How Prague and Berlin compare on cost, visas, working hours, weather, internet and safety. Every figure comes from our city guides and tools, checked and dated there.
The short answer
Prague Pick it for a lower US travel advisory level.
Berlin Pick it for faster internet.
Everyday costsEven
What we have checked of rent, a coworking desk, weekday lunches and getting around comes to $1,190 to $1,300 (£891 to £975) a month in Prague, against $1,430 to $2,230 (£1,080 to £1,670) in Berlin. We can't call it: Prague has no checked figure for a desk and Berlin has no checked figure for lunch, so both totals leave them out.
The visaEven
Germany sets no income floor, but its route is for freelancers only: employees of a foreign company have no way in. Prague: Digital Nomad Program (long-term visa), about $3,400 a month (CZK 885,870 a year). Berlin: Residence permit for freelance work (section 21(5)), no income floor.
A London 9 to 5Even
Normal hours in both: 10:00 to 18:00 in Prague, 10:00 to 18:00 in Berlin.
A New York 9 to 5Even
A late finish in both: 15:00 to 23:00 in Prague, 15:00 to 23:00 in Berlin.
WeatherEven
Comfortable months on our best-time rule: 5 in Prague, 5 in Berlin. Both are comfortable in May, June, July, August and September.
InternetBerlin
Berlin is faster. Typical download speed: 83 Mbps in Prague, 104 Mbps in Berlin, from each guide.
SafetyPrague
Prague. The US State Department puts Czech Republic at level 1 and Germany at level 2.
Side by side
Measure
Prague
Berlin
Country
Czech Republic
Germany
Language
Czech
German
Currency
Czech koruna (CZK)
Euro (EUR)
Plugs
—
Type F and C, 230V
Time zone
UTC+2 today
UTC+2 today
A month's basics
$1,190 to $1,300 (£891 to £975), with a desk missing
$1,430 to $2,230 (£1,080 to £1,670), with lunch missing
Remote work visa
Digital Nomad Program (long-term visa)
Residence permit for freelance work (section 21(5))
Income needed
About $3,400 a month (CZK 885,870 a year)
No income floor
Without a visa
British and American passports: 90 days in any 180 across Schengen expected, not checked
British and American passports: 90 days in any 180 across Schengen
Tax residency
183 days or more in a calendar year, or a permanent home there, makes you tax resident
A continuous stay of more than six months, or from day one if you have a home there
Download speed
83 Mbps
104 Mbps
Comfortable months
May, June, July, August and September
May, June, July, August and September
US travel advice
Level 1: normal precautions
Level 2: increased caution
Meetups
1 regular group still running
1 regular group still running
Dollars and pounds at today's exchange rate. Download speeds are the typical figure from each guide, which says where it comes from: some are for the city, some for the whole country, so treat a small gap as no gap.
What a month costs
Rent, a coworking desk, a cheap lunch on each of 22 working days, and getting around: the same four costs our budget calculator uses. The rent figures aren't always the same kind of figure (some are furnished one-beds, some are averages across every size of flat), so read the note under each.
Prague
$1,190 to $1,300£891 to £975 a month
Rent
$935 to $1,050A 45 square metre flat at the asking rate: CZK 451 a square metre in Praha 10 to CZK 505 in Praha 1 (Deloitte, first quarter of 2026, furnished or not unstated). CZK 20,295 to 22,725
A desk
No checked figureNo checked monthly coworking price: only day passes, from a listing site
Weekday lunches
$226Poledni menu, the Prague average in December 2025, CZK 223 each, 22 working days
Getting around
$25Prague 30-day adult pass, ages 18 to 60. CZK 550
About $3,400 a month (CZK 885,870 a year); in pounds, about £2,560 a month
How long
Annual visas, by a 2023 account, then a move to a long-term residence permit. Renewal terms not checked
What it leads to
Permanent residence after five years' residence; a 2026 reform has been reported but not checked. Citizenship not checked
Without a visa
British and American passports: 90 days in any 180 across Schengen expected, not checked
The catch. It is not open to all remote workers. You need a listed passport and an IT job, and annual quotas can close the programme mid-year. You also need a degree of at least 3 years in IT, marketing or advertising, or at least 3 years' proven experience in those fields (Brno Expat Centre, January 2025, semi-official). Official pages disagree on the list: all include the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan. There is no legal entitlement to a place.
Berlin
Residence permit for freelance work (section 21(5))
Income needed
No income floor; in pounds, No income floor
How long
Up to three years, extendable if the business supports you
What it leads to
Permanent residence after five years, citizenship after five; the three-year citizenship route was abolished on 30 October 2025
Without a visa
British and American passports: 90 days in any 180 across Schengen
The catch. There is no digital nomad visa, so this is a freelance permit, not a remote-work one. Over 45, you must also show a pension of EUR 1,612.53 a month from 67 or assets of EUR 232,204. You apply from inside Germany, not on a Schengen tourist visa, with German health insurance and a Berlin lease.
See where your own income stands in every country. Check your income
Keeping your working hours
A 9am to 5pm day in the employer's city, shown in local time, for today's date, so it allows for the clocks changing.
The average high in °C each month, coloured by the rule on our best-time page: green is a high of 20 to 32°C with under 150mm of rain; red is a high of 38°C or more or under 12°C, 250mm of rain or more, or 33°C or more with 150mm of rain or more. Hover over a month for its rain.
No areas advised against. The UK says terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Germany. In July 2026 one person was killed and 29 injured when a vehicle drove into crowds at Christopher Street Day, Berlin's Pride.
The US level is for the whole country, as the State Department sets it, and some countries have stricter advice for particular regions.
Who each one suits
From each city guide, word for word.
Prague
It suits
British, American and other listed-passport holders who work in IT, as a foreign company's employee or as a freelancer willing to take out a Czech trade licence, and who earn well above the Czech average wage. It suits someone who can apply before the year's quota is used up, can wait up to 45 days for a decision, and is happy to live by tram and metro on a CZK 550 monthly pass.
It doesn't suit
Remote workers outside IT: the nomad programme is not open to you, and marketing is only listed by CzechInvest. Anyone whose passport is not on the list, and three official pages give three different lists. Anyone who needs certainty: there is no legal entitlement to a place, and the quota can shut applications mid-year. Anyone hoping for cheap rent: a 45 square metre flat at central asking rates comes to about CZK 20,300 to 22,700 a month.
Freelancers with real, documentable clients, such as designers, developers, writers and consultants, who are ready to make Berlin their main home, register an address and buy German health insurance. In return you get a legal, renewable permit with a five-year path to settlement and to citizenship. It also suits anyone who wants a big English-friendly creative and tech scene, EUR 63 a month for local transport across all of Germany, and a city that rewards long stays over short ones.
It doesn't suit
Anyone who wants a nomad visa: there isn't one. Salaried employees of a foreign company: there is no route for you, and 90 days in 180 across Schengen is all you get. Anyone who hates paperwork in German, or wants to land and rent something cheap next week. If you are over 45 without a solid pension or about EUR 232,000 in assets, the freelance permit will likely be refused. And winters are dark, grey and near freezing for four months. If you came for sun, cheap rent and easy admin, go somewhere else.
