Brussels vs Rotterdam - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Brussels	Rotterdam
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2028	$2615
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4874	$6248
🏠 One person rent	$1133	$1599
🏘️ Family rent	$1958	$2836
🍽️ Food expenses	$649	$653
🚐 Transport expenses	$97.4	$206
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3458	$3894
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	96	94
😀 Quality of life	91	94
🏙️ Population	196K	664K

The cost of living in Brussels is 22% less expensive than in Rotterdam. Cities ranked 1913th and 689th ($2028 vs $2615) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 5th in Belgium and the Netherlands, respectively. Check Belgium vs the Netherlands comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 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 165th and 67th 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	$25.6	$23.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$77.4	$91.9
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$14.1	$14
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$6.38	$7.86
☕ Cappuccino	$4.55	$4.59
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.18	$3.74
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1090	$1583
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$879	$1310
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1983	$2846
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1587	$2421
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$155	$177
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$235	$272
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$57.3	$57.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.23%	3.99%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4704	$6107
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3801	$4426
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.93	$4.32
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$63.9	$76
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$26.7	$33.1
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.95	$2.3
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.63	$1.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.66	$2.38
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.66	$3
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.86	$5.2
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.2	$14
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.7	$14.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$19.7	$18.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.95	$3.1
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.58	$2.46
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.55	$2.38
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.7	$4.92
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.45	$1.93
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.5	$2
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.76	$1.2
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.57	$3.96
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$9.21	$7.15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.34	$1.73
🚬 Cigarette pack	$13.2	$14.3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.4	$8.04
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.07	$5.17
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.49	$1.83
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$3.32	$1.95
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$41.7	$48.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$15.2	$17.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$37.9	$41
💇 Haircut, simple	$28.8	$22.4
👖 Brand Jeans	$102	$101
👟 Brand Sneakers	$104	$131
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1055	$2107
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$22658	$13809

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	$1854
3.3 km or 2.1 mi	Saint-Gilles	$1876
4 km or 2.5 mi	Anderlecht	$1889
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Forest	$1931
4.5 km or 2.8 mi	Woluwe-Saint-Lambert	$1758
6.2 km or 3.8 mi	Watermael-Boitsfort	$1847
7.3 km or 4.6 mi	Dilbeek	$1858
10 km or 6.3 mi	Sint-Pieters-Leeuw	$1870
10 km or 6.4 mi	Vilvoorde	$1732
11 km or 6.8 mi	Tervuren	$1845
15 km or 9 mi	Overijse	$1816
15 km or 9.1 mi	Waterloo	$2025
15 km or 9.1 mi	Halle	$1835
17 km or 11 mi	Zemst	$1791
19 km or 12 mi	Braine-l'Alleud	$1863
19 km or 12 mi	Rixensart	$1787
21 km or 13 mi	Mechelen	$1835
21 km or 13 mi	Tubize	$1801
23 km or 14 mi	Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve	$1806
23 km or 14 mi	Wavre	$1745
23 km or 15 mi	Herent	$1823
24 km or 15 mi	Ninove	$1768
24 km or 15 mi	Aalst	$1846
25 km or 15 mi	Leuven	$1867
26 km or 16 mi	Dendermonde	$1571
28 km or 17 mi	Nivelles	$1648
31 km or 20 mi	Braine-le-Comte	$1746
35 km or 22 mi	Lier	$1737
35 km or 22 mi	Geraardsbergen	$1657
36 km or 23 mi	Heist-op-den-Berg	$1830
37 km or 23 mi	Mortsel	$1696
37 km or 23 mi	Aarschot	$1794
37 km or 23 mi	Soignies	$1722
38 km or 23 mi	Zottegem	$1724
38 km or 24 mi	Lokeren	$1745
38 km or 24 mi	Sint-Niklaas	$1671
40 km or 25 mi	Gembloux	$1867
40 km or 25 mi	Beveren	$1804
41 km or 26 mi	Tienen	$1666
41 km or 26 mi	Antwerp	$1818

Cities near Rotterdam

Distance	City	Cost of living
10 km or 6.4 mi	Ridderkerk	$2329
13 km or 8 mi	Delft	$2228
19 km or 12 mi	Leidschendam	$2392
21 km or 13 mi	The Hague	$2581
23 km or 14 mi	Sliedrecht	$2262
25 km or 16 mi	Scheveningen	$2374
26 km or 16 mi	Leiden	$2222
27 km or 17 mi	Oegstgeest	$2134
41 km or 25 mi	Etten-Leur	$2057
43 km or 27 mi	Breda	$2087
43 km or 27 mi	Roosendaal	$2175
47 km or 29 mi	Utrecht	$2718
49 km or 30 mi	Bergen op Zoom	$2224
50 km or 31 mi	Zandvoort	$1846
52 km or 32 mi	Haarlem	$2589
54 km or 34 mi	Zaltbommel	$2302
55 km or 34 mi	Zeist	$2414
56 km or 35 mi	Tilburg	$2238
59 km or 36 mi	Amsterdam	$3118
59 km or 37 mi	Hilversum	$2568
60 km or 38 mi	IJmuiden	$2252
61 km or 38 mi	Hoogstraten	$1701
62 km or 39 mi	Goes	$2374
63 km or 39 mi	's-Hertogenbosch	$2263
66 km or 41 mi	Tiel	$2706
67 km or 42 mi	Huizen	$2256
72 km or 45 mi	Almere	$2230
73 km or 45 mi	Purmerend	$2178
74 km or 46 mi	Veenendaal	$1829
74 km or 46 mi	Turnhout	$1639
76 km or 47 mi	Middelburg	$2089
79 km or 49 mi	Antwerp	$1818
81 km or 51 mi	Wageningen	$2318
82 km or 51 mi	Beveren	$1804
82 km or 51 mi	Ede	$1860
83 km or 52 mi	Uden	$2359
84 km or 52 mi	Mortsel	$1696
85 km or 53 mi	Veldhoven	$2168
87 km or 54 mi	Herentals	$1512
88 km or 54 mi	Sint-Niklaas	$1671