What is the Cost of Living for Students in Germany?

Unfortunately, the most recent social survey, which provides information on the monthly money available to German students, is from 2016. The figures given should therefore be treated with caution. In addition, costs such as the semester fee are not included. As a rule, this fee has to be paid before the start of the semester, which is likely to move the average of the months immediately before the start of the semester significantly upwards. In addition, there are big differences depending on the city you’ll live in, which will be discussed in more detail later.

The nutritional costs are strongly dependent on how and where you eat. In general, cooking by yourself pays off in Germany! Food is often very cheap in supermarkets and discounters, while restaurants are often expensive. At most universities, the canteen is also worthwhile. Often there are menus that cost around 2-4 €. In many cities such as Berlin or the Ruhr area there are also cheap snack stores that provide you with treats such as kebab, falafel or Currywurst with chips for a similar price. However, these are usually very fatty, unhealthy foods, which should rather remain the exception. We have listed a few typical foods with their average costs so that you can imagine the whole thing better:

Savings tip: You have to eat, so don't try saving money here! Instead, try to buy in large portions for the whole shared-flat, then the price per kilo often drops enormously. You should also go to discount stores and look out for offers. In Germany, you can also drink tap water almost everywhere (except in old houses and industrial areas) and thus save the annoying hauling of water bottles as well. If you should run really short of money at some point, ask about food sharing offers. Especially in big cities, leftover food is often given away free or very cheap.

If you want to study in Germany, you must also take out health insurance here. Unless you come from other EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland and are insured in your home country, then your insurance also applies here. Nevertheless, it can be advisable to take out a German health insurance. You must carry costs, which are unusual in your home country or are raised lower there yourselves otherwise and a return transport would not be taken over, too. The exact regulations vary, however. You should therefore check with your health insurance company.

In Germany, a distinction is made between statutory and private health insurance. In our blog post, you can inform yourself in detail about the German health care system. The most important thing is: If you are under 30 and are not yet studying 14 semesters, you can take out statutory health insurance. The statutory health insurance companies currently charge contributions between 80 and 90€. In addition, you have to pay a contribution to the nursing care insurance, so that you will have to pay between 100 and 110€ per month in total.

You can also voluntarily insure yourself privately, which those who are older or study longer have to do anyway. There are big differences in quality and prices for private health insurance for foreign students. The VELA-Light tariff is particularly favorable with 27.50€ per month in the first year, but includes less benefits than the Basis (34.50€/month in the first year) and Optimal tariff (78.-€/month). Familiarize yourself with the differences between the tariffs and consider which one suits you best. If you need advice or have any questions, please contact us.

Savings tip: When it comes to health insurance, it is often the case that in the end, if you want to save too much on the monthly premium, you will get your revenge. The extremely favorable rates often only include few benefits, so that in case of illness you can be faced with significantly higher medical costs than you would have paid for the insurance otherwise.

At most German universities, you will automatically receive a semester ticket for the semester fee. This allows you to use public transport free of charge in the city, region or even federal state you study in. You should be mobile locally this way. Alternatively, you can often buy used bicycles at low prices. Other costs depend heavily on how much you travel.

Savings tip: For everyday trips, it is best if you can use your semester ticket or a bicycle. For longer distances, long-distance buses are usually particularly inexpensive. You can sometimes travel from Hamburg to Cologne or from Frankfurt to Berlin for 10€. If you book well in advance, you can also get bargains on long-distance trains. Read our blog post for more information about travelling in Germany. 

Spending on clothing is difficult to compare. It depends a lot on how often you buy new clothes and what price range you prefer. For 2016, German students reported spending an average of 42€ per month. Students usually spend between €30 and €100 on shoes. For T-shirts it was 10 to 50 € and for jeans 30 to 100 €.

Savings tip: Especially in big cities, there are often Second-Hand shops, flea markets or online clothing exchanges. If you have some fun browsing, you can come across finds that are not only very cheap, but also (more or less) unique. In addition, there is a sale at the end of the seasons, where you can buy clothes at a reduced price.

Of course you can use free internet at the universities. However, most students also like to have Internet access at home for learning, streaming and keeping in touch with friends and family. Such a contract costs between 20 and 50 € per month, depending on the desired content. In addition, every flat in Germany has to pay a radio contribution. These are fees that are used for public broadcasters. It is 17.50 € per month and usually collected every three months.

Savings tip: The radio contribution must be paid only once per apartment, so make sure that you do not pay unnecessarily twice and divide the amount. Shared flats are cheaper here. The same applies to the internet contract: Even if you have a small apartment on your own, you can ask the nearby neighboring apartments if they want to share Access and costs.

Depending on what you are studying, the spending on learning aids can vary extremely. In 2012, for example, students of dentistry stated that they would pay €65 per month, those of fine arts €52 and those of (interior) architecture €49. This is mainly due to expensive laboratory equipment and working materials for models. Your costs will be considerably lower if you have to buy books first and foremost - and preferably not too many or too thick of them, as the standard works for law studies also bring together a decent sum.

Savings tip: Always inform yourself first about the books for your studies, whether they aren’t available in the library or whether there is free access to the eBook for students. Then you can copy or download it free. If this is not the case, as with other materials, you can often fall back on used items from students who have completed or dropped out of their studies. Often there are swap meets in the social networks or on pin boards in the universities. In addition, you can search on eBay Kleinanzeigen (classifieds) and the private offers on amazon for bargains.

This area is difficult to generalize. After all, sports are different expensive, the needs to go out varying. In addition, most people spend more money on leisure activities when they have more money available. Therefore, we've simply put together a small list of average prices for orientation.

Savings tip: Sports offers in fitness studios, clubs, at martial arts or dance schools are often expensive. Those who don't want to go jogging alone but still would like to spend less should take a look at the Unisport program. Almost every university offers a huge selection of sports courses at extremely low prices. In addition, as a student you receive a discount on almost all leisure activities where a discount exists and do not pay the full price. Some universities also have cooperation’s with theatres or similar, so that you can get tickets cheaper or even free. 

In Germany, there are no general tuition fees at state universities, but you still have to pay a semester fee (or social contribution). By the way, this applies equally to Germans and foreigners - with the exception of Baden-Württemberg. There, non-EU foreigners pay 1,500€ semester fees, i.e. about 250€ per month. The semester fee itself varies from university to university. The costs are roughly between 100 and 450€ per semester, about 16.50 to 75€ per month. However, this usually includes the semester ticket mentioned above. In some federal states (Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia) you also pay around 500€ extra fees if you have been studying for a long time or are completing a second degree. That would be another 80 to 90€ per month. Other federal states (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Saarland and Saxony-Anhalt) charge between 50 and 75€ re-registration or matriculation fees in addition to the semester fee. That’d be further 8.30 to 12.50€ per month.

Private universities usually charge tuition fees. These can vary greatly depending on the university and degree program, but are often not less than 500 to 1000€ per month. Semester tickets are often included in the price as well, although these are often more limited in scope than those of state universities.

Savings tip: Find out before you apply which costs your preferred universities charges. If you are not from the EU, it probably makes sense not to study in Baden-Württemberg. On the websites of the universities you can also find out how high the semester fees of the last semesters were and whether a semester ticket is included.