Your monthly budget depends more on your city than anything else. As a 2026 orientation:

Rent (single room / WG): €400–700 in smaller cities like Ingolstadt, €600–900+ in Munich. Rent is the single biggest difference between cities.
Health insurance: roughly €140–150/month for students on statutory insurance (2026 rates, incl. long-term-care insurance); workers pay a percentage of salary, split with the employer.
Broadcast fee (Rundfunkbeitrag): €18.36/month per household (unchanged for 2026) — everyone pays it, more on that later.
Public transport: the Deutschlandticket (€63/month since January 2026) covers local and regional transport in all of Germany; students usually get a cheaper semester version.
Food & everything else: €250–400/month if you cook.

For a student visa you must prove €11,904 for the first year (€992/month — the blocked account amount; it's tied to the BAföG rate and rises every few years, so check the current figure).

The front-loaded costs people forget:

Deposit (Kaution): legally up to 3 months' cold rent — often €1,000–2,000 leaving your account before you earn anything.
Semester fee (students): €85–400 due at enrolment.
First furniture, kitchen equipment, winter clothes — plus translations, certifications and visa fees back home.

Reality check: the money question is not "can I afford Germany?" but "can I afford my first three months?" Plan €1,500–3,000 accessible outside the blocked account.

Red flags:

Budgets built on the blocked-account payout alone — €992/month is survival level in Munich, workable in Ingolstadt.
Confusing Kaltmiete (cold rent) with Warmmiete (incl. heating and utilities) — a "€500 cold" room is not a €500 room.
Rents far below market in listings: that's a scam signal, not a bargain (see the housing step).