Brussels vs Essen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Brussels Essen
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1869
$1519
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4554
$3604
🏠 One person rent
$1085
$759
🏘️ Family rent
$1927
$1284
🍽️ Food expenses
$557
$474
🚐 Transport expenses
$85.1
$146
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3070
$3220
😷 Air quality
Good
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
11 km
25 km
🎓 Higher education
96
95
😀 Quality of life
89
95
🏙️ Population
189K
579K

The cost of living in Brussels is 23% more expensive than in Essen. Cities ranked 2147th and 3358th ($1869 vs $1519) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 247th 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 4th in Germany, while ranked 148th and 32nd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Brussels vs Essen infographic

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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
$18
$12.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$74.3
$54.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12
$10.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$5.38
$4.1
 Cappuccino
$3.91
$3.29
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.7
$2.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$968
$639
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$834
$505
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1848
$1100
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1555
$925
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$169
$186
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$258
$282
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$55.2
$41.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.39%
3.99%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4416
$4207
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3736
$5688
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.69
$3.28
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$53.2
$59.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$24
$23.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.88
$1.8
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.49
$1.16
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.62
$2
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.65
$2.25
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.29
$3.28
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.7
$13.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.6
$14
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$18.2
$15.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.72
$2.58
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.97
$1.79
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.74
$2.31
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.94
$2.41
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$1.77
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.79
$1.98
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.8
$0.61
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.11
$1.9
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.73
$5.97
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.52
$1.01
🚬 Cigarette pack
$8.76
$8.16
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.4
$11.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.75
$2.53
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.97
$1.45
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.87
$1.49
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$30.9
$33.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13.9
$10.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$40.3
$83.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$23.8
$14.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$101
$91.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$113
$96.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$978
$426
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$23098
$9133

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 Essen

Distance City Cost of living
9.5 km or 5.9 mi Gelsenkirchen
$1350
9.6 km or 6 mi Mulheim
$1402
10 km or 6.3 mi Bottrop
$1267
11 km or 7.1 mi Oberhausen
$1384
12 km or 7.8 mi Velbert
$1387
13 km or 8.3 mi Hattingen
$1389
14 km or 8.4 mi Gladbeck
$1375
14 km or 8.8 mi Heiligenhaus
$1412
15 km or 9 mi Bochum
$1471
18 km or 11 mi Herne
$1558
18 km or 11 mi Duisburg
$1395
19 km or 12 mi Herten
$1424
19 km or 12 mi Wulfrath
$1369
19 km or 12 mi Sprockhovel
$1356
20 km or 13 mi Ratingen
$1470
22 km or 14 mi Witten
$1286
23 km or 14 mi Recklinghausen
$1407
23 km or 14 mi Mettmann
$1432
23 km or 14 mi Dinslaken
$1387
24 km or 15 mi Dorsten
$1399
24 km or 15 mi Castrop-Rauxel
$1430
24 km or 15 mi Wuppertal
$1124
25 km or 16 mi Marl
$1415
26 km or 16 mi Erkrath
$1493
27 km or 17 mi Schwelm
$1318
27 km or 17 mi Oer-Erkenschwick
$1422
27 km or 17 mi Moers
$1417
27 km or 17 mi Wetter
$1373
28 km or 17 mi Gevelsberg
$1367
28 km or 18 mi Voerde
$1396
28 km or 18 mi Ennepetal
$1351
29 km or 18 mi Haan
$1458
30 km or 18 mi Dusseldorf
$1776
30 km or 18 mi Herdecke
$1388
30 km or 19 mi Rheinberg
$1394
31 km or 20 mi Hilden
$1501
32 km or 20 mi Neukirchen-Vluyn
$1409
32 km or 20 mi Waltrop
$1407
32 km or 20 mi Solingen
$1511
32 km or 20 mi Datteln
$1410