Brussels vs Cologne - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Brussels Cologne
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2028
$1968
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4874
$4619
🏠 One person rent
$1133
$1091
🏘️ Family rent
$1958
$1830
🍽️ Food expenses
$649
$536
🚐 Transport expenses
$97.4
$196
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3458
$3266
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
11 km
15 km
🎓 Higher education
96
91
😀 Quality of life
91
96
🏙️ Population
196K
1.09M

The cost of living in Brussels is 3% more expensive than in Cologne. Cities ranked 1913th and 2104th ($2028 vs $1968) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 11th in Belgium and Germany, respectively. Check Belgium vs Germany comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Brussels compared to 1.7 months in Cologne. Brussels ranked 1st best city to live in Belgium vs Cologne ranked 1st in Germany, while ranked 165th and 23rd 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
$25.6
$15.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$77.4
$71.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$14.1
$11.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.38
$5.26
☕ Cappuccino
$4.55
$4.06
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.18
$3.38
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1090
$1103
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$879
$870
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1983
$1997
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1587
$1478
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$155
$133
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$235
$206
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$57.3
$41.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.23%
3.8%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4704
$6855
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3801
$5848
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.93
$3.93
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$63.9
$67.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$26.7
$24
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.95
$2.03
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.63
$1.38
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.66
$2.03
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.66
$2.87
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.86
$4.16
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.2
$14.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.7
$12.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.7
$23.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.95
$3.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.58
$2.05
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.55
$2.17
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.7
$4.63
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.45
$1.73
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.5
$1.22
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.76
$0.77
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.57
$2.45
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$9.21
$7.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.34
$1.14
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.2
$9.05
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.4
$8.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.07
$2.45
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.49
$1.93
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.32
$1.67
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$41.7
$40.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.2
$13.3
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$37.9
$54.3
💇 Haircut, simple
$28.8
$20.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$102
$98
👟 Brand Sneakers
$104
$109
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1055
$773
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$22658
$19386

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
$1854
3.3 km or 2.1 mi Saint-Gilles
$1876
4 km or 2.5 mi Anderlecht
$1889
4.2 km or 2.6 mi Forest
$1931
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Woluwe-Saint-Lambert
$1758
6.2 km or 3.8 mi Watermael-Boitsfort
$1847
7.3 km or 4.6 mi Dilbeek
$1858
10 km or 6.3 mi Sint-Pieters-Leeuw
$1870
10 km or 6.4 mi Vilvoorde
$1732
11 km or 6.8 mi Tervuren
$1845
15 km or 9 mi Overijse
$1816
15 km or 9.1 mi Waterloo
$2025
15 km or 9.1 mi Halle
$1835
17 km or 11 mi Zemst
$1791
19 km or 12 mi Braine-l'Alleud
$1863
19 km or 12 mi Rixensart
$1787
21 km or 13 mi Mechelen
$1835
21 km or 13 mi Tubize
$1801
23 km or 14 mi Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve
$1806
23 km or 14 mi Wavre
$1745
23 km or 15 mi Herent
$1823
24 km or 15 mi Ninove
$1768
24 km or 15 mi Aalst
$1846
25 km or 15 mi Leuven
$1867
26 km or 16 mi Dendermonde
$1571
28 km or 17 mi Nivelles
$1648
31 km or 20 mi Braine-le-Comte
$1746
35 km or 22 mi Lier
$1737
35 km or 22 mi Geraardsbergen
$1657
36 km or 23 mi Heist-op-den-Berg
$1830
37 km or 23 mi Mortsel
$1696
37 km or 23 mi Aarschot
$1794
37 km or 23 mi Soignies
$1722
38 km or 23 mi Zottegem
$1724
38 km or 24 mi Lokeren
$1745
38 km or 24 mi Sint-Niklaas
$1671
40 km or 25 mi Gembloux
$1867
40 km or 25 mi Beveren
$1804
41 km or 26 mi Tienen
$1666
41 km or 26 mi Antwerp
$1818

Cities near Cologne

Distance City Cost of living
9.2 km or 5.7 mi Hurth
$1759
10 km or 6.4 mi Leverkusen
$2037
10 km or 6.4 mi Frechen
$1745
13 km or 7.9 mi Bruhl
$1744
13 km or 7.9 mi Pulheim
$1741
14 km or 8.4 mi Wesseling
$1740
14 km or 8.5 mi Bergisch Gladbach
$1726
15 km or 9.3 mi Niederkassel
$1750
16 km or 10 mi Rosrath
$1699
18 km or 11 mi Monheim am Rhein
$1740
19 km or 12 mi Dormagen
$1711
19 km or 12 mi Erftstadt
$1702
19 km or 12 mi Langenfeld
$1727
20 km or 12 mi Troisdorf
$1736
20 km or 12 mi Leichlingen
$1708
20 km or 12 mi Kerpen
$1695
21 km or 13 mi Bornheim
$1770
21 km or 13 mi Lohmar
$1694
22 km or 14 mi Bergheim
$1678
23 km or 15 mi Siegburg
$1716
24 km or 15 mi Overath
$1642
25 km or 16 mi Sankt Augustin
$1747
25 km or 16 mi Bonn
$1957
26 km or 16 mi Hilden
$1674
26 km or 16 mi Solingen
$1691
27 km or 17 mi Elsdorf
$1654
28 km or 17 mi Wermelskirchen
$1630
28 km or 17 mi Haan
$1645
28 km or 18 mi Bedburg
$1650
29 km or 18 mi Hennef
$1666
31 km or 19 mi Grevenbroich
$1659
31 km or 19 mi Remscheid
$1608
31 km or 20 mi Erkrath
$1661
33 km or 20 mi Konigswinter
$1611
34 km or 21 mi Euskirchen
$1674
34 km or 21 mi Neuss
$1650
34 km or 21 mi Mettmann
$1613
35 km or 21 mi Zulpich
$1662
35 km or 21 mi Meckenheim
$1689
35 km or 22 mi Dusseldorf
$1979