Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Amsterdam Cost of Living Summary
United States is 20.5% cheaper than Amsterdam.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.8% less in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 16.4% more in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 44.5% less in United States
- Housing
-
pay 17.4% less in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 18.4% less in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.6% less in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 32.3% less in United States
Expenses including transportation, clothing, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in United States.
United States vs. Amsterdam Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Amsterdam, you would:
pay 29.8% less for restaurants
|
Amsterdam
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.36
€20.06
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$16.35
€14.04
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.72
€3.20
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.28
€2.82
|
$2.00
|
|
Amsterdam vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.4% more for groceries
|
Amsterdam
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.71
€2.33
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.72
€6.63
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.24
€5.36
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.27
€4.53
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.35
€5.46
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.42
€1.22
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.01
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.04
€0.89
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
€1.80
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.88
€0.76
|
$1.38
|
|
Amsterdam vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 44.5% less for transportation
|
Amsterdam
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.77
€7.53
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$116.79
€100.30
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$44,381.38
€38,115.21
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$32.69
€28.07
|
$17.61
|
|
Amsterdam vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 17.4% less for housing
|
Amsterdam
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$52.20
€44.83
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,488.65
€2,137.28
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,040.62
€1,752.50
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$241.43
€207.34
|
$150.19
|
|
Amsterdam vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 18.4% less for childcare
|
Amsterdam
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,924.24
€2,511.37
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,029.43
€17,201.50
|
$23,196.46
|
|
Amsterdam vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 17.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Amsterdam
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.59
€6.52
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.05
€4.34
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.60
€12.54
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.91
€50.59
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.52
€15.05
|
$13.64
|
|
Amsterdam vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 32.3% less for clothing
|
Amsterdam
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.80
€84.85
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.66
€46.08
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$127.18
€109.22
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$154.92
€133.05
|
$112.04
|
|
Amsterdam vs. United States - 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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Netherlands vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Netherlands and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about United States or Amsterdam. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.