The price of beer at Germany's Oktoberfest has gone up, but some of the six million visitors expected to attend the festival this year might still find a reason to toast.

When the first kegs are tapped on September 20 on Munich's Theresienwiese field, the average price for a litre of beer will be 8.13 euros ($A14.36) - up from 7.75 euros ($A13.55) last year.

A big mug of Oktoberfest brew, called a Mass, will be three times as expensive as the same amount of beer in South Africa, and 20 per cent more expensive than in New Zealand.

But beer drinkers from some countries might not even notice, as the increase is small compared with the price rises at home due to skyrocketing grain and transport costs, according to a survey of global beer prices by a human resources firm.

ECA International compared beer prices at Oktoberfest and around the world. It found that Italians at this year's Oktoberfest could be in a particularly festive mood.

"Compared to the price at home, for them almost every third beer is free," the company said in a release.

Customers from France, Norway and Switzerland will find the price a major discount.

Oktoberfest organisers said the price increase was a response to higher production costs, and was agreed to by each of the six breweries that provide beer to the annual celebration of beer.