Brussels vs Essen - Cost of Living Comparison
Updated:
| Brussels | Essen | |
|---|---|---|
| 🚶 Cost of living one person | ||
| 👨👩👧👦 Cost of living Family | ||
| 🏠 One person rent | ||
| 🏘️ Family rent | ||
| 🍽️ Food expenses | ||
| 🚐 Transport expenses | ||
| 💳 Monthly salary after tax | ||
| 😷 Air quality | ||
| ✈️ Airport proximity | ||
| 🎓 Higher education | ||
| 😀 Quality of life | ||
| 🏙️ Population |
The cost of living in Brussels is 26% more expensive than in Essen. Cities ranked 2354th and 3685th ($1816 vs $1443) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 413th 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 2.1 months in Essen. Brussels ranked 1st best city to live in Belgium vs Essen ranked 5th in Germany, while ranked 190th and 33rd among best cities to live in the world.
Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power
Share this infographic!
Prices in Brussels vs Essen
Prices for goods and services in Brussels and Essen are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.
| Brussels | Essen | |
|---|---|---|
| Eating Out | ||
| 🍱 Lunch Menu | ||
| 🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2 | ||
| 🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's | ||
| 🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz | ||
| ☕ Cappuccino | ||
| 🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz | ||
| Rent & Utilities | ||
| 🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2 | ||
| 🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2 | ||
| 🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2 | ||
| 🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2 | ||
| 🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc. | ||
| 🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc. | ||
| 🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited | ||
| 🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years | ||
| 🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2 | ||
| 🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2 | ||
| Transportation | ||
| 🚌 Local transport ticket | ||
| 🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport | ||
| 🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi | ||
| ⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal | ||
| Groceries | ||
| 🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt | ||
| 🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb | ||
| 🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🥚 Eggs, x12 | ||
| 🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt | ||
| 🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz | ||
| 🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle | ||
| 🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz | ||
| 🚬 Cigarette pack | ||
| 💊 Cold medicince, 1 week | ||
| 🧴 Hair Shampoo | ||
| 🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls | ||
| 👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube | ||
| Other | ||
| 🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month | ||
| 🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person | ||
| 👩⚕️ Doctor's visit | ||
| 💇 Haircut, simple | ||
| 👖 Brand Jeans | ||
| 👟 Brand Sneakers | ||
| 👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month | ||
| 🏫 International Primary School, 1 year | ||
Cost of living in other countries
Cost of living
More cities to compare
Cost of Living in the nearest cities
Cities near Brussels
| Distance | City | Cost of living |
|---|---|---|
| 3.2 km or 2 mi |  Schaerbeek | |
| 3.3 km or 2.1 mi | Saint-Gilles | |
| 4 km or 2.5 mi | Anderlecht | |
| 4.2 km or 2.6 mi | Forest | |
| 4.5 km or 2.8 mi | Woluwe-Saint-Lambert | |
| 6.2 km or 3.8 mi | Watermael-Boitsfort | |
| 7.3 km or 4.6 mi | Dilbeek | |
| 10 km or 6.3 mi | Sint-Pieters-Leeuw | |
| 10 km or 6.4 mi | Vilvoorde | |
| 11 km or 6.8 mi | Tervuren | |
| 15 km or 9 mi | Overijse | |
| 15 km or 9.1 mi | Waterloo | |
| 15 km or 9.1 mi | Halle | |
| 17 km or 11 mi | Zemst | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Braine-l'Alleud | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Rixensart | |
| 21 km or 13 mi | Mechelen | |
| 21 km or 13 mi | Tubize | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Wavre | |
| 23 km or 15 mi | Herent | |
| 24 km or 15 mi | Ninove | |
| 24 km or 15 mi | Aalst | |
| 25 km or 15 mi | Leuven | |
| 26 km or 16 mi | Dendermonde | |
| 28 km or 17 mi | Nivelles | |
| 31 km or 20 mi | Braine-le-Comte | |
| 35 km or 22 mi | Lier | |
| 35 km or 22 mi | Geraardsbergen | |
| 36 km or 23 mi | Heist-op-den-Berg | |
| 37 km or 23 mi | Mortsel | |
| 37 km or 23 mi | Aarschot | |
| 37 km or 23 mi | Soignies | |
| 38 km or 23 mi | Zottegem | |
| 38 km or 24 mi | Lokeren | |
| 38 km or 24 mi | Sint-Niklaas | |
| 40 km or 25 mi | Gembloux | |
| 40 km or 25 mi | Beveren | |
| 41 km or 26 mi | Tienen | |
| 41 km or 26 mi | Antwerp |
Cities near Essen
| Distance | City | Cost of living |
|---|---|---|
| 9.5 km or 5.9 mi |  Gelsenkirchen | |
| 9.6 km or 6 mi | Mulheim | |
| 10 km or 6.3 mi | Bottrop | |
| 11 km or 7.1 mi | Oberhausen | |
| 12 km or 7.8 mi | Velbert | |
| 13 km or 8.3 mi | Hattingen | |
| 14 km or 8.4 mi | Gladbeck | |
| 14 km or 8.8 mi | Heiligenhaus | |
| 15 km or 9 mi | Bochum | |
| 18 km or 11 mi | Herne | |
| 18 km or 11 mi | Duisburg | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Herten | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Wulfrath | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Sprockhovel | |
| 20 km or 13 mi | Ratingen | |
| 22 km or 14 mi | Witten | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Recklinghausen | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Mettmann | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Dinslaken | |
| 24 km or 15 mi | Dorsten | |
| 24 km or 15 mi | Castrop-Rauxel | |
| 24 km or 15 mi | Wuppertal | |
| 25 km or 16 mi | Marl | |
| 26 km or 16 mi | Erkrath | |
| 27 km or 17 mi | Schwelm | |
| 27 km or 17 mi | Oer-Erkenschwick | |
| 27 km or 17 mi | Moers | |
| 27 km or 17 mi | Wetter | |
| 28 km or 17 mi | Gevelsberg | |
| 28 km or 18 mi | Voerde | |
| 28 km or 18 mi | Ennepetal | |
| 29 km or 18 mi | Haan | |
| 30 km or 18 mi | Dusseldorf | |
| 30 km or 18 mi | Herdecke | |
| 30 km or 19 mi | Rheinberg | |
| 31 km or 20 mi | Hilden | |
| 32 km or 20 mi | Neukirchen-Vluyn | |
| 32 km or 20 mi | Waltrop | |
| 32 km or 20 mi | Solingen | |
| 32 km or 20 mi | Datteln |