Brussels vs Rotterdam - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Brussels	Rotterdam
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2065	$2637
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4988	$6349
🏠 One person rent	$1165	$1608
🏘️ Family rent	$2046	$2828
🍽️ Food expenses	$658	$656
🚐 Transport expenses	$92.4	$218
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3697	$4180
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	96	94
😀 Quality of life	92	95
🏙️ Population	196K	664K

The cost of living in Brussels is 22% less expensive than in Rotterdam. Cities ranked 1872nd and 676th ($2065 vs $2637) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 7th in Belgium and the Netherlands, respectively. Check Belgium vs the Netherlands comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Brussels compared to 1.6 months in Rotterdam. Brussels ranked 1st best city to live in Belgium vs Rotterdam ranked 4th in the Netherlands, while ranked 99th and 24th 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/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	$24.7	$24
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$80.5	$95.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$14.7	$14.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$6.48	$7.15
☕ Cappuccino	$4.55	$4.51
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.46	$4.04
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1092	$1621
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$909	$1308
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1988	$2889
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1675	$2391
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$160	$183
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$250	$283
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$58.9	$54.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.39%	3.78%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5177	$5975
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3603	$4252
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.95	$4.75
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$64.8	$88.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$23.7	$33.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.98	$2.34
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.56	$1.46
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.76	$2.33
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.62	$3.02
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.89	$5.3
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.9	$14.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.9	$14.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$21	$17.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3	$3.17
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.61	$2.53
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.69	$2.34
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.82	$4.95
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.54	$1.99
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.45	$2
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.76	$1.02
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.64	$4.22
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$9.72	$7.32
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.5	$1.66
🚬 Cigarette pack	$13.6	$14.7
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.4	$7.02
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.15	$5.98
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.52	$1.88
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$3.37	$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$40.9	$49.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$15.7	$16.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$38.2	$47.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$28.9	$22.2
👖 Brand Jeans	$104	$95.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$105	$125
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1225	$2442
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$19894	$13439

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	$1920
3.3 km or 2.1 mi	Saint-Gilles	$1932
4 km or 2.5 mi	Anderlecht	$1939
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Forest	$1993
4.5 km or 2.8 mi	Woluwe-Saint-Lambert	$1853
6.2 km or 3.8 mi	Watermael-Boitsfort	$1906
7.3 km or 4.6 mi	Dilbeek	$1900
10 km or 6.3 mi	Sint-Pieters-Leeuw	$1917
10 km or 6.4 mi	Vilvoorde	$1866
11 km or 6.8 mi	Tervuren	$1894
15 km or 9 mi	Overijse	$1860
15 km or 9.1 mi	Waterloo	$2050
15 km or 9.1 mi	Halle	$1886
17 km or 11 mi	Zemst	$1854
19 km or 12 mi	Braine-l'Alleud	$1910
19 km or 12 mi	Rixensart	$1838
21 km or 13 mi	Mechelen	$1877
21 km or 13 mi	Tubize	$1851
23 km or 14 mi	Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve	$1834
23 km or 14 mi	Wavre	$1785
23 km or 15 mi	Herent	$1864
24 km or 15 mi	Ninove	$1809
24 km or 15 mi	Aalst	$1890
25 km or 15 mi	Leuven	$1920
26 km or 16 mi	Dendermonde	$1706
28 km or 17 mi	Nivelles	$1702
31 km or 20 mi	Braine-le-Comte	$1796
35 km or 22 mi	Lier	$1772
35 km or 22 mi	Geraardsbergen	$1692
36 km or 23 mi	Heist-op-den-Berg	$1815
37 km or 23 mi	Mortsel	$1734
37 km or 23 mi	Aarschot	$1830
37 km or 23 mi	Soignies	$1763
38 km or 23 mi	Zottegem	$1766
38 km or 24 mi	Lokeren	$1734
38 km or 24 mi	Sint-Niklaas	$1727
40 km or 25 mi	Gembloux	$1887
40 km or 25 mi	Beveren	$1849
41 km or 26 mi	Tienen	$1742
41 km or 26 mi	Antwerp	$1857

Cities near Rotterdam

Distance	City	Cost of living
10 km or 6.4 mi	Ridderkerk	$2403
13 km or 8 mi	Delft	$2389
19 km or 12 mi	Leidschendam	$2481
21 km or 13 mi	The Hague	$2701
23 km or 14 mi	Sliedrecht	$2332
25 km or 16 mi	Scheveningen	$2471
26 km or 16 mi	Leiden	$2348
27 km or 17 mi	Oegstgeest	$2258
41 km or 25 mi	Etten-Leur	$2110
43 km or 27 mi	Breda	$2206
43 km or 27 mi	Roosendaal	$2264
47 km or 29 mi	Utrecht	$2669
49 km or 30 mi	Bergen op Zoom	$2295
50 km or 31 mi	Zandvoort	$1907
52 km or 32 mi	Haarlem	$2822
54 km or 34 mi	Zaltbommel	$2369
55 km or 34 mi	Zeist	$2457
56 km or 35 mi	Tilburg	$2340
59 km or 36 mi	Amsterdam	$3203
59 km or 37 mi	Hilversum	$2636
60 km or 38 mi	IJmuiden	$2383
61 km or 38 mi	Hoogstraten	$1770
62 km or 39 mi	Goes	$2471
63 km or 39 mi	's-Hertogenbosch	$2337
66 km or 41 mi	Tiel	$2721
67 km or 42 mi	Huizen	$2383
72 km or 45 mi	Almere	$2440
73 km or 45 mi	Purmerend	$2223
74 km or 46 mi	Veenendaal	$1822
74 km or 46 mi	Turnhout	$1730
76 km or 47 mi	Middelburg	$2132
79 km or 49 mi	Antwerp	$1857
81 km or 51 mi	Wageningen	$2360
82 km or 51 mi	Beveren	$1849
82 km or 51 mi	Ede	$1848
83 km or 52 mi	Uden	$2409
84 km or 52 mi	Mortsel	$1734
85 km or 53 mi	Veldhoven	$2231
87 km or 54 mi	Herentals	$1523
88 km or 54 mi	Sint-Niklaas	$1727