Berlin vs Vienna for couples
Berlin, in Germany, and Vienna, in Austria, are about 524 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. Berlin leads on residency rules; Vienna on safety.
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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 €3,844 a month for a couple living centrally in Berlin and €3,826 in Vienna.
Taxes
A tie: Germany and Austria both sit in our high tax tier.
Climate
Vienna is 1°C warmer on average over the year: 12°C against 11°C in Berlin. Rainfall is similar: about 584 mm a year in Berlin and 600 mm in Vienna.
Safety
Vienna is the safer pick: Austria scores 75 out of 100 on safety, 10 points above Germany (65).
Healthcare
Tied: Germany and Austria both score 79 out of 100 on healthcare.
Internet
Close: about 90 Mbps median fixed download in Berlin and about 80 Mbps in Vienna.
Language
Main languages in both: German. English proficiency is rated the same in both: 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 Austria (possible, with conditions). The cheapest self-funded income route we track starts at about $1,270 a month in Germany and $3,045 in Austria. 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 Germany visa-free and 93 can enter Austria.
Which one fits a couple
If one of you puts residency rules (comparatively open against possible, with conditions) first, Berlin comes out ahead. If the other cares more about safety (75 against 65 out of 100), Vienna does.
Both are large cities, but Berlin is near the coast and Vienna is inland.
OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks Berlin, Vienna and 913 other cities for both of you at once.