Taxi Fares in Germany: How Taxi Prices Are Calculated

Why every taxi ride in Germany has a fixed price

When you take a taxi in Germany, you normally do not negotiate the price. Unlike most services, taxi fares are set by law: under section 51 of the Passenger Transport Act (Personenbeförderungsgesetz, PBefG), the federal states — or the cities and districts they authorise — fix taxi fares by ordinance. Depending on the place, this ordinance is called Taxitarifordnung, Taxentarif or Beförderungsentgeltverordnung. It applies to every taxi licensed in that area, and within the so-called mandatory service area (Pflichtfahrgebiet) the tariff may be neither exceeded nor undercut.

This has two consequences. First, the price for the same route in the same city is the same for every passenger, whether you take the taxi from a rank, hail it on the street or book it by phone. Second, prices differ noticeably from city to city, because each municipality calculates its own tariff and updates it on its own schedule. With the taxi fare calculator you can estimate your trip using the current tariff of 14 major German cities and compare them directly.

The four building blocks of a taxi fare

Almost every German taxi tariff is made of the same components. Once you know them, you can follow any taxi price.

Important: the distance and waiting rates never run at the same time. The meter charges either by distance or by time. Many ordinances define a switch-over speed; when the taxi drives more slowly, time is charged.

A worked example

Take a 10 km trip in Hamburg during which the taxi stands still for a total of 5 minutes at lights and in traffic. Hamburg's tariff sets a base fare of €4.50, €2.70 per km up to the 9th kilometre, €2.00 beyond that, and €38 per hour of waiting.

1. Base fare: €4.50

2. Kilometres 1 to 9: 9 × €2.70 = €24.30

3. Kilometre 10: 1 × €2.00 = €2.00

4. Waiting: 5/60 hour × €38 = €3.17

That adds up to about €33.97. The meter usually shows a few cents more or less, because it counts up in fixed steps of 10 or 20 cents. The taxi fare calculator performs exactly this calculation for each of the 14 cities and shows every item in a table.

How much do cities differ?

For the same 10 km trip with 5 minutes of waiting, the current tariffs (as of September 2026) give this picture:

The gap between the cheapest and the most expensive city is therefore a little over €6, or around 20 %. The ranking is not fixed, though: on short trips the base fare matters more, on long ones the distance bands. At 25 km, for example, Hamburg and Berlin move up because a lower rate applies there from the 9th and 7th kilometre respectively. In Nuremberg, by contrast, the first kilometre is unusually expensive at €5.10; after that the rate drops to €2.70 and from the 6th kilometre to €2.20.

Day, night, weekend

Night surcharges used to be the norm. Today most major cities have a single tariff around the clock. The exceptions among the cities covered here are Leipzig, Dresden and Duisburg, where a higher per-km rate applies at night and on Sundays and public holidays. How much that adds is explained in Nights, weekends, holidays: when do taxis cost more?

Surcharges: large taxi, luggage, airport

The most important surcharge, found almost everywhere, is for a large taxi when more than four people travel or when you explicitly order one. It ranges from €3.00 to €10.00 per trip. Normal luggage, prams and wheelchairs, on the other hand, ride free in almost all major cities. Among the 14 cities, only Düsseldorf has an airport surcharge (€2.00); Berlin charges €1.50 when you take a taxi from the waiting area at BER airport. Details are in the articles on large taxis and luggage and on airport trips.

Fixed price instead of the meter

Since the 2021 reform of German passenger transport law, cities may allow fixed prices or a price corridor for pre-booked trips. Many have done so: in Berlin the agreed price may be up to 20 % above or 10 % below the meter price for the shortest route, in Cologne ±20 %, in Dortmund ±15 %, in Duisburg ±10 %. The advantage: you know the price before departure, and traffic jams are not your problem. If you take a taxi from a rank or hail one, you always pay by the meter.

How to estimate your trip realistically

The biggest uncertainty in any estimate is waiting time. For a trip through the city centre at rush hour, 5 to 10 minutes of standstill per 10 kilometres is realistic; at night or on expressways it is often much less. The easiest way to get the distance is a route planner — the driver must in principle take the shortest route or the one agreed with you. With these two values the taxi fare calculator gives a reliable guide. In the end, however, the amount on the calibrated taximeter is always binding.

Taxi or your own car?

For occasional trips a taxi is often cheaper than it seems once you count the full cost of your own car: besides fuel there is parking, depreciation, insurance and maintenance. The fuel cost calculator shows what a trip costs in fuel alone; for electric cars, use the EV cost calculator. Anyone commuting regularly will almost always pay less by car or public transport. For the airport run with heavy luggage, after a party, or when several people share the cost, a taxi is often the most convenient choice — and not even the most expensive.

Key points

Taxi fares in Germany are set officially and are binding within the mandatory service area. They consist of base fare, distance rate, waiting time and a few surcharges. Between the major cities, a 10 km trip differs by about €6. Night surcharges have become rare, while fixed prices for pre-booked trips are possible almost everywhere. And because traffic and detours change the price, any advance calculation remains an estimate — but a good estimate helps you spot unpleasant surprises and inflated flat offers outside the tariff.