Paris, Edinburgh, Düsseldorf: drinks prices are local too
The city and the type of venue change the pricing benchmark, even when the same basket of drinks is compared.
A national price provides a reference point. When setting a menu or preparing for a sales meeting, the city and the type of venue often offer a more useful perspective.
In The Price of a Drink, the basket of six everyday drinks studied by Fyre sits 19% above the French benchmark in Paris. In the UK, Edinburgh shows a gap of +13% against its national benchmark. In Germany, Düsseldorf reaches +12%.
These differences describe prices at the typical venue, as defined by the report’s methodology. They show why pricing comparisons benefit from a closer look beyond the country level.
Paris stands out, but not every major city follows
Among the French cities presented, Paris ranks first. Lille stands at +6%, Bordeaux at +5% and Marseille at +4%. Lyon is slightly below the national benchmark, at −1%, while Nantes reaches −4% and Toulouse −7%.
The gap is also visible in an individual drink: a soft drink costs €5.00 at the typical venue in Paris, compared with €3.50 in Toulouse. This illustrates the need for local benchmarks when an operator reviews a menu or a brand prepares its offer.
Across the broader areas used in the report, Île-de-France stands at +16% against the national benchmark. That distinction matters: the Paris figure refers to a city, while the Île-de-France figure covers a wider area.
The contrasts also appear in the UK and Germany
Market | City | Gap against national benchmark |
France | Paris | +19% |
France | Toulouse | −7% |
United Kingdom | Edinburgh | +13% |
United Kingdom | Glasgow | −13% |
Germany | Düsseldorf | +12% |
Germany | Cologne | −2% |
The same basket of six everyday drinks. Each city is compared with its own country’s benchmark, set at 100. A selection of the cities presented in the report.
In the UK, Edinburgh is ahead of London, which stands at +10% among the cities studied. Glasgow is at the other end of the scale, at −13%. A glass of wine costs £5.21 in Edinburgh compared with £3.23 in Glasgow, at the typical venue in each city.
In Germany, Düsseldorf is ahead of Frankfurt (+10%), Hamburg (+8%), Munich (+6%) and Berlin (+5%). A 50 cl lager costs €6.00 in Düsseldorf compared with €5.00 in Cologne at the typical venues compared.
These percentages do not directly rank European cities against one another in euros. A gap of +13% in the UK is relative to the British benchmark; it does not mean that Edinburgh is cheaper than Paris at +19%.
Venue type also shifts the price level
Breaking the data down by venue type provides a second benchmark. In all three countries, restaurants sit above their national benchmark for the basket studied, but by different amounts.
Venue type | France | United Kingdom | Germany |
Restaurants | +5% | +11% | +2% |
Hotels | −1% | +5% | Not included |
Bars and cafés | −3% | −4% | −1% |
Quick service and coffee shops | −10% | −3% | −9% |
Gaps against each country’s national basket. The hotels category includes hotel bars and restaurants. German hotels are excluded from this comparison.
Soft drinks make these differences particularly visible. In France, the price at the typical quick-service venue or coffee shop is €2.50, compared with €4.00 for the national benchmark. In Germany, the corresponding figures are €3.00 and €3.71. In the UK, restaurants stand at £2.83, against £2.20 nationally.
Choose venues that are truly comparable
For an operator, the most useful comparison brings together venues with similar locations, offers and service. The national price provides an initial check; local data helps explain a difference.
For a brand, this view can inform venue selection and preparation for commercial discussions. An offer aimed at London restaurants may need to be presented differently from one designed for cafés in Glasgow.
Observed price gaps help focus the analysis. On their own, they do not measure profitability, service quality or the price a venue could charge after an increase.
Fyre’s data helps place a drinks menu in the context of its location and venue type.
Methodology Drinks Prices
Source: Fyre, The Price of a Drink, May–August 2026. Local and venue-type comparisons use the basket of six everyday drinks defined in the report, with a national benchmark of 100. They use typical-venue prices under that methodology, which differ from the per-serve medians in the international comparison. UK prices quoted here remain in pounds sterling. German hotels are excluded because their tills often record staff or package prices rather than menu prices. The findings relate to the venues observed and the cities presented.
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