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Berlin Transport Ticket Calculator
Find the cheapest BVG ticket for your Berlin trip in under 30 seconds.
Free interactive tool by a Berlin local guide. No signup, no email needed.
BVG, Berlin's public transport network, runs one of the densest, most punctual, and most affordable systems in Europe. The downside is that the ticket structure looks like it was designed by an accountant having a bad day. Single ticket. Short trip. 4-trip ticket. 24-hour ticket (the old "Tageskarte"). Group day ticket. Zone AB or ABC. Then there are reduced fares, kids' rates, and the famously confusing rule that a single ticket is only valid for two hours and only in one direction. As of January 2026, prices went up across the board and a few products were retired. This calculator runs the math for you. Tell it how long you'll be in Berlin and roughly how often you plan to ride, and it tells you exactly which ticket gives you the best price for your trip. No tourist traps, no unnecessary upgrades.
How to Use This Calculator
Pick the length of your stay (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 days). Estimate roughly how many one-way trips you'll take per day — most tourists land between 4 and 8. Choose your zone: AB covers everywhere inside Berlin's S-Bahn ring plus most attractions, ABC adds the airport (BER) and Potsdam. The calculator shows you what each ticket option costs for your scenario, ranks them cheapest to most expensive, and highlights the winner.
When a 24-Hour Ticket Beats Singles
Berlin renamed its "Tageskarte" to 24-hour ticket in 2026. The validity also changed — it now runs 24 hours from the moment you stamp it, not until 3 AM the next morning. The math is straightforward.
You take 3 or more rides per day. A single ticket is €4.00 in zone AB. A 24-hour ticket is €11.20. Three singles cost €12.00 — already more than one 24-hour ticket. From there it only gets better.
You're with a group. The 24-hour small group ticket covers up to 5 people for €35.30 in zone AB. Five individual day tickets would be €56.00. For families or friend groups it usually destroys all other options.
You don't want to think about it. 24-hour tickets give you unlimited rides for a full day and remove the awkward "should I walk this one to save €4" decisions. Sometimes peace of mind is worth the small premium.
When You Should Buy Singles or 4-Trip Tickets
You're only taking 1 or 2 trips that day. Two singles cost €8.00 — €3.20 less than a 24-hour ticket. With singles you pay only for what you use.
Use the 4-trip ticket if you're only here a couple of days. The 4-trip ticket (4-Fahrten-Karte) is €12.40 for zone AB, which works out to €3.10 per ride — that's 22% cheaper than buying singles one at a time. It's the locals' best-kept secret for occasional riders.
You're walking most of the day. Berlin's center is walkable. If you're doing a museum, a park, and lunch all within Mitte, you might use transport zero times. A ticket bought "just in case" is wasted money.
You're using the Kurzstrecke trick. A short-trip ticket (Kurzstrecke) is €2.80 and lets you ride 3 U-Bahn or S-Bahn stops, or 6 stops on bus or tram. For quick hops it's the cheapest option in the system.
Don't Forget to Validate
This is the rule that catches more tourists than any other. BVG paper tickets are sold pre-printed but not yet activated. You have to stamp them in the small yellow or red boxes on the platform or inside the tram before you start your ride. An unstamped ticket is the same as no ticket — fines are €60 and inspectors don't accept "I'm a tourist" as an excuse. 24-hour and group tickets must also be stamped, just once at the start of the validity period. Mobile tickets bought through the BVG Tickets app are validated automatically when you buy them, so this rule only matters for paper tickets from yellow vending machines.
What Changed in 2026
BVG raised prices on January 1, 2026, by an average of 6%. The old "Tageskarte" was renamed 24-hour ticket with a 24-hour-from-validation rule replacing the calendar-day rule. The popular 7-day ticket (VBB-Umweltkarte) was discontinued — for stays longer than 3 days, the calculator will recommend either the WelcomeCard (which bundles transport with attraction discounts) or the monthly Deutschland-Ticket at €63 if you're staying close to a month. Single tickets went from €3.80 to €4.00, the 24-hour ticket from €10.60 to €11.20, and Kurzstrecke from €2.60 to €2.80.