Independent guide · 2026 fares
Germany by train, without guessing which ticket to buy
Three products cover almost every trip here — the German Rail Pass, the Deutschlandticket and the BahnCard — and they overlap in confusing ways. This site lays out what each one really costs, what it lets you board, and which one wins for the journeys you're actually making.
Every price on this site is taken from the operator's own published sheet and dated. Fares last checked 4 September 2026.
Start with the right product
German Rail Pass
From €223 for 3 travel days
Flexi travel days on the whole DB network, ICE included. For visitors living outside Germany.
Read moreDeutschlandticket
€63 a month
Every regional train, tram and bus in the country. No ICE, IC or EC.
Read moreBahnCard
From 62,90 € a year
A discount card, not a ticket. Worth it if you keep coming back to Germany.
Read morePlan the trip
Which is cheapest for me?
Enter your journeys and the fares you were quoted; see the pass, BahnCard and single-ticket totals side by side.
Journey planner
Typical fastest routes and changes between the main German cities.
Rail network map
The ICE corridors on a real map, so you can see which cities are genuinely close.
Trip date planner
Work out how many travel days you need and whether a Flexi pass covers them.
The short version
- Two or three long journeys, booked early? Sparpreis tickets on bahn.de are usually cheapest. A pass rarely beats them.
- Lots of ICE travel, or plans that keep changing? The German Rail Pass earns its keep — you board any train on a travel day.
- A month in one region, in no hurry? The Deutschlandticket at €63 covers every regional train, tram and bus in the country.
- Coming back through the year? A BahnCard 25 pays for itself surprisingly fast.