How Much We Spent Living in Berlin
Have you ever thought about living in a different city for a few months to experience it at a different level? Germany’s capital is a good city to try since it gives you a taste of the country but still has enough of an international feel. Berlin is a popular city for expats in Germany, and one of the many reasons is that it’s relatively inexpensive. Prices of certain things, like housing, are starting to catch up to the city’s popularity. However, we still found some things, like food, to be cheaper than in Freiburg. Here’s how much we spent in Berlin for three months.
This post is a little different from my normal travel spending posts. I did the averages a little differently since our expenses spanned a three month period. Amounts are listed in euros and US dollars. They don’t include expenses from our trips to Hamburg and Poznan. I also didn’t include our train tickets getting to Berlin at the beginning and getting back to Freiburg at the end.
How much we spent each month in Berlin
October: 2,288.41€ / $3,112.24
November: 1,761.71€ / $2,395.93
December: 1,672.64€ / $2,274.79
Total: 5,722.76€ / $7,782.96
What we spent in each category in three months
Accommodation: 2,239€ / $3,045.04
Transportation: 405€ / $550.80
Food: 2,412.52€ / $3,281.03
Activities: 272.28€ / $370.30
Misc: 393.96€ / $535.79
Total: 5,722.76€ / $7,782.96
Berlin accommodation costs
Renting an apartment through a site like Airbnb for one week can be more than half the cost of a monthly rental. So renting something for just a week at the beginning didn’t seem like a good option. Instead we booked a whole month, knowing we’d have plenty of time to find something else if we didn’t like it.
Well, we didn’t like the apartment, but after much searching, we decided to stick it out for the remaining months. Any others we found were much more expensive, too far from where Andy was working or we weren’t able to get in to look at them before committing.
The first month cost us 859€, but we were able to get a lower rate of 690€ per month for November and December. The rent included utilities and WiFi.
Update: There are a lot of new regulations regarding Airbnb in Berlin. Many apartments listed may not be legal anymore, so do your research before you book. You might be better off booking a hotel.
Berlin transportation costs
Staying in Berlin for three months meant buying monthly transport passes was by far the most economical choice. Andy bought a normal monthly pass for 78€ per month.
However there is another option that’s cheaper if you don’t need to use public transportation before 10AM (it’s between the hours of 3AM and 10AM) on weekdays, and it cost 57€ per month. I bought that one since I didn’t anticipate needing to go out early in the morning.
Cost of food in Berlin
We definitely spent more in this category than we normally do when we’re home. The kitchen in our apartment was not very good, and the overall discomfort encouraged us to eat out more often. And to have a few extra beers.
We also wanted to try many different restaurants since we were in a new city. Having access to so many international cuisines and actual spicy food was a lot of fun for us, too.
Our monthly average was about 804.17€, though October was definitely higher than November and December. Restaurant prices were reasonable and sometimes even cheap. Grocery prices seemed similar to what we pay in Freiburg, though I did buy produce at the Turkish grocery store nearby at extremely low prices.
Cost of activities in Berlin
Even though we were in Berlin primarily so Andy could work, we made sure to do lots of sightseeing. Things like the East Side Gallery and the wall memorial at Bernauerstrasse are free. Other things like the TV tower, boat tour on the Spree River and a hockey game were not.
We also went to the movie theater together for the first time ever while in Berlin (the oddities of long distance dating) and we found an international group on meetup.com to go bowling with. And if you’re in town, be sure to check out some of the alternative things to do in Berlin.
This averages out to 90.76€ per month, but will vary greatly depending on which activities you choose to do.
Miscellaneous spending
I thought about cutting some items out of this category, but you will have some kind of miscellaneous expenses even if the items themselves are different. We bought several things to make our apartment rental more comfortable, like a pillow for Andy, a pan, a few knives and other kitchen items.
Occasionally we needed something from the pharmacy, toothpaste, more contact solution for me, stamps, a couple of haircuts for Andy, some postcards, gym clothes, and the cost of shipping some things back to Freiburg.
Obviously your expenses will vary but always remember to budget in things you don’t buy on a regular basis.
Our monthly average for living in Berlin came to about 1,907.59€. We definitely could have spent less by finding a cheaper apartment, eating out less, and drinking less. Also, this unfortunately doesn’t include expenses we can’t recoup from renting out our own apartment, such as health insurance, cell phone plans, and a few other things. Berlin is not an expensive city compared to other parts of western Europe, but it is still pricey compared to eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and many other parts of the world. While we could have done this cheaper, I’m glad we had the chance to experience much of what Berlin has to offer.
You might also enjoy:
- How Much We Spent Living in Pisa and Traveling in Tuscany
- How Much We Spent Traveling in Hamburg
- How Much We Spent Traveling in Europe for Two Months
- How Much We Spent Traveling in Southeast Asia for Two Months
- Or read more posts about real travel budgets


February 17, 2014 @ 9:17 AM
Sorry you didn’t like that apartment but budget wise, I think you did very well! Cheaper than Los Angeles, that’s for sure 😉 I’d love to spend a month in Berlin at least. As always, thanks for sharing! These posts are very helpful and just interesting to read.
Happy travels 🙂
February 18, 2014 @ 2:42 PM
Thanks Lauren! The savings was ultimately what kept us in that apartment the full 3 months. It would’ve cost 250-300 euros more per month (over the 690 price) for anything else we found that wasn’t too far from Andy’s office. We chose to use that savings on eating out in Berlin instead!
February 18, 2014 @ 4:29 PM
not bad! this is really a good average! we usally use to spend much more in berlin! nightlife is expensive there!
😉
February 19, 2014 @ 8:14 AM
Thanks! We like to have a couple of drinks now and then, but we’re not so into the nightlife, so I’m sure that saved us some money while we were in Berlin.
February 19, 2014 @ 3:02 PM
I kept hearing from all these people how affordable Berlin is, but then when I started looking at expenses, I just wasn’t seeing it. I guess they were comparing it with places like Paris, in which case it’s cheaper (except for public transportation which double that of Paris). We’re in Prague now, and that is definitely way cheaper than Berlin.
February 19, 2014 @ 3:09 PM
Berlin is definitely cheap compared to a lot of other major cities in western Europe. I believe it’s the cheapest western European capital city. There are definitely plenty of cheap food options. But housing prices are going up, apartment buildings keep getting renovated, which is great in theory, but often it means landlords will kick out the lower rent payers in order to renovate, then they raise rents drastically. And since so many people have been raving about Berlin for so long, especially from a price standpoint, I think it’s getting closer and closer to what you’d find in other cities. Also, what we spent on food and alcohol is way above what we would’ve spent had we cooked at home as much as we do when we’re in Freiburg. We also drank a couple of beers several nights a week which adds up after 3 months! I imagine Prague is cheaper than Berlin, though I’ve heard things are getting more expensive there as well. East Europe is so much cheaper, as we saw in Poland. Anyway, I hope you’re enjoying Prague, great city!
May 6, 2014 @ 8:33 AM
Thanks for laying out such a detailed expenses guide. It’s really helpful.
May 6, 2014 @ 2:00 PM
Thanks Renuka, I’m glad you found it helpful!
April 29, 2017 @ 2:51 PM
Hi Ali,
I’m an expat been living in Freiburg for three years. I work as a software developer here. I’m considering moving to Berlin but really not sure about it. How is live these days in Berlin? Do you regret leaving Freiburg?
I often hear nowadays that Berlin is now over-crowded. They say it’s really tough to get a flat there and the rents are now even more expensive than Freiburg! Also i often hear that it’s more stressful to live there.
Can you please shed more lights about the differences between the two cities? I wanna hear your opinion.
Many thanks again!
April 30, 2017 @ 10:38 AM
Hi Tim! I love living in Berlin. Absolutely no regrets, and I do not want to move back to Freiburg. Freiburg is a pretty place (and it does get a little bit more sun than Berlin) but for me it was too small. I love being in a big city with so many possibilities. There’s better food here, especially international options, more people to meet and make friends with, more possibilities of finding groups through meetup to enjoy activities I like. I think it can be more expensive simply because it’s a bigger city (3.5 million people vs 230,000 in Freiburg) but it’s still a pretty cheap place to be. Apartments get competitive if you’re looking for certain parts of town or within certain price range. My husband and I are probably paying a little above the average because we moved into a brand new building, but it had just about everything we wanted. So that really depends on your budget, if you’re looking for your own place vs sharing an apartment, and what part of town. Prenzlauer Berg is a very popular neighborhood, and it has gotten really expensive. I’m in Friedrichshain, and it’s a little cheaper. If you’re looking for something in a more competitive price range or neighborhood, you could easily show up to look at an apartment and be there with a dozen other people. Most people find a temporary place for their first month or two while they look for something more long term. But if you had to give notice in Freiburg, you’d probably have lots of time to come back up to Berlin, look at a bunch of apartments, and hopefully find something, even if you couldn’t move in for awhile. As far as stress…I don’t think it’s stressful to live here, but I don’t work in an office job, which was always a big source of stress when I lived in the US. Are you thinking of getting a full time position here or are you a freelancer? I think there are decent options either way, but you’d have to look at job sites and see who’s hiring for what, and talk to recruiters if you’re a freelancer. It’s probably worth you coming up to Berlin for a week or something and looking around, see what the city feels like, explore the different neighborhoods, and see if you think it’s someplace you might enjoy. I hope this helps, but let me know if you have any other questions!