One claim. Two court fees.
Germany takes one 3.0 fee up front, and the claim is not served until it is paid. England takes an issue fee now and a hearing fee later. Drag the amount: the two fees move against each other, and they cross.
German table as from 1 June 2025 (KostBRÄG 2025), unchanged for 2026; English Fee 1.1 untouched by the 13 July 2026 fee changes.
These are the court fees, not the cost of litigating. Neither figure contains a lawyer. The German 3.0 fee covers the proceedings through to judgment and drops to 1.0 if the case ends early, KV 1211 GKG. The English issue fee is followed by a separate hearing fee if the case is listed; the figures here are the standard rates, and Money Claim Online charges a little less below £100,000.
The deeper divergence sits at the end. Win in Germany and § 91 ZPO hands your costs to the loser, statutory lawyers’ fees included. Win on the English small claims track and, as a rule, CPR 27.14 leaves your legal costs with you: the fee comes back, the lawyer does not. Above the small claims track England shifts costs too, on scales of its own.