Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mechelen vs. Berlin Cost of Living Summary
Mechelen is 22.7% more expensive than Berlin.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.0% more in Mechelen
- Groceries
-
pay 1.1% more in Mechelen
- Transportation
-
pay 8.9% less in Mechelen
- Housing
-
pay 21.5% less in Mechelen
- Childcare
-
pay 2.6 times more in Mechelen
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.3% more in Mechelen
- Clothing
-
pay 18.5% more in Mechelen
The cost of childcare, clothing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Mechelen are more expensive than in Berlin. Expenses including housing and transportation are lower in Mechelen. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Mechelen.
Mechelen vs. Berlin Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mechelen instead of Berlin, you would:
pay 8.0% more for restaurants
|
Berlin
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.52
€15.05
|
$23.36
€20.06
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.55
€11.64
|
$12.85
€11.03
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.49
€3.00
|
$3.45
€2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.98
€2.56
|
$3.14
€2.70
|
|
Berlin vs. Mechelen - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.1% more for groceries
|
Berlin
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.25
€1.94
|
$2.81
€2.41
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.10
€6.10
|
$8.55
€7.34
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.13
€4.41
|
$4.72
€4.05
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.88
€3.33
|
$3.79
€3.25
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.52
€4.74
|
$5.42
€4.65
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.54
€1.33
|
$1.30
€1.11
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.80
|
$1.05
€0.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.20
€1.03
|
$1.02
€0.88
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.76
€1.51
|
$1.41
€1.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.91
€0.78
|
$0.86
€0.73
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.78
€0.67
|
$0.96
€0.82
|
|
Berlin vs. Mechelen - Cost of groceries
pay 8.9% less for transportation
|
Berlin
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.52
€6.46
|
$7.21
€6.20
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$68.91
€59.18
|
$57.23
€49.15
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,702.07
€28,084.89
|
$30,776.53
€26,431.22
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$32.00
€27.48
|
$29.20
€25.08
|
|
Berlin vs. Mechelen - Cost of transportation
pay 21.5% less for housing
|
Berlin
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$50.32
€43.22
|
$50.22
€43.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,427.12
€1,225.63
|
$992.79
€852.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,068.35
€917.51
|
$856.53
€735.59
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$277.09
€237.97
|
$178.28
€153.11
|
|
Berlin vs. Mechelen - Cost of housing
pay 2.6 times more for childcare
|
Berlin
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$184.92
€158.81
|
$583.99
€501.54
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,579.95
€8,227.37
|
$19,301.03
€16,575.94
|
|
Berlin vs. Mechelen - Cost of childcare
pay 3.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Berlin
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.26
€4.51
|
$5.84
€5.02
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.45
€3.82
|
$4.22
€3.63
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.16
€8.73
|
$12.85
€11.03
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$38.79
€33.31
|
$31.15
€26.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.89
€12.79
|
$15.48
€13.29
|
|
Berlin vs. Mechelen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.5% more for clothing
|
Berlin
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$93.79
€80.55
|
$114.61
€98.43
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.63
€37.47
|
$54.02
€46.39
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$106.67
€91.61
|
$108.62
€93.29
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$129.59
€111.30
|
$163.52
€140.43
|
|
Berlin vs. Mechelen - 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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