Munich is one of the most expensive cities in Germany. In fact, the cost of living in Munich is even higher than what you'd pay in a wealthy financial hub like Frankfurt. So if you plan to move here, better come prepared!

But no worries, we'll help you out here.

We’ll walk you through your most important expenses in Munich such as:

• housing,
• utilities,
• transportation,
• health insurance,
• and food.

Of course, there are some other monthly expenses you need to keep in mind like unlimited data for your phone or a gym subscription to stay in shape.

Overview of the monthly cost of living in Munich

Let's start with what you came here for.

To make budgeting your new life in Munich easier, we made an overview of the approximate monthly expenses you can expect in Munich.

Expenses	Student	Working Expat
Rent	€814 (room)	€1,755 (apartment)
Transportation	€10.50 (semesterticket)	€400 (gas for mid-sized car)
Internet	€30 (11 Mbit)	€89 (500-1000 Mbit)
Mobile Phone	€20 (40GB)	€40 (40GB)
Health Insurance	€105 (student discount)	€494 (earning €4,987)
Gym	€20 (basic)	€80 (+spa)
Netflix	€7.99 (basic)	€17.99 (premium)
Groceries	€200 (discount supermarkets)	€500 (bio supermarkets)
Eating Out	€80	€350
Total	€1,337.50	€3,692

For a student, Munich's living costs would amount to an average of €1,337.

At the same time, as an expat with a salary of €4,987, you can expect to spend about €3,692 a month. That is if you get all the good and quality stuff!

It's safe to say that

“

to really live comfortably in Munich you should earn a gross monthly salary of €5,000.

”

But hey, we're all different!

So keep reading to understand the cost of living in Munich better and tailor it to your needs, wants and salary.

Cost of living: housing & utilities

When they say that Munich is an expensive city, unfortunately, they aren’t kidding. However, these high costs are matched with just as high average salaries!

Regardless of an accommodation type you choose, you can expect that housing will account for the largest chunk of your living expenses in Munich. There are many options for accommodation in Munich for international students, including dorms and private rooms.

If you're an international student who doesn't receive any financial support, it’s pretty likely that you’ll have to work next to your studies to afford a comfortable life in Munich.

Even if you’ve just kickstarted your career with a well-paid internship in Munich, you might still find it tricky to live as comfortably as you like. While there isn't much we can do about Munich's price tag, what we can recommend are a few saving tips that might help you to save a few bucks here and there!

In contrast, as an experienced expat, you'll find this city heavenly. The high cost of living brings about a high quality of life. And besides, the city has plenty of great places to live that match your new, Munich salary!

Now, let's get into the nitty-gritty!

Rooms

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According to HousingAnywhere's rental index, a private room in Munich should cost you around €814 including utilities.

”

As a student, Munich is not a very budget-friendly city. If you want to live there on a budget, you can either request financial support or decide to live a bit further away from the centre.

You can also try to book affordable private room in Munich early and for an extended period of time. If you're lucky you might score a room in one of Munich's famous Altbau homes and save yourself a pretty penny!

Studios

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According to HousingAnywhere's rental index, a studio in Munich should cost you around €1,500 including utilities.

”

More privacy and your own facilities really are a blessing after a long day at your new Munich job. But, that privilege does eat away at your budget.

That said, housing quality in Munich is also relatively high, so it shouldn’t be hard to discover stylish studios for rent in Munich and with nice new facilities. A place that you can indeed call home, rather than just a place where you sleep after a day out in town.

Apartments

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According to HousingAnywhere's rental index, a 1-bedroom apartment in Munich should cost you around €1,755 including utilities.

”

Apartments are where the pricing gets a little spicy. Depending on a neighbourhood, landlords could probably rent out a just-vacant apartment that same day by shouting out the window.

Munich's housing market is competitive and it shows in the pricing. But, if you have a salary to match, you can easily locate rental flats in Munich that will provide with comfort! You can even find furnished flats in Munich that make moving to this city hassle-free!

Overview of the average rent in Munich

So, when considering housing, you'll be looking at the following:

Type	Average rental price
Munich Rooms	€814
Munich Studios	€1,500
Munich Apartments	€1,755

Transportation costs in Munich

Munich has a pretty developed public transportation system. You can get around the city by S-Bahn (train), U-Bahn (subway), bus or tram.

The area of Munich is split in 7 different transport zones. So when you buy a ticket, you need to choose the zone where you are going to travel. But most likely, the M zone will be sufficient as it covers all of central Munich.

Depending on how often you travel, you can choose to buy a single ticket, day ticket or an IsarCard. IsarCard is usually a better value for money if you're a frequent traveller.

Are you a student? Them you're in luck! You might be eligible for an MVV-Semesterticket that costs only €63.00 during the 2022-2023 winter semester. So we're talking about €10.50 per month.

Now, if you're a senior expat living in Munich, you might want to get around with comfort of your own vehicle. With the price of gas in Munich being €1.70 per litre, it will cost you around €400 a month to get around in a mid-sized car.

Here's an overview:

Type of cost	Price
Single ticket	€3.70
Single day ticket	€8.80
IsarCard weekly	€20.20
IsarCard monthly	€63.20
Semesterticket	€63
Gasoline (1 liter)	€1.70

Cost of food in Munich

Food is where things also get a little more expensive in Munich.

For example, going out for lunch in most German cities should cost you around €7-10, whereas in Munich you’ll quickly run that up to €15.

It doesn’t look like a big difference, but if you go out for lunch multiple times a week, that’s going to ramp up your cost of living in Munich quite quickly!

At the same time, dinner for two at a regular restaurant is doable for anything from €32-42, whereas in Munich you’ll be looking at a sum closer to €60-65.

Groceries

Thankfully for your wallet, preparing your own meal is very common in Germany.

At the same time, supermarkets in Munich are a chunk more expensive than in other places. However, it mostly shows for the more luxury, branded products, like Coca-cola, which can cost you up to €2.99 per bottle (that's 50% more than in other places!).

Similarly, beef, chicken breast and cheese can cost you anywhere from 10-20% more than in other parts of the country. Thankfully Munich does have Lidl and Aldi stores to keep your living expenses under control.

All in all, if you’re on your own, you should be able to make it through the week on anywhere from €50-70 a week in groceries.

Overview of food expenses in Munich

Food	Cost
Going out for lunch	€14-16
Going out for dinner	€60-65
Cappuccino	€3.22
Milk (1 liter)	€1.26
Eggs (12)	€3.27
Chicken Fillets (1kg)	€10.46
Banana (1kg)	€1.84
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range)	€7.00
Weekly groceries (1 person)	€50

Essentials: Health insurance

Let's start with the fact that you're obliged to have health insurance in Germany, regardless of your occupation.

The costs for a health insurance package for a student aged under 23 start at €105.

However, it's a different story for working people. If you're employed, you automatically contribute to the public health fund. In fact, over 90% of Germans depend on the public healthcare system!

How high this contribution is, is based on your gross income. If you want to know more about how the system works, read our in-depth article on German health insurance for expats.

You contribute around 7.3% of your gross salary, starting once you earn over €850, up until you earn well over €4,800. To give you an idea, here are some of the contributions broken down.

• 7.3% of €1,600: €116.8 a month. (€1,600 is close to the minimum wage after taxes.)
• 7.3% of €2,700: €197.1 a month
• 7.3% of €3,300: €231 a month
• 7.3% of €4,837: €353.10 a month. This is the salary cap, so if you earn more than this, your contribution will stay the same.

This is quite a chunk of your gross income. But since it’s deducted from your gross salary, you pay less in income tax and your employer pays for the other 7.3%!

Cost of Internet in Munich

Since most of us do part of our work from home, make video calls and stream Netflix, you might be in need of a fast internet connection. So let’s look at the cost for decent internet in Munich.

We’ll look at the cost for 100 Mbit (enough for a small household) and the availability of Fiber internet of at least 500 Mbit (enough for a family or multiple tenants all doing their thing).

If your landlord has an existing contract, you can also ask them to upgrade the existing connection with the existing provider, meaning you only pay a bit more a month than you do now.

Based on data from Check24.de internet in Munich would cost you:

People using	Speed	Cost
Personal use (1-2 people)	11 Mbit	€32.50
Family (3-6) people)	300-500 mbit	€53.80
Working from home (5+ people)	500-1000 Mbit	€88.66

Extra luxuries

Of course, we need to look at more than just the essentials. There are some monthly costs that we could technically survive without. But why would we? We're also in Munich to have a good time, right?

Mobile communication

Moving abroad to Munich doesn’t mean your loved ones are going to forget you exist!

Depending on where you’re from, international calls might still be very expensive. Thankfully, online calling through WhatsApp, Zoom or Skype is more popular than ever. Also, with unlimited data, your mobile phone can function as a backup internet connection while working from home!

Paying for minutes in your phone plan is going out of style. You don't need unlimited data to survive, of course, but once you've had it, it's difficult to go back to being frugal about your data consumption.

For a phone plan with flat rate for calls and texts with 10 GB data, you’ll be paying between €20 and €40 per month.

Do you want unlimited data, then you’ll be spending between €50 and €80 per month. A small price to pay to stay in touch with your loved ones!

Gym subscriptions in Munich

Thankfully, Gyms are only as expensive as you want them to be.

You can get a subscription at McFit for as little as €20 a month. But if you want the full German fitness and Spa experience, then you could pay upwards of €80 a month to get your exercise on followed by supreme relaxation!

Besides, if you’re a student or employee, there’s a pretty big chance you can get a student or employer discount at some of the Munich Gyms.

So, now you have an idea what the essentials like housing, food and health insurance are going to cost you during your stay in Munich, happy budgeting!

Please reach out to content@housinganywhere.com if you have any suggestions or inquiries about the content on this page.