Breakfast Prices Germany

Breakfast Prices at a Glance: Three Price Worlds

The table lines up the cheapest and priciest checked anchor for each format. It’s why “What does breakfast cost?” has no honest answer until you name the format first.

Honestly? The middle world is where most readers will land. A proper café breakfast with a drink runs between €7 and €13 per person at the checked chains. Spend less and you’re eating at a counter. Spend more and you’re at a buffet.

The Budget World: Bakeries, Counters and Fast Food

McDonald’s opens the day at €2.19 with a butter croissant. The McToast with ham and cheese costs €2.49. The McMuffin Bacon & Egg and the McMuffin Fresh Chicken each cost €2.99. Priciest item on the checked list? Scrambled eggs with bacon, at €4.99, and add a coffee and you still stay under €7.

Bakery chains do their maths much the same way. Der Beck’s Guten Morgen costs €4.50 — a bread basket, butter, fruit spread and honey. The bigger Gute Laune costs €6.60 and adds a plate of cold cuts. Coffee costs €2.90 extra there.

BackWerk works differently — it’s self-service, so it posts observed ranges instead of fixed prices. Its small breakfast costs €3.50 to €4.49, the large one €4.50 to €6.00. Coffee there costs only €1.50 to €2.49.

The IKEA Exception: Breakfast for €1

IKEA simply breaks the pricing rules. Its SMÅFRUKOST cheese breakfast normally costs €3.90. Join IKEA Family and you pay just €1.00 from Tuesday to Thursday — hot drink with free refill included. Nothing else we checked comes near that deal.

The Middle World: Café Plates and Small Buffets

Café Extrablatt owns this world on its own. Its Breakfast Express, two filled half rolls, costs €5.25 in Witten. A portion of classic scrambled eggs costs €7.45. Add bacon or cooked ham and the same plate costs €8.45. Want a small start? Croissant options from €3.25 do the job.

The Breakfast Club is the chain’s weekday buffet: Monday to Friday, €9.95 gets you in, with a 0.2 litre glass of orange juice thrown in. On Saturday the normal breakfast buffet rises to €12.95. Sundays and public holidays cost €16.95. Children up to age 4 eat free, and children up to age 10 pay half.

The difference to the bakery counter? Your plate arrives at the table, ready to eat. No tray, no queue.

The Big World: Breakfast Buffets at ALEX

ALEX is the buffet specialist. Its breakfast buffet costs €14.80 in Oberhausen and Bremen, €15.70 in Weil am Rhein and €17.60 in Hamburg at the Überseebrücke. One product name, three prices — the location decides the cost, not the chain alone.

What do you get for it? An all-you-can-eat buffet with more than 160 products, from scrambled eggs and bacon to pancakes and porridge. Need less? The weekday Croissant Liebe costs €6.90. It brings a croissant with butter and jam, plus a small hot drink.

• A buffet pays off from about two full plates plus a drink.
• Drinks usually cost extra at a buffet, so plan €3 to €5 for them.
• The ALEX location gap reaches €2.80 per person.
• On Sundays, many buffets turn into a more expensive brunch.

Do the maths honestly and €14.80 plus a cappuccino and a juice quickly becomes €20 per person. Fair for a long, lazy breakfast with friends; for a fast workday start, the bakery wins.

Which Breakfast Suits Which Budget?

With €5, you’re fine at the counter: a croissant and coffee at McDonald’s, a small breakfast at BackWerk, or a Guten Morgen at Der Beck — without a drink, mind you.

With €10, you sit down in a café. That covers the Breakfast Club at Extrablatt, juice included, or a bakery set with a large coffee and one extra. For most people, this is the honest normal case for breakfast prices Germany.

With €15 to €20, you buy time and choice. The ALEX buffet falls into this class, and so do a Sunday buffet at Extrablatt and a long breakfast for two. Want to save? Go on a weekday instead of a Sunday and use weekday buffets like the Breakfast Club.

Good to Know

Prices can vary by location. This comparison proves it all by itself: ALEX alone shows a €2.80 gap between its cheapest and priciest checked locations, and BackWerk always works with ranges for each store. As of October 2026, every value here comes from the official menus and lists named below this article.

You’ll find the cheapest anchor on the official IKEA Food page. More on MenuPlatter.de: Frühstück Restaurant Preise Deutschland, Brunch Prices Germany and BackWerk Germany Prices.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a typical German breakfast plate include?

Rolls, first of all — not toast. A classic plate adds butter, jam, honey, cheese and cold cuts, often with a boiled egg on the side. And here’s what surprises many first-time visitors: sweet and savoury share the same plate. Germans eat it slowly, coffee in hand, newspaper nearby.

Which egg words help you order in German?

Three words and you’re set. Rührei means scrambled eggs, Spiegelei a fried egg, and a gekochtes Ei is a boiled egg — staff may ask whether you want it weich, or soft, or hart, or hard. Pronunciation shaky? Point at the menu while you say the word. It works fine.

How does breakfast tipping work in Germany?

You round the bill up when you pay — you don’t leave money on the table afterwards. So tell the server the total you want to pay before handing over cash or a card. At a self-service bakery counter, nobody expects a tip for a coffee and roll.

Why do Germans treat Sunday breakfast as an event?

Because Sunday is the slow day. Families and friends book a table, arrive late in the morning and stay far longer than they’d ever stay on a workday — and nobody rushes them away from the table. Want a quiet seat without a booking? Arrive early, or pick a weekday instead.

Do you need to reserve a table for breakfast?

For buffets and popular cafés at weekends, yes — a reservation helps a lot; walk-ins in larger cities often wait or miss out on Sundays. Weekdays are different: you can usually walk in and sit down. Bakeries and fast food counters never need a booking at all.