My Real Cost of Living in Berlin as a Single Person in 2026

It seems that just about everyone wants to move to Berlin these days. People come for all sorts of reasons, like working at one of the city’s many startups, experiencing the epic club and party scene, or joining the ranks 25% of the city’s people are born elsewhere. 

The hype is real, and the current population of 3.91 million people has grown year over year. Berlin continues to remain popular, and despite becoming way more expensive, it remains one of Europe’s most affordable capitals compared to the likes of London or Paris.

 Recommended reading: How Much Does It Cost To Move To Germany? Use Our Calculator!

This report is a personal account of my cost of living in Berlin. By no means, am I attempting to depict my situation as typical. I’m simply hoping this honest glimpse into my monthly expenses will help you figure out how much it might cost for you to live in Berlin as well.

To put things into perspective before we get started:

⭐ I live on my own and have no children, but I do embrace clichés and call these two very cute cats, my roommates.

⭐ All expenses listed are 100% assumed by me.

⭐ I have a full-time job as a permanent employee and receive additional income from this site, as well as my travel blog.

⭐ This report doesn’t include my monthly business expenses, like AI and web hosting costs. I’ll make a separate post for that, at a later date.

Cost Of Living In Berlin: Fixed Monthly Expenses

1) Rent: €1140 per month (warm)

I moved to Mitte in January 2022 and now occupy a newly renovated, 75-square-meter apartment in a 18-story Plattenbau. In addition to the central location, the apartment comes with hardwood floors, two bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, a laundry room, and a bathroom with a bathtub. While the second bedroom currently functions as an office, gym, and guest room, there’s always an option to rent it out to a new roommate if money gets tight.

I admit that my rent is uncommonly low considering my location, flat size, and amenities. I’m lucky to rent from a private landlord (Vermieter) versus a big corporation like Deutsche Wohnen. Despite my discipline to use as little energy as possible, the related shared costs for our building only grew in 2024 so my rent went from €1050 to €1140 per month.

Recommended reading: Our Berlin life hacks post for tips about where to buy furniture, hire handy people, and more.

2) Health Insurance: €530 per month

Healthcare’s a significant expense for all of us, but well worth it considering it covers so many things like sick days, doctor’s visits, surgeries, basic dental, etc. The amount you contribute to healthcare depends on your income level. In Germany, statutory (public) health insurance is charged as a percentage of your gross monthly income and is set at a federal level. An additional small contribution is also charged by each insurer, with numbers varying. In 2026, the general rate is 14.6% of gross income, and then take for example, TK (my Krankenkasse and one of the most widely used ones) charges an additional contribution of 2.69%, bringing the monthly total to 17.29%.

Whether you’re employed full‑time or as a freelancer, that full percentage has to be paid and the difference is in who pays what. If you’re employed fulltime, your employer covers half of the costs, leaving you to pay the other half. If you’re a freelancer, you have to pay the full amount yourself, out of pocket. There is also an income ceiling for statutory health insurance contributions, called the Beitragsbemessungsgrenze. 

In 2026, contributions are only calculated on income up to €69,750 per year (€5,812.50 per month), so once your salary exceeds that ceiling, the amount you pay for public health insurance is effectively capped and stops rising as your income increases. Health insurance costs have risen significantly, as just a couple of years ago, that ceiling was €58,050 annually. Separately, if you earn more than €77,400 per year, you also have the option to leave statutory insurance and switch to private health insurance, though whether that’s a good idea is a whole other conversation.

Because I’m above that contribution ceiling and voluntarily insured with TK, my health insurance is charged on the maximum income. I currently pay about €530 per month for my share of public health insurance with TK, and as I’m employed in a permanent position, my employer pays roughly the same amount on top. In reality that means the total health‑insurance contribution is just over €1,000 per month, but only half of it actually leaves my bank account.

Why have I listed healthcare as a cost of living? Although many people don’t think twice about healthcare costs because they’re deducted automatically from their monthly salary, I’ve explicitly included it here for people coming from outside the European Union. If you’re Canadian like me, you won’t be used to seeing such a large, regular deduction for health insurance. I’m telling you in advance so you won’t be surprised when you get that first pay slip.

I also list it here so that freelancers are aware they have to pay out of pocket and assume the full cost themselves, without an employer sharing the burden. As a rough guide, a freelancer in Berlin earning around €60–70k per year can easily end up paying somewhere in the €700–€900 per month range for public health insurance alone, since they’re responsible for the entire contribution themselves.

3) Electricity: €53 per month

I switched from Vattenfall to Ostrom a couple of years ago and currently pay €53 per month, up €15 from when I first became their customer. Electricity prices in Germany are also among the highest in the world, and geopolitical crisises like the war in Iran, have only made it worse. We suggest shopping around and seeing what deals you can get from providers on CHECK24.

Unfortunately, some electricity providers may decline your business if you’re new to the country and don’t have an established credit history. This happened to me when I first moved here, so if all else fails, go with Vattenfall and switch providers at a later date.

4) Internet: €55 per month

As I work from home 2-3 times a week and use streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime A LOT, it’s important for me to have a fast and reliable Internet connection. I’ve been with PYUR for several years and am really happy with their services. It’s one of the only costs listed on this page that has not gone up. 

The high-speed connection is fairly pricey at €55 a month but it’s totally worth it. I tried shopping around for comparable plans at cheaper prices and similar speeds earlier this year and was not able to find one. I’ll reevaluate on an annual basis. 

5) Mobile Phone Provider: €20 per month

I currently don’t have a contract with a mobile phone provider and have a SIM card with Alditalk. I pay €15 per month for 10 GB of data and another €5 for extra texts and calls. This cost has also remained the same for several years now.

6) Bank Account: €5 per month

I have a basic account with Sparkasse which costs me €5 per month.

7) Insurance: €124 per month

You can’t really count yourself as integrated in Germany, until you have several types of insurance in place. To start, I have legal insurance with Feather for about €24 a month. Then I have liability (€4) and contents insurance (€11) with Getsafe, as well as pet health insurance for my younger cat, Domi at €27. I also have insurance for my other cat, Burt with Petolo for €36 a month. His insurance costs more, as he’s an older cat and had surgeries in the past. Last but not least, I have dental insurance with Allianz for €22 a month to cover extra dental cleanings and other perks.

The content insurance came in handy when my building lost power for a week due to a burst water pipe in January 2026. While my flat was flooded, the insurance covered costs for all the spoiled food in my fridge and freezer. Then last year when my cat Burt was suffering from kidney stones, most of the costs for his surgury were also covered, minus a small deductable. Dental insurance is always helpful, covering the costs of my twice-yearly cleanings, as well as a upgraded filling last summer.

8) ARD: €18.36 per month

Even though I don’t have a television or radio, I still grin and bear it by paying the controversial “TV tax” which is not really a tax but a fee that everyone must pay to fund public broadcasting in Germany. I pay €55.08 every three months, which works out to be €18.36 a month.

9) Streaming Services: €45 per month

At the moment, I’m subscribed to Amazon Prime (€27) and Netflix (€18) for €45 a month in total. I also pay for ad-free Prime and subscribe to HBO Max (with ads) and Apple TV through Prime, which explains the higher costs.

10) Delivery App Fees: €10 per month

As I work a lot (and also, lazy), I order a lot of things for delivery, so I pay Wolt and Uber each €5 monthly.

11) Deutschland Ticket: €44 per month

I have a subsidized Deutschland ticket through work, where my employer pays for a portion of the usual €63 monthly fee. The ticket allows you to take public transportation anywhere in Germany, including some regional trains. 

12) iPlum: €13 per month

As I still have financial ties to Canada, I need a Canadian phone number with voicemail and text capabilities. I use iPlum’s services. 

Cost Of Living In Berlin: Variable Monthly Expenses

1) Groceries: €400 per month

Another cost of living in Berlin is food, glorious food. Although I order takeout or dine at restaurants with friends, I’m cooking more at home since the pandemic started. As a result, my monthly groceries cost went up and I tend to spend about €400 per month.

I mainly shop at the Edeka and Netto next to my apartment building and I also place online orders for delivery with Rewe every so often. If I’m in a crunch, I order Flink, as they deliver groceries within about 15 minutes to one hour. When I want to cook something really special, I sometimes go to more upscale chains like Biocompany or Frischeparadies.

2) Eating Out: €200 per month

If you’re happy to eat a simple Döner, you’ll pay €6 at most spots around the city. If you want a basic meal out – pizza, pasta, a burger, ramen, or some form of Asian or Indian, most mains will be around €10. Dining at a more popular or upscale place will typically run you between €15 – 20 for a main. Berlin is filled with plenty of upscale eateries as well, with Restaurant Tim Raue being a prime example.

You can buy basic beers from any Späti (convenience store) or supermarket for €2 – 3. Buying a typical German beer in a bar or club will start at around €4 , with craft beers typically starting at €5. A bottle of wine at supermarkets will fetch you anywhere from €3 – € 12 while wine in upscale specialty shops will be more. In a bar, a glass of nicht so gut wine will start at €4, whereas a decent glass of wine will start around €6.

A coffee from a bakery usually starts around €2- €3 and fancier coffees at a trendy hotspot will fetch you around €5 and up. You can also buy a decent package of coffee in the supermarket for €6 – €7 or fork out around €20 for a high-end coffee from a specialty shop like The Barn. I’ve taken to ordering higher-quality coffees online at roastmarket.de.

A great thing about Berlin is that eating out is (mostly) still affordable and you can easily have a decent meal (including a glass of wine!) for €25 or so. Note, drinking alcohol, or even ordering water for that matter, will significantly add to your meal expenses.

As I love trying out new restaurants around the city, I spend about €200 a month on takeout or eating out. When I’m feeling lazy, I use Lieferando, Wolt, or UberEats.

Cost Of Living In Berlin: Other Monthly Expenses

To share a comprehensive picture of how much things cost in Berlin, I’m also sharing some other common expenses that people have, even though I’m not personally paying for these particular things at this time.

1) Fitness Studios

Most studios offer memberships for €20 – €30 a month if you sign-up for a long-term contract. In the past, I’ve held memberships at FitX and Lady Company and paid about €20 a month. If you want more flexibility and access to different types of classes and facilities, you can always signup for Urban Sports Club which has plans which range from €33 – €149 per month.

2) Cigarettes

I’m no longer a smoker and and now 5+ years smoke free (yeah!). Unfortunately, Berlin’s a smoking city and there are smokers everywhere. A pack of 20 cigarettes will run you about €8 – €10. Most people opt to save money and buy tobacco, papers, and filters to roll the cigarettes themselves. Others stock up when visiting other countries like Poland where cigarettes are way cheaper.

Cost Of Living In Berlin: Summary

This is my personal cost of living in Berlin as single person:

⭐ My fixed expenses come to about €1,527 per month. I don’t count health insurance as it’s automatically deducted from my gross salary.

⭐ My variable expenses are an additional €600 per month, which I can adjust at any given time if I want to save more money. I still manage to put money into savings and an employer pension each month too, the latter to which my employer contributes a small amount each month too. 

⭐  In total, my expenses come to €2,127 per month.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the cost of living in Berlin. 

That’s my real cost of living in Berlin in 2026. Use it as your baseline, adjust for your own life, and you’ll land here with a budget that actually holds.