Brussels vs Cologne - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Brussels Cologne
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1869
$1752
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4554
$4185
🏠 One person rent
$1085
$967
🏘️ Family rent
$1927
$1672
🍽️ Food expenses
$557
$477
🚐 Transport expenses
$85.1
$180
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3070
$3141
😷 Air quality
Good
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
11 km
15 km
🎓 Higher education
96
92
😀 Quality of life
89
96
🏙️ Population
189K
1.07M

The cost of living in Brussels is 7% more expensive than in Cologne. Cities ranked 2147th and 2484th ($1869 vs $1752) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 31st 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 1st in Germany, while ranked 148th and 12th 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
$18
$12.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$74.3
$55.9
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12
$10.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$5.38
$3.98
☕ Cappuccino
$3.91
$3.43
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.7
$2.61
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$968
$925
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$834
$719
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1848
$1823
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1555
$1272
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$169
$163
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$258
$246
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$55.2
$43.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.39%
3.69%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4416
$5594
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3736
$3486
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.69
$3.41
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$53.2
$61.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$24
$22.1
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.88
$2
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.49
$1.26
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.62
$1.94
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.65
$2.57
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.29
$4.27
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.7
$12.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.6
$15
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$18.2
$17.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.72
$2.42
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.97
$1.45
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.74
$2.2
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.94
$2.85
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$1.93
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.79
$1.95
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.8
$0.36
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.11
$2.28
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.73
$6.32
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.52
$1.12
🚬 Cigarette pack
$8.76
$8.18
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.4
$8.18
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.75
$2.27
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.97
$1.79
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.87
$1.56
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$30.9
$28.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13.9
$12.4
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$40.3
$49.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$23.8
$19
👖 Brand Jeans
$101
$90.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$113
$87.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$978
$792
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$23098
$16182

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
$1682
3.3 km or 2.1 mi Saint-Gilles
$1524
4 km or 2.5 mi Anderlecht
$1659
4.2 km or 2.6 mi Forest
$1652
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Woluwe-Saint-Lambert
$1593
6.2 km or 3.8 mi Watermael-Boitsfort
$1619
7.3 km or 4.6 mi Dilbeek
$1644
10 km or 6.3 mi Sint-Pieters-Leeuw
$1669
10 km or 6.4 mi Vilvoorde
$1599
11 km or 6.8 mi Tervuren
$1743
15 km or 9 mi Overijse
$1648
15 km or 9.1 mi Waterloo
$1825
15 km or 9.1 mi Halle
$1640
17 km or 11 mi Zemst
$1567
19 km or 12 mi Braine-l'Alleud
$1645
19 km or 12 mi Rixensart
$1613
21 km or 13 mi Mechelen
$1544
21 km or 13 mi Tubize
$1630
23 km or 14 mi Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve
$1619
23 km or 14 mi Wavre
$1553
23 km or 15 mi Herent
$1575
24 km or 15 mi Ninove
$1581
24 km or 15 mi Aalst
$1678
25 km or 15 mi Leuven
$1618
26 km or 16 mi Dendermonde
$1469
28 km or 17 mi Nivelles
$1563
31 km or 20 mi Braine-le-Comte
$1568
35 km or 22 mi Lier
$1533
35 km or 22 mi Geraardsbergen
$1484
36 km or 23 mi Heist-op-den-Berg
$1517
37 km or 23 mi Mortsel
$1539
37 km or 23 mi Aarschot
$1426
37 km or 23 mi Soignies
$1536
38 km or 23 mi Zottegem
$1536
38 km or 24 mi Lokeren
$1511
38 km or 24 mi Sint-Niklaas
$1413
40 km or 25 mi Gembloux
$1596
40 km or 25 mi Beveren
$1631
41 km or 26 mi Tienen
$1570
41 km or 26 mi Antwerp
$1650

Cities near Cologne

Distance City Cost of living
9.2 km or 5.7 mi Hurth
$1520
10 km or 6.4 mi Leverkusen
$1778
10 km or 6.4 mi Frechen
$1542
13 km or 7.9 mi Bruhl
$1468
13 km or 7.9 mi Pulheim
$1551
14 km or 8.4 mi Wesseling
$1500
14 km or 8.5 mi Bergisch Gladbach
$1490
15 km or 9.3 mi Niederkassel
$1515
16 km or 10 mi Rosrath
$1499
18 km or 11 mi Monheim am Rhein
$1575
19 km or 12 mi Dormagen
$1547
19 km or 12 mi Erftstadt
$1497
19 km or 12 mi Langenfeld
$1562
20 km or 12 mi Troisdorf
$1512
20 km or 12 mi Leichlingen
$1556
20 km or 12 mi Kerpen
$1501
21 km or 13 mi Bornheim
$1516
21 km or 13 mi Lohmar
$1498
22 km or 14 mi Bergheim
$1505
23 km or 15 mi Siegburg
$1504
24 km or 15 mi Overath
$1462
25 km or 16 mi Sankt Augustin
$1520
25 km or 16 mi Bonn
$1593
26 km or 16 mi Hilden
$1501
26 km or 16 mi Solingen
$1511
27 km or 17 mi Elsdorf
$1484
28 km or 17 mi Wermelskirchen
$1388
28 km or 17 mi Haan
$1458
28 km or 18 mi Bedburg
$1484
29 km or 18 mi Hennef
$1494
31 km or 19 mi Grevenbroich
$1488
31 km or 19 mi Remscheid
$1276
31 km or 20 mi Erkrath
$1493
33 km or 20 mi Konigswinter
$1516
34 km or 21 mi Euskirchen
$1489
34 km or 21 mi Neuss
$1476
34 km or 21 mi Mettmann
$1432
35 km or 21 mi Zulpich
$1478
35 km or 21 mi Meckenheim
$1506
35 km or 22 mi Dusseldorf
$1776