Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. Amsterdam Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 3.4% more expensive than Amsterdam.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.4% less in Boston
- Groceries
-
pay 53.2% more in Boston
- Transportation
-
pay 39.1% less in Boston
- Housing
-
pay 19.4% more in Boston
- Childcare
-
pay 16.4% more in Boston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.3% more in Boston
- Clothing
-
pay 16.2% less in Boston
The cost of groceries, housing, childcare, and entertainment and sports in Boston are more expensive than in Amsterdam. Expenses including transportation, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Boston.
Boston vs. Amsterdam Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of Amsterdam, you would:
pay 17.4% less for restaurants
|
Amsterdam
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.36
€20.14
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$16.35
€14.10
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.72
€3.21
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.28
€2.83
|
$2.40
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 53.2% more for groceries
|
Amsterdam
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.71
€2.34
|
$4.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.72
€6.65
|
$8.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.24
€5.38
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.27
€4.55
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.35
€5.48
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.42
€1.22
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.02
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.04
€0.90
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
€1.80
|
$3.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$2.09
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.88
€0.76
|
$1.81
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 39.1% less for transportation
|
Amsterdam
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.77
€7.57
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$116.79
€100.71
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$44,381.38
€38,271.26
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$32.69
€28.19
|
$16.52
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 19.4% more for housing
|
Amsterdam
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$52.20
€45.01
|
$77.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,488.65
€2,146.03
|
$3,451.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,040.62
€1,759.68
|
$2,596.36
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$241.43
€208.19
|
$153.30
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 16.4% more for childcare
|
Amsterdam
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,924.24
€2,521.66
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,029.43
€17,271.92
|
$27,500.00
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 7.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Amsterdam
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.59
€6.55
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.05
€4.35
|
$5.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.60
€12.59
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.91
€50.80
|
$88.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.52
€15.11
|
$15.00
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.2% less for clothing
|
Amsterdam
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.80
€85.20
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.66
€46.27
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$127.18
€109.67
|
$107.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$154.92
€133.59
|
$152.08
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Boston - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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