Cost of Living in Kiel, 🇩🇪 Germany - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Nov 5, 2026 Last changed Nov 14, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 2 3 $1,740 $898 $1,410 $763 $107

Utilities — $292 $471 $236 —

Internet & Mobile 8 10 $59 $59 $77 $53 $1

Groceries $202 $505 $1,066 $359 $9

Transportation 4 5 $107 $89 $213 $71 $18

Dining Out 15 16 17 $963 $391 $483 $154 $64

Leisure Activities 12 14 22 $196 $136 $283 $79 $22

Health Insurance 20 $68 $157 $359 $123 —

Visa & Legal Fees 21 — $9 $19 — —

Total $3,335 $2,536 $4,381 $1,838 $221

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 3 $841.85 $730 – $968 per month

Coworking Space 6 7 $167.25 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 2 1 $1,571.44 $1,235 – $2,234 per month

Coliving Space 2 $784.60 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 17 $3.93 per cup

Beer $5.05 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 15 16 $16.28 per meal

Fast Food Combo $10.66 per meal

Apples $2.97 per kg

Bread $2.41 per loaf

Milk $1.40 per liter

Rice $2.47 per kg

Chicken Fillets $15.60 per kg

Beef $18.52 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) $8.42 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 15 16 22 $65.10 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) $0.84 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 4 $4.60 per trip

Taxi per km 4 $2.58 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 5 $70.72 per month

Gasoline 11 $2.29 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 4 $17.96 per trip

Scooter Rental $10.66 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 8 $18.23 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 10 $40.41 per month

Gym Membership 12 13 $32.55 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) $24.69 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 9 $5.60 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 14 $14.58 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans $95.41 per pair

Summer Dress $42.65 per dress

Running Shoes $117.86 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut $31.43 per visit

Laundry 23 $0.72 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 19 25 $24.07 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) $10.33 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Nov 5, 2026
Last changed: Nov 14, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 0.8909 EUR on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover

Change history

Nov 14, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 1906.41 1571.44
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 976.31 841.85
- Apples 3.06 2.97
- Beef 19.06 18.52
- Beer 5.2 5.05
40 more changes
- Bread 2.48 2.41
- Chicken Fillets 16.06 15.6
- Cinema Ticket 14.44 14.58
- Coffee 4.39 3.93
- Coliving Space 831.89 784.6
- Coworking Space 225.3 167.25
- Dining Out local 138.65, nomad 982.09, expat 369.73, family 519.93, tourist 75.1 local 153.78, nomad 963.07, expat 390.62, family 482.66, tourist 64.43
- Doctor Visit (GP) 51.99 24.07
- Fast Food Combo 10.98 10.66
- Gasoline 2.17 2.29
- Groceries local 369.73, nomad 207.97, expat 519.93, family 1097.63, tourist 9.24 local 359.19, nomad 202.04, expat 505.11, family 1066.34, tourist 8.98
- Gym Membership 48.53 32.55
- Haircut 32.35 31.43
- Health Insurance local 127.09, nomad 75.1, expat 161.76, family 369.73, tourist 3.47 local 123.47, nomad 67.95, expat 157.14, family 359.19, tourist 0
- Housing local 670.13, nomad 1559.79, expat 982.09, family 1848.64, tourist 109.76 local 763.27, nomad 1739.81, expat 897.97, family 1409.87, tourist 106.63
- Internet & Mobile local 51.99, nomad 75.1, expat 69.32, family 127.09, tourist 5.78 local 52.56, nomad 58.64, expat 58.64, family 76.86, tourist 0.6
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 43.91 40.41
- Jeans 98.21 95.41
- Laundry 7.51 0.72
- Leisure Activities local 92.43, nomad 323.51, expat 207.97, family 404.39, tourist 28.89 local 78.55, nomad 196.41, expat 135.77, family 282.77, tourist 22.45
- Meal (Inexpensive) 15.6 16.28
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 75.1 65.1
- Milk 1.44 1.4
- Mobile Plan 28.89 18.23
- Monthly Transport Pass 56.61 70.72
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 10.63 10.33
- Rice 2.54 2.47
- Ride-hailing (5km) 16.75 17.96
- Running Shoes 121.32 117.86
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 17.33 5.6
- Scooter Rental 10.98 10.66
- Summer Dress 43.91 42.65
- Taxi Start 4.85 4.6
- Taxi per km 2.77 2.58
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 25.42 24.69
- Transportation local 56.61, nomad 69.32, family 173.31, tourist 13.86 local 70.72, nomad 106.63, expat 88.67, family 213.27, tourist 17.96
- Utilities local 242.63, nomad 0, expat 300.4, family 485.27, tourist 0 local 235.72, nomad 0, expat 291.84, family 471.43, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 17.33, family 34.66 local 0, expat 9.35, family 18.71
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.87 0.84
- Wine (Mid-range) 8.67 8.42
fix pass — Housing, Utilities, Groceries, Transportation, Dining Out, Leisure Activities and Health Insurance totals recomputed exactly at the prep exchange rate, and the exchange rate source pointed at the ninety-day history file that still shows the prep date Source

Kiel cost of living