The Deutschlandticket: Germany's everything-local pass

One ticket, the whole country's local network

The Deutschlandticket (launched 2023 as the successor to the €9 ticket) is one of the best deals in German daily life: a single flat monthly fare for unlimited local and regional public transport everywhere in Germany. No more per-city fare zones, no more working out which Verkehrsverbund you're in - one ticket works on:

• Every city's local transport: U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams (Straßenbahn), and buses, in every city and town.
• All regional trains nationwide: Regionalbahn (RB) and Regional-Express (RE), plus most S-Bahn networks.
• Across all 16 states, seamlessly - a ticket bought in Berlin works in Munich, Hamburg, or a village in Bavaria.

At €63/month it pays for itself fast: a single city's monthly pass often already cost that much, and now the same money covers the entire country.

The one big limit: no long-distance trains

The critical exclusion every newcomer must internalise: the Deutschlandticket does not cover long-distance trains.

• Not covered: ICE, IC, EC (Deutsche Bahn's fast intercity trains), and long-distance buses like FlixBus. Board an ICE on a Deutschlandticket and you're travelling without a valid ticket.
• Covered: RB and RE regional trains - which *do* connect cities, just slower and with more stops. You can cross Germany entirely on regional trains with a Deutschlandticket; it just takes longer and needs connections.

So for a Berlin-Munich trip you either buy a separate ICE ticket (Deutsche Bahn) or spend the day hopping regional trains for free. A handful of specific long-distance routes are exceptions where certain operators accept it - check the DB list before assuming.

The price and what it's been

The price rose to €63 on 1 January 2026, and federal funding is now secured through 2030 - so it's a permanent fixture, though the exact price is reviewed periodically. It's still dramatically cheaper than the pre-2023 patchwork of regional passes.

How the subscription works

The Deutschlandticket is only sold as a monthly subscription (Abo) - there's no single paper ticket:

1. Buy it via the DB Navigator app, your local transport operator's app (BVG, MVG, HVV, etc.), or their website. It lives on your phone or a chip card.
2. It auto-renews each month until you cancel.
3. Cancel by the 10th of a month to end it at that month's end. Miss the 10th and you pay one more month.
4. Pause and restart freely - cancel for a travel month, resubscribe when you're back. Handy given the monthly flexibility.

Because it's cancel-anytime, there's no long commitment - a genuinely consumer-friendly structure by German standards.

What you can (and can't) take with you

The everyday details that decide how you actually use it:

• It's strictly personal (non-transferable): the Deutschlandticket is tied to your name and can't be lent or shared - unlike some old regional passes that let you bring others in the evening. Ticket checks match it to your ID.
• No free co-travellers, no free bikes: it covers you alone. Taking a bike needs a separate bike ticket (Fahrradkarte) per the local network's rules; children from 6 up need their own ticket (under 6 travel free everywhere anyway).
• A dog travels under the local network's pet rules (often free for small dogs in a carrier, otherwise a reduced fare).
• No first class - it's a 2nd-class product across all regional trains.
• 1st-class upgrades exist in some regions as a paid add-on; ask your local operator.

Chip card vs app, and what happens at a control

• The ticket is digital - either in the DB Navigator/local operator app, or on a plastic chip card some operators issue (handy if you don't want it phone-dependent, or your phone dies mid-journey).
• At a control (Fahrkartenkontrolle), you show the app's ticket (with its live animation/barcode) or tap/show the chip card, plus photo ID - inspectors verify the name matches. Riding without a valid ticket is "Schwarzfahren" and carries a €60 fine, so keep it accessible and your phone charged.
• The barcode/animation refreshes - screenshots don't work as valid tickets; the live app view or the physical card is what counts.

The cheaper versions: Jobticket and Semesterticket

Two groups get it below €63:

• Jobticket: if your employer offers the Deutschlandticket as a Jobticket, they subsidise at least 25% and the federal government adds another 5% - dropping your share to as little as ~70% of the price (~€44/month). Always ask HR; many employers offer it and it's a near-free perk to them.
• Semesterticket: many universities include a discounted Deutschland-Semesterticket in the semester fee (~€37.80/month equivalent in 2026, rising slightly from winter 2026/27). If your Semesterbeitrag includes it, you already have nationwide regional transport - check before buying anything (The international student guide to Germany).

Is it worth it for you?

• City commuter: almost always yes - it usually beats or matches a single city's monthly pass while adding the whole country.
• Occasional user: if you ride transit even a few times a week, it typically beats single tickets (~€3-4 each in most cities).
• Car-primary / rural with sparse service: run the maths - if you'd use it under ~15 times/month and have no regional-train trips, single tickets might win. But the monthly-cancel flexibility means you can subscribe only in months you'll use it.
• Anyone taking day trips: the free regional-train travel turns it into a leisure tool too - see the best The best day trips in Germany (most of them nearly free) you can reach on it.

How it replaces the old fare-zone maze

Before the Deutschlandticket, every city sat inside a Verkehrsverbund (regional transport association - BVG/VBB in Berlin, MVV in Munich, HVV in Hamburg) with its own zones, day tickets, and fare tables that never matched the next city's. The Deutschlandticket flattens all of it - one product, valid across every Verbund nationwide, no zone maths ever again. Practical upshots:

• You can cancel your existing local monthly pass - the Deutschlandticket replaces it and usually costs the same or less while adding the whole country.
• Visiting another city? Your ticket already works there - no scrambling for the local app or a day pass at the airport.
• Commuting across a regional boundary that used to need an expensive cross-zone ticket is now just covered.

The one thing the Verbünde still handle separately: bikes, first-class add-ons, and any night/express surcharges specific to their network.

Frequently asked questions