Litigation Cost Calculator

Litigation costs in Germany consist of court fees under the Court Costs Act (GKG) and attorney fees under the Attorney Remuneration Act (RVG). Both are set by statute and depend on the amount in dispute, not on how difficult the case is. At an amount in dispute of €10,000 the first-instance cost risk is roughly €4,776; at €250,000 it is roughly €23,082. If you lose, the opposing side's attorney fees are added.

Yes. German civil procedure follows the loser-pays principle in Section 91 of the Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO): the losing party bears the court fees and the winning party's statutory attorney fees. If you win only in part, costs are split proportionally. Employment law is the exception — under Section 12a ArbGG each party pays its own attorney in the first instance.

The amount in dispute, or Streitwert, is the economic value of the claim being litigated. It is not a sum anyone actually pays — it is the basis on which every fee is calculated. Attorney fees derive from it under Section 13 RVG and court fees under Section 34 GKG. Without it, no cost estimate can be produced.

On 1 June 2025 the KostBRÄG 2025 raised the RVG and GKG fee tables by roughly 6 percent; the calculator uses that version. On 1 January 2026 the jurisdictional threshold in Section 23 GVG doubled from €5,000 to €10,000. That does not change fee levels, but it shifts which court hears a case and when representation by counsel is mandatory.

Both cost blocks rise on appeal: the court charges a 4.0 fee instead of 3.0, and the attorney a 1.6 procedural fee instead of 1.3. At an amount in dispute of €250,000, the second instance adds roughly €27,419 for the court and both sides combined, bringing the total cost risk across two instances to roughly €50,501.

Not automatically. A settlement reduces court fees, but each attorney involved earns a settlement fee of 1.5. In the worked example of €250,000 across two instances, settling at the appeal stage raises the cost risk from €50,501 to €53,729. The calculator shows both endings so you can compare them directly.

It depends on the court. Since 1 January 2026, local courts (Amtsgericht) hear civil disputes up to €10,000 and representation by counsel is not mandatory there. Above that threshold the case goes to a regional court (Landgericht), where Section 78 ZPO requires an admitted German attorney. A Revision before the Federal Court of Justice requires a specially admitted BGH attorney.

There are two routes. Legal aid under Sections 114 ff. ZPO is available if you cannot meet the costs from income and assets. Litigation funding is the other: with AEQUIFIN, registered sponsors take on your cost risk and share in the proceeds only if the case succeeds, regardless of your financial circumstances.

The calculator uses the abbreviations of German cost law. In brief:

RVG

Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz — The statute on attorney fees. What a lawyer may charge follows from the amount in dispute.

GKG

Gerichtskostengesetz — The equivalent for the courts: it sets the court fees for each instance.

VV

Vergütungsverzeichnis — The fee schedule in Annex 1 to the RVG. “VV 3100”, for example, is the procedural fee in the first instance.

KV

Kostenverzeichnis — The same idea in the GKG: “KV 1210” is the 3.0 court fee of the first instance.

ZPO

Zivilprozessordnung — The German code of civil procedure. Its Section 91 provides that the losing party bears the costs.

KostBRÄG

Kostenrechtsänderungsgesetz — The act by which the legislature raises these fees, most recently on 1 June 2025.

BGH

Bundesgerichtshof — The Federal Court of Justice, Germany's highest civil court and the court of Revision, the third instance.

USt.

Umsatzsteuer — Value-added tax of 19% on every attorney fee. The calculator's result already includes it.