City comparison
Cost of living in Austin vs Berlin
One person needs about €2,411 a month in Austin and €2,258 in Berlin, rent included — Berlin is 6% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Berlin the way you live in Austin on €3,000, you need
€2,810/ month net
6% less than today (-€190)
- Austin today
- Basket €2,411 · left over €589 (20%)
- Berlin at the matched salary
- Basket €2,258 · left over €552 (20%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 204% over in Berlin (strong) vs 270% in Austin. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇺🇸 Austin
No state income tax and a real tech market, with car costs baked in.
Monthly budget: €2,411
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇩🇪 Berlin
Highest tech salaries on this list, offset by heating bills and a brutal rental market.
Monthly budget: €2,258
Sources: Destatis + Eurostat, HICP & Mietspiegel (2025) · 377 community reports
Should you move to Austin or Berlin?
On salary, Austin pays more for tech roles (€6,500 versus €4,600 a month), so the money left over after costs is €4,089 in Austin at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,600 in Austin against €1,500 in Berlin. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Austin at 73 and Berlin at 76 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.