How tipping works at a German restaurant
German law requires service to be included in menu prices, so you won’t find a service charge on your bill. Tipping is still standard for table service: 5–10% is usual, with 10% the norm for good service at a nicer restaurant. In a YouGov survey, most Germans who tip said they leave between 6 and 10%.
What surprises many visitors is how you tip. You don’t leave money on the table. Instead, when the server tells you the total, you say what you want to pay including the tip. For a bill of €46.80 you might say “Machen Sie 50” (make it 50). If you’re paying cash and hand over the right amount, “Stimmt so” means “keep the change”.
Careful with a quick “Danke” as you hand over a note: in Germany it’s often understood as “keep the rest”.
Separate bills
Servers will often ask “Zusammen oder getrennt?” – together or separately? Splitting the bill person by person is completely normal, and each person rounds up their own share. If one person pays for everyone, set the number of people in the calculator above to see each share including the tip.
Cafés, bars and beer gardens
At a café or bar, round up to the next euro – a €3.60 cappuccino becomes €4. For a bigger tab, such as a round of drinks, 5–10% is normal. Where you fetch everything yourself at a counter, as in a self-service beer garden or a bakery, nobody expects a tip; a tip jar is entirely optional.
Taxis, Uber and Bolt
Round the fare up to the next euro, and add €1–2 if the driver helps with luggage or the ride was particularly pleasant. With Uber, Bolt or FreeNow, you can tip in the app after the ride – equally optional.
Hotels
- Porters: €1–2 per bag.
- Housekeeping: about €2–3 a night, optional – leave it with a short note.
- Concierge: €5–10 for real help, such as a hard-to-get reservation.
City tours and guides
On group tours, €2–5 per person is a common thank-you; when the tour is included with a paid museum ticket, a tip usually isn’t expected. Private guides typically get around 10%. On free walking tours in Berlin, Hamburg or Munich, the tip is the guide’s pay – €10–15 per person is fair.
Tipping by card
With a card, the easiest way is still to name the total before paying. More and more terminals now suggest percentages themselves, which plenty of Germans find pushy. The Federation of German Consumer Organisations is clear that nobody is obliged to tip when paying by card, and that “no tip” should be just as easy to choose. If you want your tip to go straight to your server, leave it in cash.
Worked example
A €50 restaurant bill:
| Tip | Amount | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | €2.50 | €52.50 |
| 10% | €5.00 | €55.00 |
| 15% | €7.50 | €57.50 |
In practice this usually becomes a round number – “Machen Sie 55” is exactly 10%. Heading across the border? Tipping in Austria works much the same way, while in Switzerland and the Netherlands tips tend to be smaller.
Sources
Last reviewed: . Based on official tourism boards, laws and public authorities, consumer organisations, and established travel guides and media. Tipping is always voluntary – all figures are guidelines.
- berlin.de (official Berlin portal): tipping in Berlin berlin.de
- Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV), § 13: service must be included in prices gesetze-im-internet.de
- Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv): no one has to tip when paying by card vzbv.de
- Goslarsche Zeitung (dpa): YouGov survey on tipping and card terminals goslarsche.de
- Rick Steves: Tipping in Europe (travel guide) ricksteves.com
