This is the real gap. Germany’s statutory health insurance runs about €141–146/month, or roughly €1,700–1,755/year. Italy, by contrast, lets students with no income beyond a scholarship register with the national health service for a flat €700/year — under half the German cost, for coverage that treats you as a resident, not a stripped-down student plan. Over a two-year master’s, that difference alone is over €2,000.
Tuition: Germany is simpler, Italy is more variable
Most German public universities charge no tuition at all for Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees — you only pay a semester contribution (typically a few hundred euros, covering student services and often a public transport pass). The one major exception is Baden-Württemberg (Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Mannheim, Tübingen and others), where non-EU students pay an additional €1,500 per semester under a state law in place since 2017.