Amsterdam vs Berlin for couples
Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, and Berlin, in Germany, are about 577 km apart. Every figure below comes from the data behind our city pages: an estimated monthly cost for a couple, tax tier, annual climate, safety, healthcare, internet speed, language and residency rules. Amsterdam leads on safety, internet speed and getting by in English; Berlin on residency rules.
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Side by side
Source: the datasets behind our city pages. Cost is our model estimate (a country-level cost index scaled for city size); tax tiers are assigned by hand from each country's top marginal income tax rate and overall tax reputation; temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages); rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals); safety and healthcare are our own country-level estimates; internet from the Ookla Speedtest Global Index; English from the EF English Proficiency Index; residency from our hand-reviewed residency dataset (not legal advice); short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset.
Factor by factor
Cost of living
Close on cost: we estimate about €3,865 a month for a couple living centrally in Amsterdam and €3,844 in Berlin.
Taxes
A tie: the Netherlands and Germany both sit in our high tax tier.
Climate
Both average 11°C over the year. Berlin is drier, with about 584 mm of rain a year against 907 mm in Amsterdam (36% less).
Safety
Amsterdam is the safer pick: the Netherlands scores 72 out of 100 on safety, 7 points above Germany (65).
Healthcare
Close: the Netherlands scores 80 out of 100 on healthcare and Germany 79.
Internet
Amsterdam has faster home internet: about 180 Mbps median fixed download against about 90 Mbps in Berlin.
Language
Main languages: Dutch, English in Amsterdam; German in Berlin. English goes further in Amsterdam (English everywhere) than in Berlin (good English).
Residency and visas
Long-term residency for people from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland is easier to obtain in Germany (comparatively open) than in the Netherlands (possible, with conditions). Germany has a self-funded route from about $1,270 a month in income; we track no income-based route for the Netherlands. Citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland have freedom-of-movement or simplified residency rights in both. For short visits, 93 of 198 passports can enter the Netherlands visa-free and 93 can enter Germany.
Which one fits a couple
If one of you puts safety (72 against 65 out of 100), internet speed (180 Mbps against 90 Mbps) and getting by in English (English everywhere against good English) first, Amsterdam comes out ahead. If the other cares more about residency rules (comparatively open against possible, with conditions), Berlin does.
Climate can pull the two of you apart too: whoever minds rain will prefer Berlin (584 mm a year against 907 mm).
Size differs too: Amsterdam is a mid-sized city (250,000 to 1 million people) and Berlin a large one (1 to 5 million people). Amsterdam is coastal; Berlin is near the coast.
OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks Amsterdam, Berlin and 913 other cities for both of you at once.
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