Brussels vs Zurich - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Brussels	Zurich
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1816	$3296
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4478	$8076
🏠 One person rent	$1024	$1966
🏘️ Family rent	$1880	$3466
🍽️ Food expenses	$567	$863
🚐 Transport expenses	$85.5	$211
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$2931	$7242
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	96	81
😀 Quality of life	89	98
🏙️ Population	196K	449K

The cost of living in Brussels is 45% less expensive than in Zurich. Cities ranked 2354th and 59th ($1816 vs $3296) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in Belgium and Switzerland, respectively. Check Belgium vs Switzerland comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 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 190th and 5th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
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	$18.9	$26
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$76.1	$111
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12.8	$17.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.16	$8.89
☕ Cappuccino	$4.01	$6.48
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.85	$5.47
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$973	$2155
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$770	$1671
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1932	$4080
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1489	$2967
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$161	$148
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$250	$226
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$52.7	$50.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.61%	2.17%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4675	$24070
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4207	$5867
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.62	$4.88
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$53.2	$94.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$23.8	$41.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.79	$2.08
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.53	$1.99
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.42	$2.98
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.5	$3.45
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.19	$7.49
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.9	$22
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.2	$22.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.6	$45.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.53	$3.52
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.22	$2.34
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.49	$2.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.08	$5.08
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.11	$2.6
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.11	$2.32
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.81	$0.79
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.21	$3.38
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.6	$14.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.32	$2.32
🚬 Cigarette pack	$10.7	$10
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.25	$21.1
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.54	$5.47
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.93	$3.9
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.78	$4.01
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$34.2	$72.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.8	$21.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$38.9	$138
💇 Haircut, simple	$24.2	$54.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$94.5	$120
👟 Brand Sneakers	$107	$124
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$975	$2498
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$19505	$29610

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 Zurich

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Altstetten	$3037
6.4 km or 4 mi	Dubendorf	$2988
11 km or 6.6 mi	Dietikon	$2934
14 km or 8.6 mi	Horgen	$2976
14 km or 8.6 mi	Uster	$2974
16 km or 9.7 mi	Bulach	$2873
19 km or 12 mi	Wettingen	$2970
19 km or 12 mi	Wadenswil	$2960
19 km or 12 mi	Winterthur	$3032
20 km or 13 mi	Wetzikon	$2893
20 km or 13 mi	Baden	$3059
20 km or 13 mi	Baar	$3099
23 km or 15 mi	Zug	$3426
28 km or 17 mi	Rapperswil-Jona	$2861
33 km or 21 mi	Frauenfeld	$2379
36 km or 22 mi	Schaffhausen	$2419
37 km or 23 mi	Waldshut-Tiengen	$1472
37 km or 23 mi	Aarau	$2252
38 km or 24 mi	Emmen	$2897
40 km or 25 mi	Wil	$2262
40 km or 25 mi	Lucerne	$2931
43 km or 27 mi	Kriens	$2891
48 km or 30 mi	Singen	$1555
51 km or 32 mi	Radolfzell	$1609
56 km or 35 mi	Kreuzlingen	$2614
57 km or 36 mi	Konstanz	$1731
60 km or 37 mi	Rheinfelden	$1447
63 km or 39 mi	St. Gallen	$2464
63 km or 39 mi	Uberlingen	$1641
64 km or 40 mi	Donaueschingen	$1382
70 km or 44 mi	Riehen	$3234
71 km or 44 mi	Tuttlingen	$1453
71 km or 44 mi	Lorrach	$1434
74 km or 46 mi	Weil am Rhein	$1442
74 km or 46 mi	Basel	$2643
76 km or 47 mi	Villingen-Schwenningen	$1267
77 km or 48 mi	Saint-Louis	$1286
77 km or 48 mi	Friedrichshafen	$1656
77 km or 48 mi	Schaan	$2352
78 km or 48 mi	Allschwil	$2717