City comparison
Cost of living in Berlin vs Copenhagen
One person needs about €2,258 a month in Berlin and €2,563 in Copenhagen, rent included — Berlin is 14% 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 Copenhagen the way you live in Berlin on €3,000, you need
€3,405/ month net
14% more than today (+€405)
- Berlin today
- Basket €2,258 · left over €742 (25%)
- Copenhagen at the matched salary
- Basket €2,563 · left over €842 (25%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 207% over in Copenhagen (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
🇩🇰 Copenhagen
Cycling city with high taxes that buy genuinely good public services.
Monthly budget: €2,563
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to Berlin or Copenhagen?
On salary, Copenhagen pays more for tech roles (€5,300 versus €4,600 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,737 in Copenhagen at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,500 in Berlin against €1,700 in Copenhagen. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Berlin at 76 and Copenhagen at 70 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.