Brussels vs Zurich - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Brussels	Zurich
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2028	$3691
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4874	$8778
🏠 One person rent	$1133	$2299
🏘️ Family rent	$1958	$4069
🍽️ Food expenses	$649	$919
🚐 Transport expenses	$97.4	$198
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3458	$8151
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	96	81
😀 Quality of life	91	100
🏙️ Population	196K	449K

The cost of living in Brussels is 45% less expensive than in Zurich. Cities ranked 1913th and 23rd ($2028 vs $3691) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 3rd in Belgium and Switzerland, respectively. Check Belgium vs Switzerland comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Brussels compared to 2.2 months in Zurich. Brussels ranked 1st best city to live in Belgium vs Zurich ranked 1st in Switzerland, while ranked 165th and 2nd 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 Zurich infographic

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

Prices in Brussels vs Zurich

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

	Brussels	Zurich
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$25.6	$27.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$77.4	$90.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$14.1	$20.1
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$6.38	$9.69
☕ Cappuccino	$4.55	$7.32
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.18	$5.52
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1090	$2543
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$879	$1977
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1983	$4563
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1587	$3579
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$155	$157
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$235	$240
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$57.3	$52.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.23%	2.08%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4704	$24740
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3801	$9963
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.93	$4.35
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$63.9	$109
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$26.7	$33.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.95	$2.26
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.63	$2.29
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.66	$3.29
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.66	$3.54
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.86	$8.34
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.2	$24.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.7	$23.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$19.7	$53.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.95	$4.29
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.58	$2.89
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.55	$3.33
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.7	$5.27
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.45	$2.97
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.5	$2.27
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.76	$1.11
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.57	$3.93
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$9.21	$18.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.34	$2.74
🚬 Cigarette pack	$13.2	$11.2
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.4	$20.8
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.07	$5.39
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.49	$4.88
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$3.32	$3.84
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$41.7	$83.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$15.2	$23.3
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$37.9	$138
💇 Haircut, simple	$28.8	$55.6
👖 Brand Jeans	$102	$138
👟 Brand Sneakers	$104	$150
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1055	$2616
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$22658	$22875

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 Zurich

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Altstetten	$3392
6.4 km or 4 mi	Dubendorf	$3276
11 km or 6.6 mi	Dietikon	$3239
14 km or 8.6 mi	Horgen	$3282
14 km or 8.6 mi	Uster	$3249
16 km or 9.7 mi	Bulach	$3153
19 km or 12 mi	Wettingen	$3207
19 km or 12 mi	Wadenswil	$3225
19 km or 12 mi	Winterthur	$3207
20 km or 13 mi	Wetzikon	$3180
20 km or 13 mi	Baden	$3240
20 km or 13 mi	Baar	$3381
23 km or 15 mi	Zug	$3836
28 km or 17 mi	Rapperswil-Jona	$3169
33 km or 21 mi	Frauenfeld	$2747
36 km or 22 mi	Schaffhausen	$2699
37 km or 23 mi	Waldshut-Tiengen	$1684
37 km or 23 mi	Aarau	$2489
38 km or 24 mi	Emmen	$3197
40 km or 25 mi	Wil	$2650
40 km or 25 mi	Lucerne	$3231
43 km or 27 mi	Kriens	$3175
48 km or 30 mi	Singen	$1705
51 km or 32 mi	Radolfzell	$1766
56 km or 35 mi	Kreuzlingen	$2924
57 km or 36 mi	Konstanz	$1887
60 km or 37 mi	Rheinfelden	$1690
63 km or 39 mi	St. Gallen	$2694
63 km or 39 mi	Uberlingen	$1810
64 km or 40 mi	Donaueschingen	$1537
70 km or 44 mi	Riehen	$3565
71 km or 44 mi	Tuttlingen	$1593
71 km or 44 mi	Lorrach	$1694
74 km or 46 mi	Weil am Rhein	$1698
74 km or 46 mi	Basel	$2964
76 km or 47 mi	Villingen-Schwenningen	$1397
77 km or 48 mi	Saint-Louis	$1447
77 km or 48 mi	Friedrichshafen	$1839
77 km or 48 mi	Schaan	$2443
78 km or 48 mi	Allschwil	$3041