Prague Drinks 2nd-Most Beer, but isn’t Cheapest

Among the 75 countries compared on the Index, only Bucharest drinks more beer, at the rate of 133 liters per person annually. 

But what may be somewhat surprising is the average cost of beer in Prague.

According to the Index, an average .33 liter beer costs $1.02 at a supermarket, and $4.32 at a bar, for an overall average of $2.67.

Converting to koruna, that’s roughly 107 CZK for a small beer at a bar, a price point I’ve never come across – not at the tourist traps on Old Town Square, not at Prague’s notoriously overpriced Václav Havel Airport.

But let’s just go with it. Footnotes indicate that beer prices were obtained by comparing “major international brands” and at “major hotel chains” worldwide. 

These numbers rank Prague as the 26th cheapest beer destination out of the 75 cities surveyed, well above cities in neighboring counties like Poland or Slovakia.

Krakow rates the cheapest beer globally, with an overall average of $1.66, tying with Kiev. Bratislava is third at $1.69.

Most expensive beer in the world? An average .33 will run you $6.32 in Geneva.

Prague residents spend an average of $1,030 per person annually based on these numbers. In Cairo, the average rate of consumption is 4 liters per year, for a cost of $25.

High prices don’t dissuade those in Helsinki, however, who top the list by spending $1,542 on beer annually.

But with beer prices in Prague apparently on the rise, perhaps those stag dos should consider Krakow or Bratislava instead.