# Berlin vs Dublin

> On balanced weights, Dublin comes out ahead: 52 against 47 out of 100, mostly on money left each month and clean air. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/berlin-de-vs-dublin-ie/

Scores out of 100: Berlin 47, Dublin 52. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=berlin-de,dublin-ie

## Line by line

| Line | Berlin | Dublin |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,129 take-home a month | €3,744 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) | €3,682 a month (RTB Average Monthly Rent Report (RIA02); World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 31 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 8 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 7 h 39 min | 7 h 30 min |
| Sunshine | 1,730 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) | 1,471 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) |
| Dry days | 125 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 161 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 11.3 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 7.3 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 0.9 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 0.7 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 80.8 years (World Development Indicators) | 83.0 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €55 a month (World Development Indicators) | €58 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 43 weeks (mother 38, father 5) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 10 weeks (mother 8, father 2) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.00 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.60 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 48 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 56 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 19 km (OurAirports airports) | 11 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 42 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 21 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Rail and metro stations | 255 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 31 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | 33 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 29 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Cycle network | 2.49 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 1.41 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 100 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 99 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 18.6 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 18.8 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Quick way out by bike | 8.8 km, about 35 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 6.5 km, about 26 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 142 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 3 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 207 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 14.6 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 17.3 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 41 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 31 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 64 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 98 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 14.6 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | no data |
| Doctors | 4.5 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 3.9 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 3.7 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 4.6 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 48.1 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) | 63.0 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) |
| Developers around | 21.5 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 22.9 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 1.68 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 1.51 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre, 5.5 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | centre, 4.9 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 147 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 17 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 23 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 5 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 41 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 22 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 9 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 238 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 282 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 168 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 176 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 5 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 9 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 5 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 20 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Berlin or Dublin?

Everyday prices are lower in Germany: 81.2 against 102.1 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Berlin, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Berlin and in Dublin?

About €37,551 a year in Berlin (Germany 2026 tax rules) and €44,925 in Dublin (Ireland 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Berlin or Dublin?

Berlin is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 14.8 °C against 13.7 °C in Dublin (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Berlin or Dublin?

Dublin has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 7.3 µg/m³ against 11.3 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2024).

### Can a citizen of Germany live and work in Dublin without a visa?

Yes. EU and EEA free movement rules let citizens of Germany live and work in Ireland without a visa.

## Cite

Borgo, "Berlin vs Dublin", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/berlin-de-vs-dublin-ie/, figures as of 2026-11-05.