Bean vs. cup: Where is the most expensive takeaway coffee in Europe?
While for some, a cheap cup of instant coffee made in the work kitchenette will suffice, others have developed a taste for 'a posh coffee' — often made by a hipster in a work apron.
But how much is a cup of this sweet nectar costing us, are we being ripped off, and how does pricing vary across Europe?
How much coffee is Europe buying?
Of the 27 EU countries and the UK, surveyed in Pressat's workplace coffee survey between January and March 2025, workers in the UK are buying the most takeaway coffees, at an average of 1.96 cups per day. This was closely followed by Belgium (1.79 cups), Poland (1.77 cups), France (1.76 cups) and Romania (1.68 cups).
At the other end of the scale, the most frugal with their coffee buying are workers in Luxembourg, buying an average of 0.82 cups per day. Also controlling their takeaway coffee expenditure are workers in Hungary (0.83 cups), the Czech Republic (0.84 cups) and Sweden (0.9 cups).
It then may be surprising to discover that as the fourth biggest buyer of takeaway coffees in Europe, France is paying the most per cup, at an average price of €3.42. Stereotypes usually lead us to believe that the French like their coffee short, dark and strong. However, of the workers surveyed, just 8.94% of them were buying an espresso to take away. In fact, the most popular takeaway coffee choice was a caffe latte (17.02%), followed by a caffe macchiato (16.17%).
The second most expensive takeaway coffees can be found in Lithuania, where the average cup price is €3.39 and the most popular style of drink is split between a cappuccino and a cortado (both are preferred by 14.87% of respondents).
The cheapest cup can be found, perhaps surprisingly, in Denmark, with an average price of €1.89. The Danes have a medium coffee addiction, with average workers buying 1.32 cups of takeaway coffee per day — and preferring to sip an Americano.
In fact, Denmark was the only country where the average cup price was under €2, with their closest competitors being Slovakia (€2.08) and Cyprus (€2.09).
Cappuccino index
A slightly different picture emerges from data on the average price of a cappuccino in Europe's capital cities, collected by Numbeo.com.
It turns out that the highest price in Europe for the milky coffee is paid in Copenhagen. In the Danish capital, a cappuccino costs an average of €5.81 — considerably higher than the average price of an unspecified type of coffee in Denmark.
Only in two other countries does a cappuccino cost more than €5: that's Iceland, with a price of €5.33 per cup, and Switzerland with a price of €5.27. More than €4 per cappuccino is paid in Scandinavia, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Austria.
At the other end of the scale are the countries of Eastern Europe, the Balkan Peninsula and Italy. In its homeland, a cup of cappuccino costs only €1.53 — but the cheapest cup can be found in Kosovo (€1.27) and Ukraine (€1.36).
Poles, who often complain about the high prices of coffee in cafes, are somewhere in the middle of the European scale, with a cup of cappuccino in Warsaw sold for €3.64. This does not mean, however, that Polish grievances are completely unjustified. Apart from Germany, all of Poland's neighbouring countries have lower coffee prices.
'A cappuccino in Warsaw costs 18 zlotys (€4.24), while in Bari it costs €1.50. We can see that Warsaw prices, which have spread across the country, are definitely higher than elsewhere. And it doesn't have to be that way at all,' Janusz Piechocinski, an economist and former Polish economy minister, told Euronews.
'Poland is the fifth largest producer and exporter of coffee in Europe. Polish companies import more than 200,000 tons of beans, roast and then export also in the modern e-commerce channel. So we have an efficient production chain created, and yet prices for the customer are high. Why? It may come from higher real estate prices and taxes than elsewhere, which raise the cost of maintaining restaurants and cafes.'
Are we overpaying for our coffee?
It takes around 7 to 9g of coffee to make a single espresso which equates to €0.00009 worth of coffee at current arabica bean trading prices (for a 9g serving). That seems like a huge markup, but of course, that would be a huge oversimplification.
Coffee shops also need to factor in the cost of staffing, as well as, takeaway cups, energy to power the venue, and coffee additions like milks, syrups and chocolate.
Though it's hard to compare exactly how much businesses are paying for their energy, the average cost of electricity for non-household, medium-sized consumers in the EU is €155.80/MWh. That's according to Eurostat data from 2024.
The data showed that Ireland paid the most for electricity in the EU, at €254.30/MWh. Only three other countries tipped over the €200 mark: Croatia (€216.90), Hungary (€205.50) and Luxembourg (€204.10).
Among the EU's big four economies, the prices varied dramatically: France (€163.90), Spain, (€121.70), Italy (€151.50) and Germany (€197.60). The cheapest energy in the EU could be found in Norway (€79.10)
Do coffee prices in Europe align with incomes?
If we take a look at takeaway coffee pricing versus salaries across the continent, who is getting the best value for money?
France, which has the highest cup price, had an average take-home pay for a single person without children just above the EU average, with French singles taking home €32,354 per year, according to Eurostat 2024 data. This means the average coffee is about 0.0106% of take-home pay.
Meanwhile in Denmark, where net pay is €43,913, coffee is proportionately even cheaper, at just 0.004% of a salary.
And home to the second-most-expensive coffee in Europe, consumers in Lithuania are getting particularly bad value. Citizens' average net salary is €15,909, meaning a cup of coffee costs around 0.021% of their annual take-home pay.
The higher-earning countries appear to be getting better value for money. Workers in Luxembourg on average take home €50,410 per year and pay around €3 per coffee. That's just 0.005% of their salary.
Cappuccino index by salary
Using the Numbeo.com data on the average monthly salary after taxes in European cities, we can take a closer look at how many cups of cappuccino the residents can buy.
In terms of cappuccino affordability, Italy ranked highest. In Rome, the average monthly salary can buy 1,399 cups of this type of coffee, while Switzerland's Bern (1378 cups) and Luxembourg (1347 cups) fared marginally worse.
The cappuccino index also clearly divides the continent in half. In Western European countries (with the exception of Portugal), a salary is enough for at least 750 cups of cappuccino, while in Eastern Europe, takeaway coffee is more unaffordable.
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