Many groceries in Austria are significantly more expensive than in Germany

This is also reflected in food prices. According to a price monitor from the Chamber of Labor (AK), comparable branded products in Austria are on average 18 percent more expensive than in Germany, net – i.e. without the different VAT – it was 15 percent. In May, the AK compared the prices of 71 branded items in Austrian (Billa, Interspar) and German online shops (Rewe, Edeka, Kaufland). Of the 71, the gross prices of 57 items were higher than in Germany, 13 products were cheaper and one product cost the same.

When comparing the net prices, 53 of the 71 groceries were more expensive in Austria than in Germany. The different VAT of the two countries was deducted from the net prices. In Austria, the sales tax rate is 20 percent, the reduced tax rate is 10 percent. In Germany the rates are 19 and 7 percent respectively.

According to the AK, extreme gross price differences of up to around 150 percent were found in isolated cases. For example, a 175-gram pack of Philadelphia cream cheese costs EUR 2.49 in Austria, but only EUR 0.99 in Germany – that corresponds to a price difference of 152 percent.

Products such as Leibnitz butter biscuits were 73 percent more expensive in Austria than in Germany, and a 500-gram pack of De Cecco penne noodles cost 60 percent more in this country than in the neighboring country. The price difference for a can of Red Bull was around 33 percent, for a liter of Sprite it was 66 percent.