Brussels vs Dublin - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Brussels	Dublin
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2030	$3020
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4894	$6615
🏠 One person rent	$1166	$2023
🏘️ Family rent	$1999	$3441
🍽️ Food expenses	$628	$661
🚐 Transport expenses	$88	$158
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3313	$3998
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	10 km
🎓 Higher education	96	96
😀 Quality of life	91	94
🏙️ Population	196K	593K

The cost of living in Brussels is 33% less expensive than in Dublin. Cities ranked 1939th and 214th ($2030 vs $3020) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 1st in Belgium and Ireland, respectively. Check Belgium vs Ireland comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Brussels compared to 1.3 months in Dublin. Brussels ranked 1st best city to live in Belgium vs Dublin ranked 1st in Ireland, while ranked 121st and 42nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/brussels/dublin.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Brussels vs Dublin infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/brussels/dublin" target="_blank">Brussels vs Dublin - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Brussels vs Dublin

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

	Brussels	Dublin
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$21.2	$19.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$80	$93.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$13.7	$13.7
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.64	$8.76
☕ Cappuccino	$4.38	$5.12
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.4	$3.02
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1112	$2081
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$903	$1740
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2002	$3773
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1605	$2979
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$169	$164
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$262	$252
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$52.2	$51.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.77%	3.84%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5037	$8583
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4002	$5735
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.91	$2.33
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$63.5	$99.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$21.4	$18.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$2.06	$2.09
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.51	$1.64
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.7	$2.4
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.56	$2.23
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.8	$4.91
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.7	$12.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.7	$12.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$21.4	$17.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.04	$3.31
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.5	$2.24
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.71	$2.66
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.7	$4.89
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.5	$1.78
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.28	$1.48
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.81	$1.55
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.5	$3.75
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$9.36	$15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.55	$3.61
🚬 Cigarette pack	$13.8	$21
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.5	$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.04	$9
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.49	$3.19
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$3.3	$4.39
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$39.1	$63.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$15.3	$15
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$38	$76.7
💇 Haircut, simple	$28.2	$22.4
👖 Brand Jeans	$102	$118
👟 Brand Sneakers	$106	$127
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1423	$1409
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$19621	$12713

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Brussels

Distance	City	Cost of living
3.2 km or 2 mi	Schaerbeek	$1896
3.3 km or 2.1 mi	Saint-Gilles	$1895
4 km or 2.5 mi	Anderlecht	$1926
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Forest	$1969
4.5 km or 2.8 mi	Woluwe-Saint-Lambert	$1837
6.2 km or 3.8 mi	Watermael-Boitsfort	$1870
7.3 km or 4.6 mi	Dilbeek	$1861
10 km or 6.3 mi	Sint-Pieters-Leeuw	$1866
10 km or 6.4 mi	Vilvoorde	$1844
11 km or 6.8 mi	Tervuren	$1874
15 km or 9 mi	Overijse	$1832
15 km or 9.1 mi	Waterloo	$1993
15 km or 9.1 mi	Halle	$1843
17 km or 11 mi	Zemst	$1833
19 km or 12 mi	Braine-l'Alleud	$1888
19 km or 12 mi	Rixensart	$1793
21 km or 13 mi	Mechelen	$1848
21 km or 13 mi	Tubize	$1819
23 km or 14 mi	Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve	$1813
23 km or 14 mi	Wavre	$1769
23 km or 15 mi	Herent	$1845
24 km or 15 mi	Ninove	$1799
24 km or 15 mi	Aalst	$1881
25 km or 15 mi	Leuven	$1895
26 km or 16 mi	Dendermonde	$1769
28 km or 17 mi	Nivelles	$1703
31 km or 20 mi	Braine-le-Comte	$1781
35 km or 22 mi	Lier	$1743
35 km or 22 mi	Geraardsbergen	$1686
36 km or 23 mi	Heist-op-den-Berg	$1757
37 km or 23 mi	Mortsel	$1688
37 km or 23 mi	Aarschot	$1799
37 km or 23 mi	Soignies	$1746
38 km or 23 mi	Zottegem	$1753
38 km or 24 mi	Lokeren	$1742
38 km or 24 mi	Sint-Niklaas	$1799
40 km or 25 mi	Gembloux	$1939
40 km or 25 mi	Beveren	$1829
41 km or 26 mi	Tienen	$1727
41 km or 26 mi	Antwerp	$1834

Cities near Dublin

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 8.3 mi	Swords	$2464
30 km or 19 mi	Naas	$2480
42 km or 26 mi	Drogheda	$2518
75 km or 46 mi	Dundalk	$2264
102 km or 63 mi	Kilkenny	$2012
113 km or 70 mi	Wexford	$2043
131 km or 82 mi	Lisburn	$1923
134 km or 83 mi	Waterford	$2373
141 km or 88 mi	Belfast	$1878
148 km or 92 mi	Douglas	$2236
148 km or 92 mi	Newtownabbey	$1820
152 km or 94 mi	Bangor	$1485
154 km or 96 mi	Omagh	$1763
175 km or 109 mi	Limerick	$1985
185 km or 115 mi	Galway	$3003
185 km or 115 mi	Rhyl	$1736
196 km or 122 mi	Derry	$1646
212 km or 132 mi	Wallasey	$1677
213 km or 132 mi	Formby	$1847
215 km or 133 mi	Crosby	$1831
216 km or 134 mi	Birkenhead	$1854
217 km or 135 mi	Bebington	$1860
217 km or 135 mi	Liverpool	$1942
217 km or 135 mi	Bootle	$1853
218 km or 136 mi	Southport	$1836
219 km or 136 mi	Blackpool	$1669
219 km or 136 mi	Cork	$2634
220 km or 137 mi	Wrexham	$1757
221 km or 137 mi	Lytham St Annes	$1796
221 km or 137 mi	Whitehaven	$1798
224 km or 139 mi	Ellesmere Port	$1922
225 km or 140 mi	Chester	$2035
234 km or 145 mi	Llanelli	$1789
234 km or 145 mi	St Helens	$1682
235 km or 146 mi	Widnes	$1885
236 km or 147 mi	Runcorn	$1890
239 km or 148 mi	Morecambe	$1834
240 km or 149 mi	Preston	$1733
241 km or 150 mi	Lancaster	$1791
242 km or 150 mi	Wigan	$1742