	Friedrichshafen	$1656
77 km or 48 mi	Schaan	$2352
78 km or 48 mi	Allschwil	$2717