Can a Software Engineer afford to live in Berlin?

Excellent44% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Software Engineer · Berlin
$85,776
Income tax (~42% effective)
Germany
– $35,664
Take-home pay
$4,176/mo
$50,112
Living costs (1 person)
$2,333/mo · curated
– $27,996
Savings potential
$1,843/mo · 44% of take-home
$22,116

Single professional, after-tax. Salary − tax − living costs = what you could save each year.

Monthly cost breakdown · Berlin

Rent (1-bed)$1,296
Groceries$346
Dining out$270
Transport$97
Utilities$162
Entertainment$162

Most affordable major tech hub in Western Europe. Universal healthcare. High taxes.

Full salary breakdown →Is this a good salary in Berlin? →Compare Berlin with another city →

How we calculated this

• Salary: DE-Destatis median for Software Engineer, adjusted for Berlin.

• Tax: Germany single-filer effective rate (~42%). Official calculator.

• Living costs: hand-curated local budget for a single professional.

Planning estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026. Your situation will differ.