See if you can relate to this: when I think of the term “Goethe Institut” I picture clipboard-clutching German schoolmarms expounding the finer details of the genitive case in front of wide-eyed and well-heeled students wondering if their time and parents’ money could have been better spend somewhere else. I picture chalky two-tone asylum walls full of colorful, centrally approved posters illustrating how diverse and fun Germany is – you know the type: A white hijab-wearing engineer lady with a helmet and her South Asian stethoscope-around-the-neck friend laughing, both sharing a pretzel with a determined smile.

My big questions at the outset of this Goethe Institut review research project are: Do my expectations hold up to reality or am I being biased and unfair?  Is the Goethe Institute worth it, or could you get the same level of education somewhere else for much (much!) less money? What are the Goethe Institut reviews like? What’s it like to learn German at the Goethe Institut and are there any benefits to it? Let’s find out.

First: What even is the Goethe Institut? You might be surprised.

If we assume that the Goethe Institut is a collection of centrally-run German language schools throughout the world, I think a really important thing to keep in mind from the outset is that there are actually TWO different types of Goethe Institutes: The ones operating outside of Germany and the ones that exist inside Germany. They’re run under the same brand, but are (for legal reasons) VERY different. And that matters, because people will assume that whatever they think about the Goethe Institut (good or bad) applies in the same way to both and might be shocked.

Let’s talk about the ones outside of Germany first. You might be reading this in a country where it’s a complete no-brainer that, if you want to live/study/work in Germany, you’ll need to go to the Goethe Institut, learn German, and get a certificate from there before you hop on that plane. In places like that, the Goethe Institut enjoys a good reputation and taking its classes is a bit like driving a Mercedes. This is due to the fact that, outside of Germany, the Goethe Institut is a part of the cultural wing of the German foreign ministry (like the State Department in the US), and its taxpayer-funded mission is to put Germany’s best foot forward and represent everything that modern Germany stands for.

So, presumably, you can expect a high-tech veneer applied over a mountain of paperwork, disassociated staff communicating on script in order not to accidentally say what they're thinking, meticulously cleaned hallways, and the obligatory juxtaposition of Germany reckoning with its dark past, embracing its idealized present, and ignoring its fracturing society. Do I sound too cynical?  

I’ll be honest and admit that, as a long-time teacher, manager and owner of language schools, the Goethe Institut is quite annoying and, in my opinion, shouldn’t even exist inside Germany, at least not under the same brand as it does abroad. You might have spotted the problem: We’re paying a lot of money to fund a state-run brand that competes with private companies domestically that offer the same service. It’s unnecessary at best and illegal at worst. Again, just my opinion.

So yes, the Goethe Institut also runs its own schools throughout Germany. Here it’s important to point out that, yes, the one dozen or so institutes within Germany are self-funded and NOT supported by taxpayers (which would be forbidden), but of course benefit immensely from the international acclaim and promotions of the brand. Putting a little cherry on top of this absurdity is the fact that the public pension services investigated and accused the Goethe Institut of depriving its teachers of deserved social security benefits – a hot topic called false self-employment (“Scheinselbständigkeit”). The Goethe Institut was ultimately cleared of the charge (to the relief, it must be said, of most language schools in Germany, which had similar arrangements with their teachers).

Is the Goethe Institut free? How much does it cost?

Ok, so now let’s get back to the original question: Is the Goethe Institut worth it? We’ll separate the domestic schools and the international culture promotion organization from this point on. Let’s talk about how much a course at Goethe Institut costs first.

How much does it cost to complete an A1-level German course at the Goethe Institut (called Max Mueller Bhavan) in Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi, Kolkata, or Pune? As of June 2025, that would be INR 28.500,00 – INR 30.500,00  (roughly 300EUR) and take anywhere between 6-15 weeks, depending on how intensively you go to the live group lessons. I should note that it takes 160 units (a unit is 45 minutes) to reach a full level, which is quite a lot (compare this to 80-120 units that are normal for private schools in Germany). In Germany, you can expect to finish a CEFR level for about 390EUR – 600EUR in a private school (and having 160 units of exposure would easily cost at least 800EUR, though simple classroom time spent is rarely a good indicator of anything). So the Goethe Institut in India seems to be a pretty good deal in terms of money. But If you’re in India and want to learn German much quicker, you might want to consider an online course run from Germany instead.

If you’re in the UK, you get the feeling on the Goethe Institut website that they really don’t want you to take physical classes but rather make us of their online offerings – like a hybrid course, where you get one live session a week (180 minutes) and the rest is self-study with their learning platform. In this system, you get to complete a half-level for £439. Two of those make a full level, and would cost you a mouth-watering 1025EUR. 

For the live in-person German courses in London or Glasgow, the price is the same per half-level (at 8 teaching units a week, which is double the amount of the hybrid course, but here of course without access to their platform). The minimum (!!) number of participants is 10 here – which is way too much. By comparison, that number would represent a pretty hard maximum in many private schools in Germany.

So if you’re in the UK and want to learn German, my recommendation would definitely be to look elsewhere (again, consider an online course run from Germany itself).

Let’s do one more place outside of German: What if you wanted to learn German in Manila with the Goethe Institut? Here you get to finish a level in 165 units. Wait, why is it five more units here than in India? And while we’re on the topic, why does it only take only 80 units to finish the level in the UK? Are the students in India and the Philippines really that much slower?

Ok, anywaaay... a level here costs 24,500.00 PHP (roughly 372 EUR) so we’re getting close to what this would cost (at least for A1) in Germany. Unlike in the UK, you also get access to the Goethe Institut learning platform. Beware, though, that the class size is minimum 10 and maximum 20, which is quite a lot by German standards.

Now, let’s have a look at the prices in Germany to answer our original question: Is the Goethe Institut worth it?

In the Goethe Institut Berlin they have a maximum of 16 participants per class, and you can finish a level in 72 units in 12 weeks for 799EUR. If you’re keeping up, that’s 11EUR per unit. Can you imagine paying 11 Euros to be packed together with 16 people for 45 minutes? Mathematically, if everyone got the same amount of speaking time (including the teacher) and there were no silences, you’d get less than 3 minutes of speaking Geman. For 11 Euros. Enough said, or?

For Americans wanting to learn German (A1) with the Goethe Institut, it’ll be online classes with 10-13 participants, stretching over 110 units (with learning platform access) at a very steep 1,969 USD (ca. 1,708EUR). Yikes.

Let’s make this more appealing for the eyes:

I understand that the prices might differ from country to country, but I am baffled at the huge discrepancy in course lengths in order to achieve the same result.

For completion’s sake, and for a nice dose of extra confusion, here’s a sample of what’s on offer for online classes:

So, if you’re in the US and want to save a ton of money, what’s to stop you from joining an Indian online course? Maybe the thought of being one of 26 people in the virtual classroom competing for airtime?

Ok, so ... what do the actual Goethe Institute students think?

Goethe Institut reviews: Is Goethe Institut worth it (Reddit & Quora Comments)?

I took a long look at a LOT of reviews of the Goethe Institut, both on reddit and Quora, and also google reviews. I don’t believe that the Goethe Institut has a nefarious department dedicated to spamming the internet with its own praises or running a bot army impersonating happy students, so I took the comments at face value (which I would definitely NOT do for certain other schools I’m researching). The following sticks out to me from the Goethe Institut reviews:

Reddit user Asura22Nov writes that class timings are decided by the group and the instructor only after payment, which makes it difficult for working professionals, as sessions may fall on weekdays and be hard to attend after a long day at work. They mention that the course is not suitable for complete beginners, as it quickly shifts to sentence formation exercises with little grammar instruction and introduces only about 20 to 30 German words early on. According to them, some participants already have a strong grasp of the language, leaving newcomers unable to keep up, especially during Zoom breakout sessions. They state that the course costs ₹30,000 for four months, with weekly sessions of just 1.5 hours, and in their view, it is not worth the price. They add that attendance and submission of exercises are mandatory to receive the digital participation certificate, and that access to the online course is revoked after it ends, leaving participants only with a PDF containing vocabulary and basic grammar notes.

Some other quotes:

“I'd say it's worth the money. My wife took german classes at the Goethe Institute, because she happened to be married to a german native. I learned that 'Goethe' doesn't only give language classes but also offers some sort of a german surrounding. You can use their library and media-service with german books and films and there are german artists appearing on stage of Goethe Institut. Nearly all teachers are german natives and they have good connections to further programs such as excursions to germany, exchange programs and such. I'd say it's worthwhile a try.” (AdviceGlass1402)

“From my experience, the online course were just a glorified pdf scan of the book with drag and drop options. That's was it. Basically a self-study. Plus they offered no support or contact to talk to them. This was years ago. Maybe they changed... In general, I'd suggest a self-study if you are starting right now. From A1 to B1, the material is extremely watered down, and you have plenty of free resources online. It gets really tricky in B1+ and above levels. There, you really need help. If you can find someone who can explain in your native language the better.” (alexandri_reddit)

“I attended courses on Goethe Institut in Poland and also a bunch of different public and private german courses from A1 up to B2 level. The difference for me was huge, the classes, materials and teachers were much better prepared at Goethe Institute in comparison to all the different schools, lanugage schools, private lessons and university courses that I have ever attended. I don't know the exact situation in the UK, but I do recommend Goethe-Institut, cuz for me the quality difference was definitely visible. Addtionally, in my area their certificats are usually the most respected ones in terms of job seeking and university purposes.” (urbunt)

“I found the online courses totally disappointing. For me they were a waste of money. I went with another alternative which was a lot cheaper and way more productive for B1 and B2. Maybe I just got unlucky because at the time I was supposed to start they had to do online classes. I’m sure I would learn a lot more from in-class experiences.” (historianbookworm)

“In my experience, you can pass the exams with courses from any language school or education centre, as long as they're any good.” (belchhuggins)

“I would say they're worth it from B1 and above ... they are a bit pricey and you could learn basic German (A1-B1) elsewhere, with supplementary online resources and cheaper.” (former user)

“A1-A2 can very reasonably be taught through other means... I think a school like Goethe which only teaches in German, no English is best when someone has already reached B1 level. A school like Goethe that teaches only in German language might make it actually more difficult to properly learn the basics of A1-A2 German. A1-A2 German grammar is infamous for being very complex and difficult from the start. German case system, gender rules and word ending changes are a lot to navigate at first. Once someone is a solid A2 level, and is ready for B1 then a school like Goethe will help someone learn very fast with German instruction and conversational based lessons. B1-C1 will be better for Goethe style education once a student has built a strong A1-A2 foundation of grammar, vocab and pronunciation ability.” (sensualcenuar1)

So, let’s wrap this up: Is the Goethe Institut worth it? 

My answer is no, not for that amount of money and for the class sizes. Even if the teachers are excellent, you can find excellent teachers elsewhere in much smaller groups. Think about it: In groups of over 20 people, what could even the most excellent teacher hope to excel at other than classroom management?

I will say, however, that their certificates are indeed internationally recognized and respected, and if you need a certificate, and TELC isn’t right for you, go for the Goethe Certificate – but remember that you DO NOT need to take all of their classes before getting a certificate.

My recommendation is to actually learn German in a more economical (and comfortable) way, either at another language school or using a self-study video German course like my own, and then perhaps join a Goethe Institut Course at a higher level and take the test at the Goethe Institut in order to get the certification you need. Or look into taking the TELC test at another school.

TLDR: If you don’t need their certificate, look elsewhere. If you DO need their certificate, take lessons elsewhere first and then take the Goethe Test.

I hope you enjoyed my Goethe Institut review and I’m sorry it went on so long 🙂 As always, no matter what you decide, I hope you enjoy learning German and perhaps see you in class some day soon!

PS: If anyone from the Goethe Institut would like to explain to me why the number of units it takes to reach A1 is so vastly different in different countries, please enlighten me. I promise to post an update in that case.