Cost of living in Germany in 2026: what everyday things cost

In Germany in 2026, household electricity costs about 36.6 euro cents per kWh (dearer in only 3 of the 134 countries we track), petrol about €2.15 a litre, the iPhone 18 Pro €1,449 and a Big Mac (euro-area average) €6.19. Netflix has just become dearer: Standard now costs €15.99 a month, up from €13.99 in July. Average income is about $60,200 per person (€53,888).

These are the prices PricesAbroad tracks directly, from Netflix’s and Apple’s German storefronts, GlobalPetrolPrices, The Economist’s Big Mac Index and the World Bank. Rent and the utility service charges that come with it are not included, nor are groceries or the Deutschlandticket, so this is a guide to a slice of the household budget rather than the whole of it.

The Netflix price rise, plan by plan

Netflix raised every German plan between our 2026-07-03 and 2026-10-13 snapshots. In euros, so currency moves don't blur it:

The Standard with ads plan took the largest percentage rise (+40%): every plan went up by about the same number of euros, which is a much bigger step on the cheapest tier. In dollars, German Standard now costs $17.86, against $18.49 in the UK and $19.99 in the US. Spotify, by contrast, has held at €12.99. As a share of income, Standard takes 0.4% of a German month. Every country is on the Netflix price comparison, and the wider story is in Netflix price increase 2026.

Energy: among the highest power prices in the world

Only 3 of the 134 countries in our electricity data charge households more than Germany’s $0.409 per kWh. For a two-person flat using an illustrative 2,500 kWh a year, the unit cost alone is about €915 a year (€76 a month), before the fixed monthly charge. Since our 2026-08-09 reading the household rate has edged up in dollar terms (from $0.406).

The unusual part is the gap between homes and firms. German businesses pay $0.284, about 31% less than households. Grid fees, taxes and levies make up a large share of a German household tariff, while bigger users get lower network charges and tax relief. Among close neighbours and Britain, Germany ranks most expensive for household power:

France, which gets most of its power from nuclear plants, charges households 33% less per kWh. Poland flips the usual pattern: its businesses pay more than German ones ($0.326 per kWh). See every country on the electricity price page.

Petrol and driving

Petrol at €2.15 a litre ($2.41) is dearer in only 14 of 170 countries. On 2026-07-03 it was about €1.91, so the price has risen 13% in euros since then. Energy tax, a carbon price on fuel and 19% VAT account for much of what drivers pay. A 50-litre fill costs about €108, or 4.2 hrs of work at the average wage. Track it on the Germany petrol price page.

A year of power and a tank of fuel, measured against income

Prices only bite in relation to pay. Using each country’s average income, here is what the same 2,500 kWh of household electricity for a year, and a 50-litre tank of petrol, cost in work:

• Germany ($60,200 average income): a year of electricity = 1.7% of annual income; a tank of petrol = 4.2 hrs of work
• United Kingdom ($54,550 average income): a year of electricity = 1.9% of annual income; a tank of petrol = 4.4 hrs of work
• United States ($88,810 average income): a year of electricity = 0.5% of annual income; a tank of petrol = 1.4 hrs of work
• Poland ($25,520 average income): a year of electricity = 2.3% of annual income; a tank of petrol = 8.5 hrs of work

The heaviest electricity burden here falls in Poland: Germany's prices are higher, but a lower average income makes a cheaper bill weigh more. A German household that heats with a heat pump or charges an electric car will use far more than our illustrative figure, which is why power prices dominate debates about the cost of living here.

Phones, food and what a German income buys

Germany is one of the dearer places to buy an iPhone: the iPhone 18 Pro at €1,449 ($1,619) ranks 2nd most expensive of the 12 Apple storefronts we track. Without the 19% VAT it would be €1,218. At Germany’s average income that phone is 9.8 days of earnings, and the euro-area Big Mac takes 15 min of work. The Big Mac figure is The Economist’s euro-area average, not a German-only price. Model-by-model prices are on the iPhone 18 Pro Germany page; for side-by-side views see Germany vs UK and Germany vs USA, and every tracked price is on the Germany country page.