From coffee to beer: drinks prices in Europe

Four drinks, four bills: prices recorded at the till reveal gaps that vary considerably by category.

A 50 cl lager, a glass of wine, a soft drink and an espresso. For this theoretical round, priced at each market’s medians, the bill comes to €18.80 in France, compared with €16.20 in Germany and €16.05 in the UK, after converting pounds into euros.

The Netherlands tops the list at €19.50, around 21% more than the UK. But behind that total, each drink tells a different story.

In The Price of a Drink, Fyre analyses drinks prices recorded at the till from May to August 2026. For brands and venue operators, the comparison helps place an offer within each market’s pricing landscape.

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France combines an affordable espresso with a more expensive beer

At €2.00, the median price of an espresso in France is the lowest of the four countries studied. It reaches €2.90 in Germany, €3.37 in the UK after conversion and €3.50 in the Netherlands.

The ranking changes for beer. A 50 cl lager has a median price of €7.00 in France and the Netherlands, compared with €5.10 in Germany and €5.12 in the UK. For the 25 cl serve, France stands at €3.90, ahead of the other three markets.

The price of an espresso therefore cannot describe a country’s whole drinks menu. A coffee brand and a beer brand may encounter very different price positions there relative to their other markets.

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Eight drinks reveal four pricing structures

Drink	France	United Kingdom	Germany	Netherlands
Lager, 50 cl	€7.00	€5.12	€5.10	€7.00
Lager, 25 cl	€3.90	€2.68	€3.10	€3.60
Glass of wine, 12.5 cl	€5.80	€5.23	€4.40	€4.70
Spirit, 4 cl	€7.30	€6.51	€7.60	€5.60
Cocktail	€9.00	€9.89	€8.20	€9.50
Soft drink, 33 cl	€4.00	€2.33	€3.80	€4.30
Espresso	€2.00	€3.37	€2.90	€3.50
Cappuccino	€4.40	€4.30	€3.90	€3.70

Median prices per serve. UK prices are converted into euros at the average exchange rate for the period used in the report: £1 = €1.1632.

France has the highest median price for four of the eight serves, including one tied with the Netherlands: both lager sizes, wine by the glass and cappuccino. The UK leads for cocktails, while Germany has the highest price for a 4 cl spirit serve.

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Soft drinks show the widest gap between markets

A 33 cl soft drink ranges from €2.33 in the UK to €4.30 in the Netherlands. The report measures a gap of around 85%, the widest among the eight serves compared.

That spread deserves the attention of soft drinks brands. The price paid by the customer varies considerably by market, even for a comparable serving size. A sales pitch or positioning developed in one country is worth reviewing before it is rolled out elsewhere.

These figures do not, however, establish margins or purchasing power. Operating costs, the products sold and the mix of venues may differ. Till prices provide a commercial reference point, to be combined with other information before making a decision.

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Compare a menu category by category

For a venue operator, the table offers an initial benchmark. The next step is to compare each price with similar venues, using the same serving size, a comparable level of service and a relevant location.

For a brand, the value lies in identifying where its category occupies a higher or more accessible price position on the menu. In France, the gap between a €2.00 espresso and a €4.40 cappuccino illustrates how coffee drinks can sit at very different price points.

The right pricing benchmark starts with the drink and its serving size. The round allows a comparison of bills; the category detail helps build a commercial proposition.

With The Price of a Drink, Fyre gives brands and venues reference points for assessing their prices using sales recorded at the till.

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Methodology drinks prices in Europe

Source: Fyre, The Price of a Drink, May–August 2026. The report covers 178 million priced drinks, with a comparison of eight standard serves across four markets. The table shows median prices per serve, rather than mean prices. The round is the sum of the medians for a 50 cl lager, a 12.5 cl glass of wine, a 33 cl soft drink and an espresso; it is not an observed average receipt. UK prices are converted at the exchange rate stated above. The findings describe the scope observed by Fyre. Drinks prices in Europe.