Brussels vs Cologne - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Brussels Cologne
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1816
$1744
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4478
$4212
🏠 One person rent
$1024
$947
🏘️ Family rent
$1880
$1673
🍽️ Food expenses
$567
$491
🚐 Transport expenses
$85.5
$174
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2931
$3148
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
11 km
15 km
🎓 Higher education
96
92
😀 Quality of life
89
96
🏙️ Population
196K
1.09M

The cost of living in Brussels is 4% more expensive than in Cologne. Cities ranked 2354th and 2551st ($1816 vs $1744) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 24th 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 190th 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
$18.9
$13.1
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$76.1
$61.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12.8
$10.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$5.16
$4.67
☕ Cappuccino
$4.01
$3.64
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.85
$3.1
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$973
$963
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$770
$743
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1932
$1902
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1489
$1332
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$161
$120
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$250
$186
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$52.7
$40.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.61%
4.01%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4675
$6163
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4207
$5539
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.62
$3.35
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$53.2
$56.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$23.8
$22.1
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.79
$1.83
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.53
$1.23
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.42
$1.8
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.5
$2.69
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.19
$3.95
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.9
$13.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.2
$13.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$17.6
$20.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.53
$2.71
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.22
$1.55
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.49
$2.06
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.08
$4.26
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.11
$1.64
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.11
$1.64
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.81
$0.64
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.21
$2.22
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.6
$6.56
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.32
$1.02
🚬 Cigarette pack
$10.7
$8.09
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$9.25
$8.17
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.54
$2.2
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.93
$1.75
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.78
$1.5
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$34.2
$32.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13.8
$11.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$38.9
$49.2
💇 Haircut, simple
$24.2
$18.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$94.5
$94.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$107
$103
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$975
$773
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$19505
$15595

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
$1651
3.3 km or 2.1 mi Saint-Gilles
$1663
4 km or 2.5 mi Anderlecht
$1667
4.2 km or 2.6 mi Forest
$1692
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Woluwe-Saint-Lambert
$1580
6.2 km or 3.8 mi Watermael-Boitsfort
$1647
7.3 km or 4.6 mi Dilbeek
$1642
10 km or 6.3 mi Sint-Pieters-Leeuw
$1660
10 km or 6.4 mi Vilvoorde
$1539
11 km or 6.8 mi Tervuren
$1685
15 km or 9 mi Overijse
$1618
15 km or 9.1 mi Waterloo
$1788
15 km or 9.1 mi Halle
$1626
17 km or 11 mi Zemst
$1556
19 km or 12 mi Braine-l'Alleud
$1615
19 km or 12 mi Rixensart
$1594
21 km or 13 mi Mechelen
$1541
21 km or 13 mi Tubize
$1607
23 km or 14 mi Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve
$1585
23 km or 14 mi Wavre
$1536
23 km or 15 mi Herent
$1599
24 km or 15 mi Ninove
$1560
24 km or 15 mi Aalst
$1663
25 km or 15 mi Leuven
$1683
26 km or 16 mi Dendermonde
$1446
28 km or 17 mi Nivelles
$1492
31 km or 20 mi Braine-le-Comte
$1537
35 km or 22 mi Lier
$1523
35 km or 22 mi Geraardsbergen
$1461
36 km or 23 mi Heist-op-den-Berg
$1488
37 km or 23 mi Mortsel
$1530
37 km or 23 mi Aarschot
$1362
37 km or 23 mi Soignies
$1509
38 km or 23 mi Zottegem
$1520
38 km or 24 mi Lokeren
$1475
38 km or 24 mi Sint-Niklaas
$1514
40 km or 25 mi Gembloux
$1578
40 km or 25 mi Beveren
$1613
41 km or 26 mi Tienen
$1488
41 km or 26 mi Antwerp
$1640

Cities near Cologne

Distance City Cost of living
9.2 km or 5.7 mi Hurth
$1578
10 km or 6.4 mi Leverkusen
$1822
10 km or 6.4 mi Frechen
$1569
13 km or 7.9 mi Bruhl
$1559
13 km or 7.9 mi Pulheim
$1572
14 km or 8.4 mi Wesseling
$1554
14 km or 8.5 mi Bergisch Gladbach
$1586
15 km or 9.3 mi Niederkassel
$1551
16 km or 10 mi Rosrath
$1536
18 km or 11 mi Monheim am Rhein
$1576
19 km or 12 mi Dormagen
$1561
19 km or 12 mi Erftstadt
$1534
19 km or 12 mi Langenfeld
$1577
20 km or 12 mi Troisdorf
$1544
20 km or 12 mi Leichlingen
$1559
20 km or 12 mi Kerpen
$1529
21 km or 13 mi Bornheim
$1554
21 km or 13 mi Lohmar
$1523
22 km or 14 mi Bergheim
$1518
23 km or 15 mi Siegburg
$1522
24 km or 15 mi Overath
$1497
25 km or 16 mi Sankt Augustin
$1542
25 km or 16 mi Bonn
$1677
26 km or 16 mi Hilden
$1522
26 km or 16 mi Solingen
$1580
27 km or 17 mi Elsdorf
$1502
28 km or 17 mi Wermelskirchen
$1497
28 km or 17 mi Haan
$1517
28 km or 18 mi Bedburg
$1504
29 km or 18 mi Hennef
$1494
31 km or 19 mi Grevenbroich
$1499
31 km or 19 mi Remscheid
$1494
31 km or 20 mi Erkrath
$1516
33 km or 20 mi Konigswinter
$1446
34 km or 21 mi Euskirchen
$1503
34 km or 21 mi Neuss
$1495
34 km or 21 mi Mettmann
$1479
35 km or 21 mi Zulpich
$1490
35 km or 21 mi Meckenheim
$1500
35 km or 22 mi Dusseldorf
$1772