City comparison
Berlin vs Munich: which is better to live in?
Quick verdict
Berlin is the cheaper of the two: our estimate for a single person is about €450 a month less than Munich, mostly because of rent. Both are in Germany, so the visa rules, taxes and healthcare system are the same: the choice comes down to cost, climate and lifestyle.
Choose Berlin for
- Nightlife
- Remote-work scene
- Affordability
- English-friendliness
- Lower living costs
Choose Munich for
- Mountains nearby
- Safety
- Nature & green space
- Family life
Berlin vs Munich at a glance
| Berlin | Munich | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Germany | Germany |
| Single budget / month | €2,400 | €2,850 |
| Couple budget / month | €3,550 | €4,200 |
| 1-bed rent, center | €1,250 | €1,550 |
| Winter highs (Dec to Feb) | 4°C / 39°F | 5°C / 41°F |
| Summer highs (Jun to Aug) | 24°C / 76°F | 24°C / 76°F |
| Sunshine (hours/yr) | 1,759 | 1,841 |
| City size | Capital / metropolis | Capital / metropolis |
| Coastal | No | No |
| Direct flights to the US | Yes | Yes |
| Affordability | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Sunny, warm climate | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| English-friendliness | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Safety | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Walkability | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Public transport | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Nature & green space | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Beach life | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Mountains nearby | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Culture | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Nightlife | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Family life | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Remote-work scene | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Expat community | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Flights home | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Calm, slower pace | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
Cost of living: Berlin or Munich?
By our estimates, a comfortable mid-range life costs about €2,400 a month for one person in Berlin and €2,850 in Munich, rent included. For a couple it’s €3,550 vs €4,200, and for a family of four €4,800 vs €5,850.
Rent drives most of the gap: a one-bedroom in the center runs about €1,250 in Berlin against €1,550 in Munich, while a monthly transit pass costs €63 vs €63. Want to plug in your own lifestyle? Use the cost of living calculator.
Climate and weather
Winters average highs of about 4°C (39°F) in Berlin and 5°C (41°F) in Munich. In summer it’s roughly 24°C vs 24°C. Berlin gets about 1,759 hours of sunshine a year and Munich about 1,841.
1,759 hours of sunshine a year · 532 mm of rain a year · Source: DWD 1991-2020 normals (Berlin station), via the Wikipedia climate table
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3°C / 38°F | -2°C / 28°F |
| Feb | 5°C / 41°F | -2°C / 29°F |
| Mar | 9°C / 48°F | 0°C / 33°F |
| Apr | 15°C / 59°F | 4°C / 39°F |
| May | 20°C / 67°F | 8°C / 47°F |
| Jun | 23°C / 73°F | 12°C / 53°F |
| Jul | 25°C / 77°F | 14°C / 57°F |
| Aug | 25°C / 77°F | 14°C / 56°F |
| Sep | 20°C / 68°F | 10°C / 50°F |
| Oct | 14°C / 57°F | 6°C / 42°F |
| Nov | 8°C / 46°F | 2°C / 35°F |
| Dec | 4°C / 39°F | -1°C / 30°F |
1,841 hours of sunshine a year · 940 mm of rain a year · Source: DWD 1991-2020 normals (Munich), via the Wikipedia climate table
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4°C / 39°F | -2°C / 29°F |
| Feb | 6°C / 42°F | -1°C / 29°F |
| Mar | 10°C / 50°F | 2°C / 35°F |
| Apr | 15°C / 59°F | 5°C / 42°F |
| May | 19°C / 67°F | 9°C / 49°F |
| Jun | 23°C / 73°F | 13°C / 55°F |
| Jul | 25°C / 77°F | 15°C / 58°F |
| Aug | 25°C / 76°F | 15°C / 58°F |
| Sep | 20°C / 67°F | 10°C / 51°F |
| Oct | 15°C / 58°F | 7°C / 44°F |
| Nov | 8°C / 47°F | 2°C / 36°F |
| Dec | 5°C / 41°F | -1°C / 31°F |
Daily life
Berlin is a capital / metropolis; Munich is a capital / metropolis. Berlin is Germany's cheapest big city by a margin, with a huge creative, startup and freelancer scene and the best nightlife in our set. Bureaucracy, slow landlords and a tight rental market are the price of admission, and you can get a long way in English but not everywhere. Munich is the safest, cleanest and best-paid city in our German set, with the Alps an hour away and big employers like BMW, Siemens and Allianz. It is also Germany's priciest to rent, and German helps more here than in Berlin.
Living in Berlin: the upsides and downsides
- Large freelance, startup and creative community with a Freelance (Freiberufler) visa route
- Fast, cheap public transit with the EUR 63 national ticket
- Lakes, parks and cycling within the city
- Downside: Finding an apartment is hard and competitive; expect paperwork like Schufa credit reports
- Downside: Dark, grey winters with highs around 3 degrees in January
Living in Munich: the upsides and downsides
- Strong salaries and a stable job market in engineering, insurance and tech
- Excellent public transport and an easy hop to the Alps and lakes
- Very safe and clean
- Downside: Highest rents in Germany, with a very tight market
- Downside: Cold winters and long gray spells (January highs about 4 degrees)
Visas and residency
Both cities are in Germany, so you’d use the same residence routes either way:
- Germany EU Blue Card - Work permit, open, €4,225/mo income
- Germany Freelance Visa (Freiberufler) - Freelance visa, open
- Germany Opportunity Card - Work permit, open, €1,091/mo income
Read the full guides: living in Berlin and living in Munich.
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- Munich vs Vienna
Costs are our estimates for a comfortable mid-range lifestyle; scores are editorial, relative to the 40 cities we cover. Methodology.