Brussels vs Rotterdam - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Brussels	Rotterdam
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1816	$2359
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4478	$5397
🏠 One person rent	$1024	$1479
🏘️ Family rent	$1880	$2435
🍽️ Food expenses	$567	$569
🚐 Transport expenses	$85.5	$179
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$2931	$3493
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	96	94
😀 Quality of life	89	93
🏙️ Population	196K	664K

The cost of living in Brussels is 23% less expensive than in Rotterdam. Cities ranked 2354th and 1038th ($1816 vs $2359) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 3rd in Belgium and the Netherlands, respectively. Check Belgium vs the Netherlands comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Brussels compared to 1.5 months in Rotterdam. Brussels ranked 1st best city to live in Belgium vs Rotterdam ranked 5th in the Netherlands, while ranked 190th and 68th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Brussels vs Rotterdam infographic

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

Prices in Brussels vs Rotterdam

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

	Brussels	Rotterdam
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$18.9	$20.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$76.1	$83.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12.8	$12.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.16	$6.3
☕ Cappuccino	$4.01	$3.88
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.85	$3.24
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$973	$1509
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$770	$1241
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1932	$2680
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1489	$2049
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$161	$138
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$250	$213
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$52.7	$46.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.61%	4.07%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4675	$5415
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4207	$3934
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.62	$4.15
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$53.2	$98.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$23.8	$20.9
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.79	$2.02
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.53	$1.15
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.42	$2.07
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.5	$3.02
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.19	$4.55
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.9	$12.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.2	$13.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.6	$15.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.53	$2.15
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.22	$2.26
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.49	$2.03
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.08	$3.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.11	$1.96
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.11	$1.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.81	$0.69
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.21	$3.58
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.6	$6.23
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.32	$1.51
🚬 Cigarette pack	$10.7	$12.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.25	$4.53
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.54	$4.66
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.93	$1.67
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.78	$1.75
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$34.2	$41.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.8	$14.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$38.9	$36.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$24.2	$19.8
👖 Brand Jeans	$94.5	$78.1
👟 Brand Sneakers	$107	$108
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$975	$2027
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$19505	$10730

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

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 Rotterdam

Distance	City	Cost of living
10 km or 6.4 mi	Ridderkerk	$2062
13 km or 8 mi	Delft	$1861
19 km or 12 mi	Leidschendam	$2042
21 km or 13 mi	The Hague	$2199
23 km or 14 mi	Sliedrecht	$1969
25 km or 16 mi	Scheveningen	$2049
26 km or 16 mi	Leiden	$2081
27 km or 17 mi	Oegstgeest	$1934
41 km or 25 mi	Etten-Leur	$1805
43 km or 27 mi	Breda	$1739
43 km or 27 mi	Roosendaal	$1890
47 km or 29 mi	Utrecht	$2251
49 km or 30 mi	Bergen op Zoom	$1917
50 km or 31 mi	Zandvoort	$2090
52 km or 32 mi	Haarlem	$2291
54 km or 34 mi	Zaltbommel	$2026
55 km or 34 mi	Zeist	$2180
56 km or 35 mi	Tilburg	$1862
59 km or 36 mi	Amsterdam	$2791
59 km or 37 mi	Hilversum	$2049
60 km or 38 mi	IJmuiden	$2085
61 km or 38 mi	Hoogstraten	$1492
62 km or 39 mi	Goes	$2001
63 km or 39 mi	's-Hertogenbosch	$1975
66 km or 41 mi	Tiel	$2432
67 km or 42 mi	Huizen	$1957
72 km or 45 mi	Almere	$1937
73 km or 45 mi	Purmerend	$1944
74 km or 46 mi	Veenendaal	$1631
74 km or 46 mi	Turnhout	$1421
76 km or 47 mi	Middelburg	$1879
79 km or 49 mi	Antwerp	$1640
81 km or 51 mi	Wageningen	$2105
82 km or 51 mi	Beveren	$1613
82 km or 51 mi	Ede	$1651
83 km or 52 mi	Uden	$1958
84 km or 52 mi	Mortsel	$1530
85 km or 53 mi	Veldhoven	$1917
87 km or 54 mi	Herentals	$1318
88 km or 54 mi	Sint-Niklaas	$1514