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What a care home in Germany costs the resident in 2026

Choose the state, care grade and month of stay: the calculator shows the monthly co-payment, how it falls each year and how long pension and savings last.

Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate

0 = moving in now

empty = state average

Monthly co-payment, national average

€3,364

in month 1, supplement 15 %

Care (EEE) after supplement€1,775
Board and lodging€1,068
Investment costs€521
Fund pays the home€1,632
Monthly gap after pension€1,764
Savings last until the protected amount19 months
Co-payments over the next 36 months€108,569
By year in the home
Year 1 (15 %)€3,364
Year 2 (30 %)€3,051
Year 3 (50 %)€2,633
Year 4 (75 %)€2,111
Step-by-step calculation
  1. vdek average for national average on 1 July 2026: EEE €2,088 (incl. training levy €150), board and lodging €1,068, investment costs €521.
  2. Month 1 in the home: supplement 15 % of the EEE = €313.20 (section 43c).
  3. Co-payment = €1,774.80 + €1,068 + €521 = €3,363.80.

Estimate using the 2026 amounts in Book XI of the Social Code. Only the decision letter from your Pflegekasse is binding. How we calculate

On 1 July 2026 a German care home place cost the resident an average of €3,364 a month in the first year of residence, after the supplement paid by the long-term care fund (Pflegekasse). The bill has three parts: the home’s uniform care co-payment (einrichtungseinheitlicher Eigenanteil, EEE) of €2,088 before the supplement, board and lodging of €1,068, and investment costs of €521 for the building. Only the care part is subsidised: 15 percent in year one, 30 in year two, 50 in year three and 75 percent from year four under section 43c of Book XI of the Social Code. The co-payment therefore falls from €3,364 to €3,051, €2,633 and finally €2,111. Over four years that is about €133,901 on average. The gap between states is €870 a month: Bremen is the most expensive at €3,761 and Saxony-Anhalt the cheapest at €2,891, according to the vdek.

The 16 states at a glance

State averages, vdek, 1 July 2026; sorted by year-one co-payment. National: €3,364.
StateEEE before supplementBoard and lodgingInvestment costsYear 1From year 4
Bremen€2,296€1,179€630€3,761€2,383
Saarland€2,176€1,271€574€3,695€2,389
North Rhine-Westphalia€1,983€1,331€654€3,671€2,481
Baden-Württemberg€2,401€1,153€463€3,657€2,216
Hamburg€2,159€1,074€572€3,481€2,186
Hesse€2,233€1,005€528€3,431€2,091
Berlin€2,410€870€469€3,388€1,942
Rhineland-Palatinate€1,766€1,280€508€3,289€2,230
Bavaria€2,185€979€434€3,270€1,959
Thuringia€2,045€971€454€3,163€1,936
Saxony€2,136€881€455€3,152€1,870
Brandenburg€2,172€972€332€3,150€1,847
Schleswig-Holstein€1,782€1,060€573€3,148€2,079
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania€2,070€901€371€3,032€1,790
Lower Saxony€1,862€857€568€3,008€1,891
Saxony-Anhalt€1,993€852€345€2,891€1,695

The differences come from different places. In Bremen it is mostly accommodation plus investment costs; in Baden-Württemberg and Berlin it is the high care part. In the eastern states investment costs and accommodation tend to be lower. Because only the care part is subsidised over time, the gap narrows less after three years where fixed costs drive the bill.

What the fund pays

Besides the supplement, the fund pays the home a fixed amount for care: €805 at grade 2 up to €2,096 at grade 5 (section 43 SGB XI), already deducted in the EEE. Grade 1 gets only €131 and no supplement.

Moving into a home ends the care allowance and most home-care budgets. The pension continues and is the main source for the co-payment. If it is not enough, savings are used down to €10,000; after that the welfare office can step in with social assistance for care. Who pays what, and when children are asked, is explained in who pays for a care home.

Questions families ask

Does a higher care grade make a German care home more expensive for us?

No. Within one home every resident from grade 2 to 5 pays the same care co-payment, the einrichtungseinheitlicher Eigenanteil required by section 84(2) SGB XI. A higher grade only raises what the fund pays the home. Asking for a higher grade after moving in therefore does not change the family’s bill.

Do we have to apply for the supplement?

No. Since 1 July 2026 the Pflegekasse calculates the supplement itself from information supplied by the home, pays it straight to the home, and the home bills only the remaining co-payment (section 43c SGB XI). Months with only a few days in the home count as full months for the rising percentage.

How useful are state averages when choosing a specific home?

They show the price level in a state, not the price of a home. Two homes in the same city can differ by several hundred euros, mostly in accommodation and investment costs. Enter the EEE from the home’s price list or contract and the calculator uses that figure instead of the average.

What does the co-payment leave out?

Personal spending money for clothes and the hairdresser, prescription and aid co-payments, health and care insurance contributions deducted from the pension, and extras such as a single-room surcharge. Families whose parent can only just cover the co-payment from the pension should look early at social assistance for care from the local welfare office.

Continue with

Care home co-payment

The care home bill line by line: EEE, training levy, board, lodging, investment costs and the supplement.

Care home supplement

The care fund’s supplement on the co-payment: 15, 30, 50 and 75 percent, how months count and what it is worth in each state.

Investment costs

What residents pay for the building: €332 to €654 a month depending on the state, never subsidised.

Social assistance for care

When pension and savings run out: protected savings €10,000, personal allowance €152.01, income limit and how to apply.

Who pays for a care home?

Pension, savings, care fund, welfare office, children: the order in which German care home costs are paid.

North Rhine-Westphalia

€3,671 in year one and still €2,481 from year four: accommodation and building costs drive the bill.

Laws and data

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Publisher of German long-term care calculators: care grade, Pflegekasse benefits, care home costs

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Amounts 2026, read on