City comparison
Cost of living in Berlin vs Austin
One person needs about €2,258 a month in Berlin and €2,411 in Austin, rent included — Berlin is 7% 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 Austin the way you live in Berlin on €3,000, you need
€3,203/ month net
7% more than today (+€203)
- Berlin today
- Basket €2,258 · left over €742 (25%)
- Austin at the matched salary
- Basket €2,411 · left over €792 (25%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 270% over in Austin (very strong) vs 204% in Berlin. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇩🇪 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
🇺🇸 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
Should you move to Berlin or Austin?
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: €1,500 in Berlin against €1,600 in Austin. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Berlin at 76 and Austin at 73 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.