Why Munich’s Oktoberfest beer keeps getting more expensive

Beer at Munich’s Oktoberfest will cost between 14.80 euros and 15.90 euros this year, averaging 15.61 euros per one litre mug, BR reported. That is a 2.38 percent increase from 2025.

The long-term rise is steeper than in supermarkets. In 2025, a Maß at the festival cost more than 3.6 times as much as it did in 1991, while retail beer prices rose to 1.8 times their 1991 level, according to Germany’s consumer price index.

Since 2019, Oktoberfest beer has become 30.9 percent more expensive, compared with a 24.4 percent increase for beer sold in shops. Jürgen Michels, chief economist at Bayerische Landesbank, said the festival price had risen less sharply than gas, which increased by about 83 percent, and fuel, which rose by almost 47 percent.

Michels said a comparison with supermarket prices was incomplete because the Oktoberfest price includes more than the beer itself. “The beer price is the beer plus the event,” he said.

Peter Inselkammer, operator of the Armbrustschützenzelt tent and spokesperson for the Oktoberfest landlords, said setting up and dismantling a tent, logistics and storage cost between 1.8 million and 2 million euros, depending on its size. Personnel costs are another major expense, covering serving staff, chefs, musicians and security staff. Wages rose by up to 25 percent in the three years after the coronavirus pandemic.

Servers receive 9 percent of the price of each Maß. Other costs include music licensing fees, marketing and cleaning. The state receives 19 percent in value-added tax, while Munich collects almost 8 percent in turnover rent to fund festival infrastructure. Operators also pay other taxes, including business and income tax.

Munich reviews the beer prices each year. The city compares the festival price with the price of a litre of export beer in large restaurants in the city centre, where serving costs are also included. The city’s Oktoberfest press office said the prices were reasonable and that it knew of no case in which a reported beer price had not been approved.

Demand has remained strong despite the annual increases. About 6.5 million people visited the Oktoberfest in 2025, and roughly the same number of Maß were sold. Michels said the continued demand suggested that many visitors still accepted the price.