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Over €1,800 apart: what a driver’s license costs in Germany
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Introduction
In 2025, around 1.04 million people in Germany took the practical driving test for a car license (class B) and around 185,000 took the practical test for a motorcycle license (classes A1/A2/A). The costs for a driver’s license can vary greatly depending on where you live, as we discovered in a recent study. For this analysis, car and motorcycle driving school prices, as well as boat license providers, were evaluated across the 20 largest cities in Germany. On average, a car license costs €3,288, a motorcycle license costs €3,019, and a boat license for coastal and inland waters costs €522, with price differences between cities reaching up to €1,828 (car) and €1,535 (motorcycle).
A driver’s license in Munich costs €1,828 more than in Berlin
The total cost for a car or motorcycle license is made up of the basic fee, driving lessons, exam fees, as well as mandatory costs such as a first-aid course and passport photo. The average cost for a car driver’s license was calculated based on an average of 23 driving lessons. The driver’s license is most expensive in Munich, where novice drivers have to pay an average of €4,329. In second place is Leipzig with €3,856, closely followed by Dresden with €3,801. Driving schools in Hamburg and Nuremberg are also expensive, taking fourth and fifth place with averages of €3,480 and €3,435 respectively.
At the lower end of the ranking is Berlin. At an average of €2,501, the driver’s license is most affordable in the capital city. Second and third place are held by Hanover and Dortmund with €2,731 and €2,967 respectively. Duisburg (€2,969) and Wuppertal (€3,036) round out the top 5 most inexpensive cities.
Looking at individual price components, the biggest differences between cities arise in different areas. The costs for driving lessons vary the most out of all price components. On average, a regular driving lesson costs €69. Berlin is the cheapest at €54 per hour, and Munich is the most expensive at €90. The gap is even wider for special driving lessons (Sonderfahrten), which include the legally required overland, highway, and night drives. On average, these cost a bundled total of €872. Here too, Berlin is the most affordable at an average of €699, and Munich is the most expensive at €1,099.
The fees for presentation for the practical exam also differ significantly, averaging €216. Costs range from €177 in Berlin to €314 in Munich. Less pronounced, yet still noticeable, are the fluctuating costs for presentation for the theoretical exam. Here, the average cost is €68. While Berlin has no fees for this, Frankfurt am Main charges €136. On the other hand, the costs for the first-aid course are comparatively uniform, ranging between 40 and €50 depending on the city.
A motorcycle license costs €269 less than a car license on average
A motorcycle license costs an average of €3,019 nationwide, making it slightly more affordable than a car driver’s license. Leipzig claims first place in the negative ranking: In this major city in Saxony, learner riders pay an average of €3,749 for their motorcycle license. Munich lands in second place just one euro behind at €3,748, closely followed by Dresden in third place with €3,502. Nuremberg (€3,141) and Bremen (€3,130), ranking fourth and fifth, also end up above the national average.
Aspiring motorcyclists pay the least in Mannheim: With an average of €2,214, getting your license there is over €1,500 cheaper than in Leipzig! In second place is Berlin, where both car licenses and motorcycle licenses (at an affordable €2,531) are among the most budget-friendly. Hanover takes third place among the most economical cities (€2,552), followed by Duisburg (€2,835) and Bonn (€2,883) in fourth and fifth place.
Just like with other licenses, the cost components for a motorcycle license vary by city. The biggest differences can be found in the actual driving lessons. On average, a regular driving lesson costs €76. The highest prices are charged in Leipzig (€96), Munich (€91), and Mannheim, while driving students pay the least in Hanover (€63), Berlin (€64), and Dortmund (€67).
The fees for the registration and presentation for the practical exam also differ widely by city. On average, this will run you €234. With an average of €298, Munich is the most expensive of the analyzed cities, while Bremen is the most welcoming to your wallet at €185.
By contrast, the other cost components vary only slightly between the cities. For instance, the average cost for presentation at the theoretical test is €67—though Berlin charges no fees at all, and Frankfurt am Main charges the most at €134. Similar to the car license, the costs for a first-aid course mostly range between 40 and €50, depending on the city.
What boating licenses cost in Germany
A driving license isn’t just required on land. The Sportbootführerschein (SBF) See and Binnen are the official recreational boating licenses in Germany for boats with more than 15 HP. The SBF See is valid for coastal waters, while the SBF Binnen is required for rivers and lakes. The highest prices for both licenses are charged in Stuttgart: €408 for the SBF See and €390 for the SBF Binnen. This puts the state capital of Baden-Württemberg in first place in both categories. Mannheim and Dresden follow in second and third place, respectively: costing €368 each for the SBF See, and €370 and €350 for the SBF Binnen.
The licenses are most affordable in Berlin, Hamburg, Dortmund, Hanover, and Nuremberg: in these five cities, the SBF See costs €308 and the SBF Binnen costs €290.
"Price differences of almost €1,900 for the exact same driving license show how urgently this market needs more structure. With anny, we are creating exactly that structure: we give student drivers a full overview of their completed and remaining lessons at any time, and we provide driving schools with real-time visibility of their capacities. This is how we prevent double bookings and hidden costs before they even occur," comments Lucian Holtwiesche, Co-Founder of anny.
