Berlin or Amsterdam? On a map they look like cousins. In a wallet, they are not related at all. Here is the money version of the comparison, because the travel blogs will not give you this one.
Rent. Berlin wins and it is not close. The shared-flat culture keeps rooms affordable even as prices climb. Amsterdam's housing market is famously, painfully tight. Finding any room in Amsterdam is hard; finding a cheap one is a competitive sport. Start your Amsterdam housing search months earlier than feels necessary. Seriously. Months. I mean it.
Food next. Berlin grocery shopping is genuinely cheap: discount chains, Turkish markets, bakeries selling dinner for pocket change. The monthly food and grocery budget for students in Berlin is one of the lowest in Western Europe if you cook. Amsterdam groceries cost more, and the gap shows up every single week at checkout. Both cities have great cheap eats, but Berlin's everyday prices are kinder. This surprised me the first time I compared receipts. It should not have.
Transit is where Amsterdam gets interesting. The city is built for bikes, and a secondhand bike is the best transport investment you will ever make. Monthly passes exist, but many students barely need them. Berlin counters with the semester ticket, a student transit deal so good it feels like a pricing error. The public transport cost for students in Amsterdam per month only matters if you actually ride; in Berlin the ticket is bundled and unlimited. Different systems, both good, different math.
Then there is the lifestyle tax. Berlin's nightlife is cheap. Amsterdam's is not. Pick your poison, but budget for the one you pick.
Bottom line: Berlin is the budget pick, Amsterdam is the premium pick, and the bikes and canals almost justify it. Almost. For the cost of living for international students by city, these two are a perfect case study in how the same continent hides wildly different price tags. Run the numbers first with a study abroad cost of living calculator app, iOS or Android, then log real prices in a city by city student expense tracker app once you arrive. Or let the pre-departure concierge at studyabroadadvisor.fyi do the comparison with you. Either way, decide with numbers, not vibes.