Brussels vs Cologne - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Brussels Cologne
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1958
$1851
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4780
$4479
🏠 One person rent
$1120
$1019
🏘️ Family rent
$1989
$1819
🍽️ Food expenses
$598
$510
🚐 Transport expenses
$91.6
$184
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3047
$3275
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
11 km
15 km
🎓 Higher education
96
92
😀 Quality of life
89
97
🏙️ Population
196K
1.08M

The cost of living in Brussels is 6% more expensive than in Cologne. Cities ranked 1988th and 2308th ($1958 vs $1851) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 19th in Belgium and Germany, respectively. Check Belgium vs Germany comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Brussels compared to 1.8 months in Cologne. Brussels ranked 1st best city to live in Belgium vs Cologne ranked 2nd in Germany, while ranked 173rd and 16th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Brussels vs Cologne infographic

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Prices in Brussels vs Cologne

Prices for goods and services in Brussels and Cologne are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Brussels Cologne
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$20.8
$14
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$76
$61.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$13.1
$10.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$5.51
$4.71
☕ Cappuccino
$4.14
$3.81
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.03
$2.9
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1032
$1023
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$881
$801
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2055
$2061
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1606
$1459
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$151
$129
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$236
$195
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$57.4
$44
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.71%
4%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4722
$6540
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4382
$5856
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.69
$3.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$55.1
$59.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$26.1
$23.2
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.93
$1.98
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.62
$1.32
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.64
$1.91
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.83
$2.85
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.46
$4.09
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.8
$14
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.5
$13.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.9
$19.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.74
$2.84
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.21
$1.61
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.68
$2.21
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.17
$4.81
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.28
$1.74
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.16
$1.71
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.89
$0.57
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.59
$2.34
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.86
$6.37
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.45
$1.07
🚬 Cigarette pack
$10.1
$8.82
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.4
$8.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.87
$2.35
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.03
$1.86
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.98
$1.6
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$36.6
$32
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.5
$12.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$41.1
$51.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$25.5
$19.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$103
$103
👟 Brand Sneakers
$117
$102
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1059
$822
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$23380
$16860

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Brussels

Distance City Cost of living
3.2 km or 2 mi Schaerbeek
$1752
3.3 km or 2.1 mi Saint-Gilles
$1633
4 km or 2.5 mi Anderlecht
$1734
4.2 km or 2.6 mi Forest
$1712
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Woluwe-Saint-Lambert
$1657
6.2 km or 3.8 mi Watermael-Boitsfort
$1691
7.3 km or 4.6 mi Dilbeek
$1715
10 km or 6.3 mi Sint-Pieters-Leeuw
$1738
10 km or 6.4 mi Vilvoorde
$1675
11 km or 6.8 mi Tervuren
$1799
15 km or 9 mi Overijse
$1723
15 km or 9.1 mi Waterloo
$1911
15 km or 9.1 mi Halle
$1701
17 km or 11 mi Zemst
$1636
19 km or 12 mi Braine-l'Alleud
$1702
19 km or 12 mi Rixensart
$1708
21 km or 13 mi Mechelen
$1619
21 km or 13 mi Tubize
$1696
23 km or 14 mi Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve
$1691
23 km or 14 mi Wavre
$1661
23 km or 15 mi Herent
$1693
24 km or 15 mi Ninove
$1660
24 km or 15 mi Aalst
$1779
25 km or 15 mi Leuven
$1761
26 km or 16 mi Dendermonde
$1592
28 km or 17 mi Nivelles
$1595
31 km or 20 mi Braine-le-Comte
$1630
35 km or 22 mi Lier
$1616
35 km or 22 mi Geraardsbergen
$1555
36 km or 23 mi Heist-op-den-Berg
$1593
37 km or 23 mi Mortsel
$1611
37 km or 23 mi Aarschot
$1514
37 km or 23 mi Soignies
$1598
38 km or 23 mi Zottegem
$1616
38 km or 24 mi Lokeren
$1545
38 km or 24 mi Sint-Niklaas
$1592
40 km or 25 mi Gembloux
$1667
40 km or 25 mi Beveren
$1709
41 km or 26 mi Tienen
$1560
41 km or 26 mi Antwerp
$1762

Cities near Cologne

Distance City Cost of living
9.2 km or 5.7 mi Hurth
$1610
10 km or 6.4 mi Leverkusen
$1947
10 km or 6.4 mi Frechen
$1636
13 km or 7.9 mi Bruhl
$1529
13 km or 7.9 mi Pulheim
$1638
14 km or 8.4 mi Wesseling
$1576
14 km or 8.5 mi Bergisch Gladbach
$1557
15 km or 9.3 mi Niederkassel
$1593
16 km or 10 mi Rosrath
$1577
18 km or 11 mi Monheim am Rhein
$1647
19 km or 12 mi Dormagen
$1620
19 km or 12 mi Erftstadt
$1563
19 km or 12 mi Langenfeld
$1634
20 km or 12 mi Troisdorf
$1586
20 km or 12 mi Leichlingen
$1612
20 km or 12 mi Kerpen
$1580
21 km or 13 mi Bornheim
$1606
21 km or 13 mi Lohmar
$1566
22 km or 14 mi Bergheim
$1582
23 km or 15 mi Siegburg
$1572
24 km or 15 mi Overath
$1530
25 km or 16 mi Sankt Augustin
$1594
25 km or 16 mi Bonn
$1765
26 km or 16 mi Hilden
$1578
26 km or 16 mi Solingen
$1652
27 km or 17 mi Elsdorf
$1564
28 km or 17 mi Wermelskirchen
$1493
28 km or 17 mi Haan
$1558
28 km or 18 mi Bedburg
$1569
29 km or 18 mi Hennef
$1531
31 km or 19 mi Grevenbroich
$1567
31 km or 19 mi Remscheid
$1415
31 km or 20 mi Erkrath
$1571
33 km or 20 mi Konigswinter
$1453
34 km or 21 mi Euskirchen
$1550
34 km or 21 mi Neuss
$1566
34 km or 21 mi Mettmann
$1527
35 km or 21 mi Zulpich
$1548
35 km or 21 mi Meckenheim
$1542
35 km or 22 mi Dusseldorf
$1861