How much do 2 crowns at the dentist cost?

Two crowns have no fixed price, but a difference: In 2026, the statutory health insurance pays a fixed subsidy of 239.03 to 298.79 euros per crown, and the rest is determined by your bonus booklet and material choice. With the standard care on a molar, you keep a personal share of 99.60 to 159.36 euros per crown — twice that for two crowns, and significantly more for full ceramic.

The short answer: What two crowns cost in 2026

Yes, if you choose standard care and have a bonus booklet: then your personal share is 99.60 euros per molar crown, or 159.36 euros without a bonus booklet — twice that for two crowns.^[1] No, if you want full ceramic in the front tooth area: then your personal share is a multiple higher, because the insurer does not increase the subsidy.^[2] There is no fixed crown price at the dentist, but a difference: the health insurer pays a fixed amount per diagnosis, and everything beyond that is determined by your choice of material.

In 2026, the insurer calculates total costs of 398.39 euros for a metallic full crown under standard care (the standard therapy defined by the G-BA for a given diagnosis). Without a bonus booklet, it covers 239.03 euros as a fixed subsidy (the fixed insurer subsidy per dental diagnosis), and with a ten-year bonus booklet, 298.79 euros.^[1][2] For two crowns of the same diagnosis, both sides of the bill double.

Important to understand: the fixed subsidy is tied to the diagnosis. It depends on the condition of your tooth, not on the size of your invoice. If you choose a more expensive material, the subsidy does not rise with it — only your personal share does. The next sections work through exactly this difference with concrete numbers.

For two crowns from the same finding, all amounts in this table double: the assumed total costs, the fixed subsidy, and therefore your out-of-pocket share as well. You'll find the exact calculation in the worked example further down.

How the fixed subsidy works: the statutory insurer pays per finding, not per invoice

The fixed subsidy system is the most common point of misunderstanding when it comes to dentures. The statutory insurer does not pay a percentage of your actual invoice, but a fixed euro amount per finding (the dental finding that describes the condition of the tooth). For more than 50 findings, the fixed subsidy directive sets a newly determined amount each year.^[1]

The fixed subsidy covers 60 percent of the average costs of standard care. This is the economically standard therapy that the fixed subsidy directive of the Federal Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss) provides for your finding.^[1] For a crown in the posterior tooth area, this is a metallic full crown without veneering.

• Without a bonus booklet: 60 percent of the average costs of standard care, i.e.^[2] 239.03 euros per crown on a molar in 2026.
• With five years of continuously documented bonus booklet (the record of regular check-up appointments): 70 percent, i.e. 278.87 euros.
• With ten years of continuous bonus booklet: 75 percent, i.e. 298.79 euros. In exceptional cases, a single missed appointment can remain without consequence if you provide the statutory insurer with sufficient justification.
• In cases of hardship, the statutory insurer covers standard care in full and the fixed subsidy doubles (more on this further down).

The legal basis is § 55 SGB V. The specific euro amounts are newly determined each year, most recently by resolution of the Federal Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss) of 5 December 2025, effective 1 January 2026. That is why every figure in this article carries the year 2026 in the sentence itself: an amount from an older guide is simply wrong today.^[2]

What matters for your wallet: the fixed subsidy does not change, no matter which crown you choose. Whether steel, gold, or full ceramic, the statutory insurer always pays the same finding-based amount. You bear the difference to the invoice as your out-of-pocket share.

Worked example: two crowns with and without a bonus booklet

Let's take the standard case: two restorable molars with extensive destruction of the clinical crown, each treated with a metallic full crown as standard care. In 2026, the statutory insurer assumes total costs of 398.39 euros per tooth.^[1]

For two crowns from the same finding, every row in this table applies twice. If one of the two teeth is in the visible area, a second finding comes into play: the statutory insurer additionally subsidises a tooth-coloured veneer on a finding basis with 80.66 to 100.83 euros depending on the bonus level, or double the base amount in cases of hardship.^[2] Your out-of-pocket share decreases accordingly.

One more note on the bonus booklet: the ten years must be continuous, but the year 2020 counts in full due to the pandemic-related contact restrictions.^[3]

Material choice: why full ceramic drives up the bill

This is where the real cost lever lies. The fixed subsidy remains the same regardless of the material chosen; only the total costs change. Market prices in 2026 at a glance:^[4]

Let's calculate two high-quality all-ceramic crowns: the fixed subsidy remains at 239.03 to 298.79 euros per crown, but the total costs are significantly higher. For an aesthetically elaborate all-ceramic crown, the 2026 price overview shows a personal share of 402 to 818 euros per crown, depending on the bonus level and the GOZ factor.^[4] With two crowns, this personal share applies twice, instead of the 99.60 to 159.36 euros per crown for standard care.

The reason for this spread: everything above the standard care is billed according to the GOZ (the private fee schedule for dentists), with higher fee rates than in the statutory system.^[4] On top of that come laboratory and material costs, which vary greatly depending on the lab and region.

Technically, two routes are distinguished: with equivalent care, the statutory benefit remains in place and only extras are added, such as a ceramic veneer. With non-equivalent care, you choose a completely different solution from the standard therapy, for example all-ceramic instead of metal. In both cases, the insurer pays the same diagnosis-related fixed subsidy; you bear the additional costs alone.^[1]

Hardship provisions and the treatment and cost plan: two levers before treatment

Before you think about supplementary insurance, check two statutory levers. The first is the hardship provision: with a low income, the insurer covers standard care in full, meaning the fixed subsidy doubles and your personal share drops to zero. In 2026, the income limit is 1,582.00 euros gross monthly income for single people, 2,175.25 euros with one dependent, plus 395.50 euros for each additional dependent.^[5]

You are also entitled if you receive citizen's allowance (Bürgergeld), BAföG, social assistance, war victims' welfare, or basic old-age security. Full cost coverage applies only to standard care; with higher-quality material, even hardship cases pay the difference themselves.

If you are just above the limit, don't give up: through the sliding-scale hardship provision, you can receive an individually calculated increased fixed subsidy, depending on income and treatment costs. Your health insurer will check this upon application, so it's worth asking with proof of income.^[3]

The second lever is the treatment and cost plan (HKP for short, the written cost plan before treatment begins). The dentist prepares it, your health insurer approves it in advance and settles the statutory share directly with the practice. Your invoice then shows only your personal share.

• Always ask to see and review the HKP before treatment begins.
• Compare the items listed with what was discussed.
• If any items look unusually high, get a second HKP — price differences between practices are often greater than expected.^[4]
• Without an approved HKP, you risk the insurer refusing the fixed subsidy.

When the personal share gets too high: supplementary dental insurance

If this calculation leaves a personal share you don't want to pay out of your own pocket, the insurance question arises. It is not "will the insurer pay more", but rather: does a private plan cover exactly the part that remains open with two crowns — and does it already do so at the planned time of treatment?

Whether supplementary dental insurance changes anything here depends on the specific plan, the health declaration, and the insurer's acceptance decision. The reimbursement tiers and benefit limits in the first contract years differ considerably between plans: some reimburse only a percentage of the additional costs, others work with annual maximum limits that only open up after years. A general article cannot resolve this individual case.

A look ahead: The Federal Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss) sets the fixed subsidy amounts anew every year; as of 1 January 2026 they were raised by 4.34 percent. Whether the next adjustment will again be in this range remains open, as does how laboratory and material costs — and with them market prices for crowns — will develop.^[2] The terms and reimbursement tiers of dental supplementary insurers are also revised regularly. Forecasts are not credible here; what makes sense is to check the amounts once more against the current treatment and cost plan shortly before treatment.

As a next step, you can use nextsure, the digital marketplace for supplementary insurance, to calculate the premium for a suitable dental supplementary insurance and compare the tariffs transparently. nextsure compares and brokers the contract; the insurance coverage itself is always provided by the respective insurer.

• Calculate the premium: enter your age, desired reimbursement level and waiting-period preference.
• Check whether the tariff covers dental prostheses beyond standard care and what the dental tier looks like in the first years.
• Compare the limits in the first contract years with your planned treatment date.
• Clarify any open questions about the health declaration before taking out the policy.