Brussels vs Rotterdam - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 10, 2024

	Brussels	Rotterdam
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1958	$2219
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4780	$4999
🏠 One person rent	$1120	$1371
🏘️ Family rent	$1989	$2182
🍽️ Food expenses	$598	$539
🚐 Transport expenses	$91.6	$178
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3047	$3835
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	96	94
😀 Quality of life	89	94
🏙️ Population	196K	664K

The cost of living in Brussels is 12% less expensive than in Rotterdam. Cities ranked 1988th and 1336th ($1958 vs $2219) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 6th 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 1.7 months in Rotterdam. Brussels ranked 1st best city to live in Belgium vs Rotterdam ranked 4th in the Netherlands, while ranked 173rd and 51st 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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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	$20.8	$18.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$76	$68.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$13.1	$11.2
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.51	$6.41
☕ Cappuccino	$4.14	$3.78
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.03	$2.91
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1032	$1440
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$881	$1112
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2055	$2175
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1606	$1840
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$151	$151
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$236	$232
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$57.4	$43
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.71%	3.75%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4722	$5393
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4382	$3725
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.69	$4.43
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$55.1	$83.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$26.1	$22.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.93	$2.21
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.62	$1.3
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.64	$1.81
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.83	$2.62
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.46	$5.12
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.8	$14.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.5	$14.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$19.9	$16.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.74	$2.18
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.21	$2.4
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.68	$1.94
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.17	$3.46
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.28	$1.91
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.16	$2
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.89	$0.66
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.59	$3.23
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.86	$6.72
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.45	$1.54
🚬 Cigarette pack	$10.1	$11.3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.4	$4.79
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.87	$6.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.03	$1.78
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.98	$2.3
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$36.6	$36.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.5	$14.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$41.1	$39.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$25.5	$21.6
👖 Brand Jeans	$103	$75.4
👟 Brand Sneakers	$117	$99.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1059	$1741
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$23380	$10888

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	$1752
3.3 km or 2.1 mi	Saint-Gilles	$1633
4 km or 2.5 mi	Anderlecht	$1734
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Forest	$1712
4.5 km or 2.8 mi	Woluwe-Saint-Lambert	$1657
6.2 km or 3.8 mi	Watermael-Boitsfort	$1691
7.3 km or 4.6 mi	Dilbeek	$1715
10 km or 6.3 mi	Sint-Pieters-Leeuw	$1738
10 km or 6.4 mi	Vilvoorde	$1675
11 km or 6.8 mi	Tervuren	$1799
15 km or 9 mi	Overijse	$1723
15 km or 9.1 mi	Waterloo	$1911
15 km or 9.1 mi	Halle	$1701
17 km or 11 mi	Zemst	$1636
19 km or 12 mi	Braine-l'Alleud	$1702
19 km or 12 mi	Rixensart	$1708
21 km or 13 mi	Mechelen	$1619
21 km or 13 mi	Tubize	$1696
23 km or 14 mi	Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve	$1691
23 km or 14 mi	Wavre	$1661
23 km or 15 mi	Herent	$1693
24 km or 15 mi	Ninove	$1660
24 km or 15 mi	Aalst	$1779
25 km or 15 mi	Leuven	$1761
26 km or 16 mi	Dendermonde	$1592
28 km or 17 mi	Nivelles	$1595
31 km or 20 mi	Braine-le-Comte	$1630
35 km or 22 mi	Lier	$1616
35 km or 22 mi	Geraardsbergen	$1555
36 km or 23 mi	Heist-op-den-Berg	$1593
37 km or 23 mi	Mortsel	$1611
37 km or 23 mi	Aarschot	$1514
37 km or 23 mi	Soignies	$1598
38 km or 23 mi	Zottegem	$1616
38 km or 24 mi	Lokeren	$1545
38 km or 24 mi	Sint-Niklaas	$1592
40 km or 25 mi	Gembloux	$1667
40 km or 25 mi	Beveren	$1709
41 km or 26 mi	Tienen	$1560
41 km or 26 mi	Antwerp	$1762

Cities near Rotterdam

Distance	City	Cost of living
10 km or 6.4 mi	Ridderkerk	$2034
13 km or 8 mi	Delft	$1991
19 km or 12 mi	Leidschendam	$2053
21 km or 13 mi	The Hague	$2094
23 km or 14 mi	Sliedrecht	$1987
25 km or 16 mi	Scheveningen	$2010
26 km or 16 mi	Leiden	$2228
27 km or 17 mi	Oegstgeest	$2039
41 km or 25 mi	Etten-Leur	$1813
43 km or 27 mi	Breda	$1750
43 km or 27 mi	Roosendaal	$1920
47 km or 29 mi	Utrecht	$2184
49 km or 30 mi	Bergen op Zoom	$1951
50 km or 31 mi	Zandvoort	$2246
52 km or 32 mi	Haarlem	$2373
54 km or 34 mi	Zaltbommel	$1985
55 km or 34 mi	Zeist	$2375
56 km or 35 mi	Tilburg	$1865
59 km or 36 mi	Amsterdam	$2859
59 km or 37 mi	Hilversum	$2180
60 km or 38 mi	IJmuiden	$2170
61 km or 38 mi	Hoogstraten	$1559
62 km or 39 mi	Goes	$2046
63 km or 39 mi	's-Hertogenbosch	$1953
66 km or 41 mi	Tiel	$1968
67 km or 42 mi	Huizen	$2072
72 km or 45 mi	Almere	$2076
73 km or 45 mi	Purmerend	$2064
74 km or 46 mi	Veenendaal	$1916
74 km or 46 mi	Turnhout	$1421
76 km or 47 mi	Middelburg	$1975
79 km or 49 mi	Antwerp	$1762
81 km or 51 mi	Wageningen	$1831
82 km or 51 mi	Beveren	$1709
82 km or 51 mi	Ede	$1782
83 km or 52 mi	Uden	$1921
84 km or 52 mi	Mortsel	$1611
85 km or 53 mi	Veldhoven	$2017
87 km or 54 mi	Herentals	$1442
88 km or 54 mi	Sint-Niklaas	$1592