Cost-of-living comparison · Eurostat HICP 2023
🇩🇪 Germany vs 🇪🇸 Spain
How the cost of living compares between Germany and Spain - overall and across rent, groceries, transport, healthcare, utilities and dining, weighed against local income.
- Cheaper overall
- Spain
- Better value
- Germany
- Price gap
- 15%
Cost by category - Germany vs Spain
Germany - price level by category
Spain - price level by category
Side-by-side
| Category (EU-27 = 100) | 🇩🇪 Germany | 🇪🇸 Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Overall cost | 105 | 91 |
| Rent & housing | 97 | 78 |
| Groceries | 117 | 99 |
| Transport | 102 | 86 |
| Healthcare | 92 | 84 |
| Utilities | 105 | 119 |
| Restaurants | 105 | 87 |
| Affordability (income ÷ cost) | 24857 | 19231 |
Highlighted = lower price level (or higher affordability). Affordability = median net income ÷ cost index, higher is better.
What the Germany vs Spain comparison shows
On Eurostat's comparative price-level scale (EU-27 = 100), Spain is the cheaper of the two overall at index 91, against 105 for Germany - a difference of about 15% in everyday prices. Because the same standardised basket is priced in both countries, that gap is directly comparable and not an artefact of exchange rates.
The category table above shows the gap is rarely uniform. Housing usually drives most of the difference because rent cannot be traded across borders, so weight the rent row most heavily, a country that is cheaper on groceries but dearer on rent often works out more expensive in practice, since the rent gap is larger in absolute euros than the savings on smaller categories.
Price is only half the story. Measured against median net income, Germany offers the better value of the two, a typical income there stretches further once local prices are taken into account. The cheaper country is not automatically the one where you live best, which is why affordability, not the headline price level, is the number to anchor on.
Frequently asked questions
Is Germany or Spain cheaper to live in?▼
Spain is cheaper overall, its Eurostat cost-of-living index is 91 versus 105 for Germany (EU-27 = 100), a difference of about 15%.
Which has cheaper rent, Germany or Spain?▼
Spain has the lower housing price level (78 vs 97, EU-27 = 100). Rent is usually the largest single household expense, so it weighs heavily on real affordability.
Does cheaper mean better value in Germany vs Spain?▼
Not always. Adjusted for median net income, Germany offers the better value, a typical income there stretches furthest against local prices. The cheaper country is not automatically the one where you live best, because incomes differ too.
Source: Eurostat, comparative price levels (HICP) and median equivalised net income Eurostat, comparative price levels (HICP) and median equivalised net income Price-level indices, EU-27 = 100, 2023.
Read our methodology - how these indices are sourced and computed.