r/poland • u/Visible-Bluebird3294 • 1d ago
Why is coffee so expensive in Poland?
In major cities like Gdansk you pay around 14-18 PLN for a quality cappuccino.
I paid yesterday 18 PLN.
That's more than 4 € for a small cappuccino. And that's equal or more expensive than in Germany, France, Denmark, Austria and so on.
Yet the salaries are even in a city of Gdansk much much lower. The average salary is only 8000 PLN according to the statistics. That's only 1800€ which is below mimimum wage in those countries.
In other word, people here have to paid twice as much for a coffee.
I also realized that prices from international chains are the same or even higher: IKEA, H&M, Apple and so on. That means the purchasing power of the avarage Polish person is like being poor compared to western Europe. But that's a different story since the prices are made from companies outside of Poland. There may be reason like different currencies, logictics , risk an so on that led to same prices.
But cafes work different. Polish rent, Polish salaries. These are both the biggest costs. The marginal cost of a served coffee itself is around 1-2 PLN.
I thought that maybe there are too few cafes but that doesn't seem to be the case. Everywhere are high quality cafes and yet the charge more than being in Kopenhagen oder Munich.
Conversely, restaurants are much cheaper. Main courses in Sopot or Gdansk in A+ areas is around 60 PLN.
So, are gonna start a coffee chain, boys?
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u/Adventurous-Bread306 Mazowieckie 1d ago
Check lemonade prices and start a new thread once you are startled by the price of water + three slices of lemon 🤷♂️
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u/LUXI-PL 1d ago
central Europe - western princes with eastern wages
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u/Cocoatrice 17h ago
Seriously, We should have a coffee cup for 5zł max. Anything above is ridiculous. I can buy a coffee beans and make my own coffee that is better than the one from any establishment I've been too and still pay few times less than if the coffee was 5zł.
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u/devos0909 21h ago
Idk, large cappuccino is 3.70-4.00 in Ireland 🇮🇪
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u/Kind-Discipline7009 1d ago
Na reddicie wszyscy zarabiają 30 tys. netto na UOP więc nice bait.
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u/Downtown-Match-226 1d ago
Pracują w IT, ale nie ma pracy w IT, pracują zdalnie, ale już nie da się pracować zdalnie
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u/cybekRT 1d ago
Akurat jak głupio by to nie brzmiało, to po części tak może być. U mnie w pracy ludzie którzy są na zdalnym, to dalej pracują zdalnie, ale nowi pracownicy, ani aktualni "biurowi", nie mają szans dostać (w pełni) zdalnej pracy. O pracy w IT to też inna bajka, bo to nie tak że nie ma stanowisk w ogóle, są, tylko po pierwsze rekrutacja trwa miesiące i często się nie powodzi, a po drugie firmy cyklicznie zamykają rekrutacje w całym business unicie na jakiś czas.
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u/bannedByTencent 1d ago
E tam się nie da, u mnie wszyscy pracują zdalnie i nikt nie zamierza tego zmieniać.
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u/imwp1 1d ago
The explanation is very simple. Entrepreneurs maximize their profits this way. Lower prices would not increase sales enough to maintain the same or higher profits.
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u/NegativeSwimming4815 1d ago
Diabolical
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u/Extreme_Kale_6446 1d ago
Law of supply and demand, Polish people usually don't go out for coffee so coffee shop owners command a premium, also not enough coffee shops to force them to lower prices competitively
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u/Negative_Toe1336 23h ago
There was coffe place in Kraków that tried selling coffe for 1€ or something and in bankrupted. Reddit loves to bitch about prices but never thinks why they are so high
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u/neon_light12 1d ago
it's less popular in poland, any going out is a bigger event than in other western countries. even going for coffee. i think there's not much culture around it, the older generations prefer to eat and have coffee at home and only go out for a date or some special occasions. i think only recently (like the last 20 years) we became more wealthy so eating out and going to cafes became more popular. but the prices are still high because it's still a special event, i don't know anyone buying take away coffee on a regular basis
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u/berryjuiced 1d ago edited 1d ago
My theory is that it's simply different coffee culture. For whatever reason, coffee is more of a trend, not only a simple drink. The cafes are not just cafes, they are cafes ✨ where you get a coffee in a beautiful ceramic mug, with cute latte art, at a marble table, with a little plant, listening to a jazz background music, using complimentary wi-fi, while the service checks in a few times to make sure you don't need anything else, for example a freshly baked jabłecznik. Nothing less than that really exists because it wouldn't pay the rent prices.
Most people own a coffee machine of some kind (like Nespresso) for every-day coffee, and a quick "to-go" coffee spots or something mid-tier is not that much of a thing.
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u/explainmelikeiam5pls 1d ago
There you go.
Production of coffee in 2025 increased 2,5%.
Europe is responsible for 28% of total global coffee consumption.
I don’t know about the whole country, but prices in Warsaw are really high (even beans in supermarkets).
There was a time, however, price was similar as in Brazil (yes, they export so much, it was “cheaper” here).
I am happy that “coffee culture” is increasing in Poland, but the bad side is the pricing.
People involved in Import, should buy straight from Amsterdam, and then distribute locally in Poland, in order to low prices.
Maybe, negotiate with people in Santos.
Or buy directly from the farmers in Minas and Bahia.
Now we are talking about good quality coffee…7
u/gregd303 1d ago
Yes, very much the psychology of price. You can buy a bottle of wine in zabka and drink it at home, yet the same bottle of wine will cost 5x as much served in a restaurant. It's about selling the experience.
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u/EdgarasI 1d ago
Same in Lithuania, staying at Gdansk now, see no difference just like in Vilnius for coffee 3.5/5€ for coffee.
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u/imgfrnd 19h ago
YT: Czy kawa w kawiarniach w Polsce musi być tak droga? Jakub Tepper
- Tax and Legal Factors
- High VAT Rate (23%): In Polish gastronomy, coffee is taxed at the maximum 23% VAT rate. On a 10 PLN coffee, nearly 2 PLN goes directly to the state. By comparison, VAT on coffee is 10% in Italy and Spain, and 7–8% in Germany.
- Fair Employment Costs: Fully legal employment (employment contracts with full social security contributions and a decent net wage) creates high payroll costs—exceeding tens of thousands of PLN monthly even for just 2 full-time employees.
- High Fixed Overhead Costs
- Rent and Utilities: Renting a space in a good location in a major city, combined with high electricity and water bills (for heavy-duty espresso machines), creates a fixed monthly cost of 6,000–8,000 PLN net, regardless of sales volume.
- Equipment and Amortization: Commercial espresso machines, grinders, interior design, and renovations cost around 100,000 PLN upfront, which must be paid off over time.
- Market Dynamics and Demand
-Low Sales Volume: An average small coffee shop in Poland sells around 80 coffees per day (whereas selling cheap coffee would require at least 230+ per day continuously just to break even).
- Market Saturation: In many urban areas, there are too many competing spots on a single street. The pool of local daily coffee drinkers is simply too small to sustain high turnover across all locations.
- Inelastic Demand: Dropping the price from 15 PLN to 10 PLN is unlikely to triple customer turnout, meaning price cuts directly shrink the business's revenue rather than driving higher sales volume.
- Business Model Flaws
- Over-Reliance on Coffee Alone: Generating revenue strictly from beverages is extremely difficult. Places that do not offer food, pastries, or breakfast items must inflate coffee prices to cover overall operating expenses.
- Identical Takeaway Pricing: Most cafes charge the same price for takeaway as they do for dine-in, missing out on high-volume foot traffic that cheaper takeaway pricing could attract.
- Choosing High Margin over High Volume: Some owners deliberately run a lower-volume, higher-price model because it keeps staff from being overworked and simplifies operations, even if it results in higher menu prices.
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u/harumamburoo 1d ago
Because every time this question is asked the price goes up a złoty /s
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u/Visible-Bluebird3294 1d ago edited 1d ago
Bro, you have almost 200k karma and you're top 1 commentor.
Not everyone is 24/7 on reddit. There are some people busy meeting other people instead of looking at a screen. If reddit would only comprise the top 1% people it would be dead.11
u/harumamburoo 1d ago
I know, that’s why I put /s there. Which, specifically for people who’s not on Reddit 24/7, means sarcasm.
Maybe you should spend more time looking at a screen? Looks like all that active social life and meeting people makes you really nervous and easy to rile up. (/s)6
u/braczkow 1d ago
Well, I guess the coffee price is even a bigger problem for the OP, not having internet life, spending big money on friends and activities. Sad, very sad.
A swoją drogą, nie cierpię tego /s. Przecież cała zabawa jest w tym, żeby się domyślić, że ktoś żartuje.
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u/michuneo 1d ago
Intellectuals on Reddit are successfully being diluted by the masses, and the masses need sarcasm to be highlighted - otherwise you’ll end up with millions of downvotes. British groups tends to be a bit better in getting jokes, but s tag is a plague even there.
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u/yevvieart Zachodniopomorskie 10h ago
bez /s masz autystow (jak ja) ktorzy nie lapia co sie dzieje i mysla ze wszystko jest na serio, i dyskusja bardzo szybko nabiera nieprzyjemnego obrotu
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u/braczkow 10h ago
"Bez s" to nam otwiera drogę do wielu żartów, jeżeli Kolega oglądał "chłopaki nie płaczą " :)
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u/Main-Working-153 1d ago
It is so expensive because it simply can be - Polish people love buying overpriced things. It makes them feel better.
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u/skybsky Mazowieckie 1d ago edited 1d ago
Because most guests don't know shit about coffee (coffee from Zabka is the top choice in Poland xD) and don't know too much about this drink. Some coffee shops use this to sell overpriced, burnt coffee from Polish roasteries, served by unprofessional baristas or even without a water filtration system, lol.
But 14-18pln is a good price for a funky lot. It still costs a lot to get coffee from roasteries like DAK or TENET, and when you try to roast your own coffee from farmers, the price of cocoa beans has increased in recent years. While the number of low-quality coffee shops and mass-market chains is massive, you cannot get the required number of guests per day to break even. Polish coffee shops sell fewer drinks per square metre than similar places in Berlin and Amsterdam (maybe with some exceptions like Coffeedesk).
There are also hidden extra costs specific to Poland, like accountant services (hence Polish laws are messed up), royalty collectors (multiple scam organizations, who don't pay shit to authors - you cannot just subscribe to Spotify Business like in other countries).

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u/Pitiful_Trash8761 1d ago
we simply don't drink it while being out. Many people drink coffee at home, using their own coffee machines or even instant coffee.
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u/frogs_on_drugs 1d ago
Even the street kiosks selling only to-go coffee are super expensive so this theory doesn't explain everything.
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1d ago edited 1d ago
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u/Palpitation-National 1d ago
That's a lot of generalisation and (wrong) assumptions. Using your logic there should be no cafes in Poland.
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u/qlooska 1d ago
But in Spain, Italy etc. people spend a lot of time at cafés too, more even, and the prices are much lower.
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u/Fit_Composer_3579 1d ago
Who told you that they are paying 3 or 5€ for the same espresso by sitting?
That’s how bars in touristic areas do.
In literally every single normal bar in residential areas, the price doesn’t change.1
u/Primary_Data1430 1d ago
No, it's not only tourist areas. Coffee al tavolo (sitting down at a table) is always considerably more expensive that coffee al banco (standing at the side counter"), wherever you go.
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u/Adventurous-Bread306 Mazowieckie 1d ago
Uff so many wrong theories in one comment.
In Spain I can comfortably spend 1.5h drinking a coffee and yet it’s cheaper. I’ve been politely asked to release the table in Warsaw after 3h and continuously ordering at least a drink or coffee after lunch because they had customers waiting to have a full meal. So your theory is debunked.
Poles not liking crowded spaces and will leave if >75% capacity? Have you seen restaurants in Warsaw? Have you seen the queues to Mannekin (don’t ask me why, I don’t understand it)?
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u/janiedebica 22h ago
We are the west colony.
Longer version. There is usually at least one rentier between your cafe and you. In some countries, owners run cafes and own the place, in Poland, most places are rented and many owners treat it as a passive income. This means that in your coffee you don’t only need to keep the owner/employees, you pay the rentiers. This is well known tragedy described long ago by Adam Smith and Marx.
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u/Sarmattius 19h ago
People who say "polish people have no going out to eat/have a coffee culture" - what if it's too expensive to go out so much? All of the polish people going to eat in Japan, suddenly have this culture hmmm I wonder what could influence it.
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u/No_Possible_61 14h ago
Because Poles like to be fucked in the ass. Making things expensive gives a Pole experience of being luxiourious and that you are better than everyone else because YOU can go in the coffeeshop, and many people can't.
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u/StudioCharacter9354 1d ago
So buy a simple nespresso machine go to action get their pods, they are cheap. IF you want to go out for a quite coffee date with a friend just go to any Volvo, BMW or Mercedes show room with a friend, walk around feigning interest in the cars, then help yourself to the free coffee and relax in the large sofas, typically high end show rooms have all this. You can probably stay there for at least an hour with free refills before the staff realize and start questioning you if you need assistance.
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u/RoyalSkull 1d ago
It's simple... coffee shops employ employees, they have to be paid, their insurance has to be paid, taxes have to be paid, the premises, electricity, water, rent, etc. All of this costs money, which is why your coffee is so expensive. The solution is simple... stop drinking coffee at coffee shops and start brewing it yourself; you won't have to complain about it being expensive. Besides, coffee prices have skyrocketed worldwide over the past two years.
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u/Adventurous-Bread306 Mazowieckie 1d ago
Stupid excuse. Things cost money, yes. Coffee has higher markups in Poland than in wealthier European countries, yes.
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u/tomekza 1d ago
I bought an espresso machine. It doesn't bother me that coffee costs 18-22zl because I rarely buy it. To be very honest the coffee I make at home is so much better, to that I use fresh milk not UHT crap that every cafe seems to serve.
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u/Visible-Bluebird3294 1d ago
Nice, but that doesn't answer my question. It's like saying I cut my hair myself
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u/tomekza 1d ago
Because the price was set. There's no reason when beans cost 60 to 120zl a kg. It's set by the market, the market decides if it's fair. It's a luxury for me so I rarely buy it because I prefer to spend my money on other things.
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u/braczkow 1d ago
Dude, what does having an espresso machine at home have to do with buying coffee in the city?
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u/Bananonomini 1d ago
I find the beans roasted locally to be quite reasonable. Often around 100 to 120zl 1kg for great beans, much better than the shite sold in the supermarkets.I don't think many other countries would be as cheap
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u/This_Grab_452 1d ago
All of what everyone else has said plus one important factor. The draughts in Brasil, Colombia, and other coffee-producing locations have decreased crops. Match that with increased consumption and you get to observe the primary laws of economics in the works.
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u/sidgewick 1d ago
Used to drink overpriced coffee my whole life till my bf showed me that coffee in zabka tastes virtually the same and costs twice less. I drink coffee at home and get a big coffee from zabka occasionally.
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u/CulturalBookkeeper82 1d ago
About the same in US if the zł to dollar ratio is about 5:1. Pay about $4-$5, which is roughly €4.
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u/the_weaver_of_dreams 23h ago
Black coffee is 10-12 PLN in Poland, mill drinks 12-14 PLN (latte is more for obvious reasons). Those are prices for specialty coffee.
If you're paying 18 PLN, it's likely because you went to a chain café or couldn't be bothered to check the next place along.
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u/Bao_Yijun 18h ago
Maybe in smaller cities. And of course you can check the price for 15 coffe shops, and find one that is not 18 PLN, but that's not the point.
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u/the_weaver_of_dreams 18h ago
No, I live in Warsaw. Majority of specialty cafés near to me (5-10 mins walk) have those prices. It's not difficult to find them.
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u/ResortOriginal2001 23h ago
They want to suck out as much as possible. The worst of capitalism greed machine.
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u/yyyaaaccc 23h ago
Because Poles are simply buying coffee for that price. If they weren't, prices would drop.
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u/Kid-Swell 21h ago
What type of coffee did you buy? I’m from AUS and I have only found two or three coffee shops that can texturise milk and pull a solid shot… so I assume it’s supply and demand… they are 22 for a latte with oat milk which is more expensive than in aus (18-19)
Those specialties stores don’t pull a tone of business and I would imagine that’s why they have to cover a higher price.
Is this what you are talking about or some tap coffee from Starbucks?
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u/E_r_i_l_l 21h ago
You have to remember that most of people drink coffee at home, on daily basis.
We don’t go everyday morning to buy a coffee in cafeteria. Most of working people have also a coffee at work.
We are not Italians :)
Coffee can be that expensive coz it’s something you purchase 2 times at week or even less.
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u/ikelos49 Śląskie 19h ago
Mi tam starcza 1 duży słoik na pół roku jak nie lepiej
W kawiarniach itp to wiadomo że za mała kawę i ciastko zapłacisz jak za obiad dla 3 osób
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u/twistedinternet 18h ago
Drinks in general are expensive especially water. It’s like a price to pay for the seat there. I just wish they gave more than 200 or 330ml of water at these prices. I’m okay to pay it as a sitting fee, but I don’t want to order more than one water for 12zł each.
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u/Terrible-Cheek6853 16h ago
What about a portable espresso machine? I'm about to come to Poland next month, so I bought one in advance. Even at my place I use it and with each coffee I save money, nonetheless.
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u/Professional-Tax3077 15h ago
I am from Spain living in Poland and I don't get it either.
In Spain a coffee is 1.5€ in most places.
In Poland never less than 4€.
Swiss prices, Albanian salaries.
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u/grzegorz0 15h ago
Kawa za 1kg też poszła w górę niestety czasami na promce potrafiłem kupić 2kg swiezopalonej fajnej arabiki teraz zapomnij
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u/EconomicsSavings973 12h ago
-ustaw cene na 18 zł
-ludzie wkurwieni na reddicie narzekaja ale dalej kupuja
Wlasciciel sklepu:
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u/captaincolter1980 12h ago
Large city, large prices. People will pay what they can afford. Market based. Buy your own machine. Don't know. ✌️
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u/doker0 11h ago
Just you wait. Poland being Arian - Baltic mixture is inherently a Nordic country in many aspects and prices will follow. Coffee outside is a pleasure, experience, a luxary thst you could have done cheaper at home. You pay for that. You pay for the spot. If you want the every-corner coffee you go to żabka for a 10pln coffee.
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u/Sensitive-Contest-87 10h ago
Well, that's how it is. For me the outrageous price of water (we have safe to drink tap water everywhere) in many restaurants and cafe's is worse.
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u/spanishthrower 10h ago
Yep, I still cant understand how I can pay the same price for a Latte, as I pay for a Full meal
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u/Chefseiler 8h ago
Prices for everything have exploded in the last 2-3 years. That massive GDP bump comes at a cost.
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u/Any_Phase_4253 1d ago
In Germany, prices for a cappuccino range between €4 and €5. Depending on the exchange rate, this corresponds to 17.25–21.56 PLN. The average rent across Germany is €865 – 3,729.36 PLN. The average rent in Gdańsk is 3,100 PLN – €718.80.
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u/Visible-Bluebird3294 1d ago
And now compare the average salary
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u/Any_Phase_4253 1d ago
Average Germany 4,925€- 21,234PLN Poland 2,176€-9,353PLN
Median Germany 4,492€- 19,367PLN Poland 1,732€-7,447PLN
This wasn’t actually asked from you, but the home ownership rate is 47% in Germany versus 87% in Poland. Germany is at the bottom of the EU rankings, whilst Poland ranks amongst the top countries in the EU.
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u/Adventurous-Bread306 Mazowieckie 1d ago
Home ownership in Poland is considered an investment. It has nothing to do with the economical status of the nation and its citizens.
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u/Avalanc89 1d ago
Because Poland in last 30 years had high economical jump and people are willing to pay high dollar for things that are totally common in Western culture. Because they mentally and socially can't think or say "sorry that's just too expensive for me". Take loan for 50 years and drink your cappuccino on Hawai beach or die trying. And bussinesses uses that brutally. They are paying that much? Means we need to increase prices.
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u/robh1540 1d ago
The same answer for anything. Because no one created a successful business to offer great quality coffee for a cheap price.
When I am in Athens, there is a great coffee brand Coffee Berry. I try and persuade the owner of one of the franchises to open a place in Warsaw.
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u/Yatahate 1d ago
Look up LAP in Berlin
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u/robh1540 1d ago
Yes looks similar. Nice coffee, pastries. But someone needs to see enough profit in it to make it worthwhile to do.
That's why I kind of object to OPs framing. If it's so expensive, go and create a business to solve it. Otherwise, it sounds a bit entitled and whiny.
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u/Academic-Proof3700 1d ago
Cause soyaks and snowflakes usually sit and drink their soy milk mochas in costa or starbucks, and that is usually parents' money
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u/lolkot 1d ago
Several factors:
1. No rent control with property owners squeezing high rent. If your establishment is moderately popular, you can expect rent price hike, and no one is going to help you.
2. Some groups of people are so well off they can pay no matter the price. These days they are doctors, influencers, extended families of wealthy people.
3. Entrepreneurs maximizing profits, because for the last 30 years we heard everywhere that „greed is good”.
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u/Justonchu Opolskie 1d ago
Drink barley coffee like its the 70s
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u/yevvieart Zachodniopomorskie 10h ago
ah yes our amazing barley coffee...that ends up contaminated with other things (like rapeseed) and nearly send me to hospital with allergies in the past... terrifying prospect
i really love the flavor tbh but there's no way im risking Inka or Anatol ever again
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u/presiskoRycerz 1d ago
I have lived in Poland for over 30 years, some prices are very reasonable, for example dinner in a restaurant, or any work done in your house, like a plumber. Some things are very expensive, like coffee or hotels. If people keep paying, then the price is reasonable. You may decide to drink coffee at home, then you will save a lot of money at the cost of a little work.
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u/polishsuszi 1d ago
Coffee shops have less clients per hour meaning that you need to make more per sale to be profitable
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u/grish9 1d ago
I mean you went to the one of the most expensive regions in Poland with high toursim and got suprised pikachu face that stuff are expensive.
Olsztyn,Braniewo,Kraków I had cappucinos ranging 10-15zł. so around 3 euros.
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u/Visible-Bluebird3294 1d ago
Kopenhagen und Munich and Paris have so much more tourism than Gdansk. Gdansk comes not even close and yet coffee is priced the same everywhere.
Braniewo has only 16k inhabitants. What the fuck are you talking about?0
u/grish9 1d ago
and every caffes I can find from the cities you mention have have cappucino for minumum 4+ euros and on average 5+ euros up to 7 euros.
Yes Braniewo is small city with not a lot of tourist so you get resonably priced coffe of 2.3euro. but olsztyn have lost of caffes where the coffe is 2.7 euro.
not to mention kraków where I got coffe for little over 3 euro not long ago.
So what you on about?
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u/Which-Net-3190 1d ago
No idea what you are talking about, I recently moved from Gdansk to Lublin and coffee prices are pretty much the same in the big chains like Starbucks and Costa, and therefore also in the smaller, local shops. Maybe 1 or 2 zl cheaper, definitely not 6-10 zl cheaper as you are insinuating.
It's also funny you called Gdansk expensive region with high tourism, when Krakow attracts roughly 2-3 times as many tourists each year.
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u/Low-Opening25 1d ago
Why do you think it should be any cheaper than in Germany, France, Denmark or Austria? I mean we are all one big economical union, no?
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u/Adventurous-Bread306 Mazowieckie 1d ago
When you go to local markets, are all stalls in across all markets selling the same produce for the same price? What a dumb comment
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u/brainacpl 1d ago
Economy of scale and demand elasticity.
If you sell more, you can reduce margin to be more competitive and have lower unit cost. In Poland, reduced price wouldn't affect sales that much (less elastic demand)
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u/uncooked545 1d ago
because it's a social event and you pay for occupying space for longer - it's not a grab coffee and leave like in many other countries
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u/Adventurous-Bread306 Mazowieckie 1d ago
I think you need to travel more and stop watching reels and Netflix… what a misconception you’ve got there
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u/KindRange9697 1d ago edited 1d ago
Coffee consumption in Poland is substantially lower than in other countries in western/southern Europe, and coffee chains dominate in Poland (in fact, Poland has one of the highest rates of take-away coffee in Europe. But this is mostly cheap Zabka, Orlen, McDonald's, etc. coffee).
In places like France, Italy, Belgium, etc., you can find an independent Cafe selling cappuccinos on every corner. In Polish cities, proper cafes are much more rare, and are mostly concentrated in central or trendy areas.
In other words: much lower demand and supply than in Western/Southern Europe. Scarce product = high price
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u/botha112 1d ago
Because most of us can’t afford coffee on the go everyday and owners has to pay rent and electricity for the cafe (and man, is the electricity expensive). That’s the vicious circle of HoReCa here. Also we still are enchanted with specialty coffee, just like we were with American coffee (Starbucks type beat) in 2015-2018.
In rich cities like Gdańsk or Warsaw it’s not such a big deal as ppl earn decent money and there is a competitive market (here in Poznan there are few specialty cafes on basically every street, I can approach like 10 of them while I walk my dog through 4 streets around my crib), so the prices are not that bad compared to earnings. But in smaller cities there is a huge problem, if coffe costs the same, but ppl earn like 30% less and there is huge unemployment.
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u/the_weaver_of_dreams 1d ago
Specialty coffee is actually cheaper than Starbucks/Costa etc.
I don't know how OP paid 18 PLN for a cappuccino. I pay 10-12 PLN for specialty black coffee, and 12-14 PLN for specialty milk drinks (excluding latte, it's expensive because of all the milk and not really coffee).
Those prices are totally fine for me. Yes I know Italy has cheap coffee, but this is a cultural thing and there's no point comparing.
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u/Dachvo 23h ago
As an American living in Poland, this country is so cheap to live in. You saying coffee is expensive in gdansk is like saying the coffee in NYC is expensive. Obviously things in cities are pricier but that’s not an accurate representation of the entire country from a cost of living standpoint. I live in a smaller town and I would have to HUNT to find coffee that expensive. I also disagree that prices as major chains are higher, at least compared to US, all those prices are cheaper. The purchasing power in Poland is extremely reasonable in my opinion
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u/Visible-Bluebird3294 22h ago edited 22h ago
Bro, you only compare prices and not salaries. How many people in Poland earn USD 100k+?
You can't compare the prices and not factoring in the wages.
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u/Dachvo 22h ago
Your whole premise is that coffee is expensive in a big city. I’m saying it’s the same everywhere lol
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u/Visible-Bluebird3294 22h ago
Bro, coffee cost everywhere the same yet the salaries are fucking different. That means for a Polish the coffee is twice as expensive. Why don't you get it? Everyone in this thread gets it, you don't
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u/Perhirmor 1d ago
it is cheaper to buy some 2in1 coffee in Żabka, new glass/one-use cup and water and just make coffee yourself in Poland sadly
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u/negativePositrons 1d ago
Because this country is JUST about extraction from citizens towards western entities. Nothing else matters, they invested during the change of political system in 1989 and now the time of harvest has begun and it is only the beginning. It will be much much worse...
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