Is a laundromat worth it?

Moving to Germany often means a flat without a washing machine, or with a connection but no machine. Buy one, or use a laundromat? The prices are the same at all seven Wash&Go laundromats in Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg and Karlsruhe, so you can do the maths properly.

What does one load cost?

What does it cost per month?

Detergent not included: bring your own or add €0.70 per wash.

Is it cheaper than owning a washing machine?

That depends on your numbers, so here's how to work it out: take the price of a machine (plus delivery, installation and a dryer if you want one), divide it by the years you'll actually stay in the flat, then add electricity, water, detergent and the odd repair. Compare that with the monthly table. If you are in Germany for one or two years, a machine you have to sell or leave behind rarely wins.

Who is a laundromat best for?

• Students and interns in shared flats or student rooms without a connection.
• Expats on a fixed-term contract who don't want to buy appliances.
• Small flats with no space for a machine, let alone a dryer.
• Anyone with bulky items: duvets, curtains and sleeping bags fit in the 18 kg machine.
• Anyone whose machine just broke, see Broken washing machine?

When is your own machine the better deal?

Honestly: if you wash every day, for example as a family with small children, and you have the space and connection, your own machine usually wins. Then the laundromat is the add-on for big items and for weeks when the pile gets out of hand.

Is the discount card worth it?

If you come regularly, yes. With the card an 8 kg wash costs €3.80 instead of €5.00, and you get a bonus when topping up: €10 becomes €11.00, €20 becomes €23.00, €30 becomes €36.00 and €50 becomes €62.50. You get the card from the payment terminal for a €5 deposit, with a minimum use of 3 months. It works at all seven laundromats, so it doesn't matter whether you wash near home, work or campus. Details on the prices page, more answers in our Q&A.