Cost of living comparison

Belgium

compared to

United Kingdom

London vs. Brussels Cost of Living Summary

London is 32.1% more expensive than Brussels.

Restaurants: pay 10.5% less in London
Groceries: pay 15.9% less in London
Transportation: pay 49.5% more in London
Housing: pay 82.7% more in London
Childcare: pay 31.5% more in London
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.1% more in London
Clothing: pay 13.6% more in London

The cost of housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, childcare, and clothing in London are more expensive than in Brussels. Expenses including groceries and restaurants are lower in London. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in London.

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London vs. Brussels Cost Breakdown

If you lived in London instead of Brussels, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 10.5% less for restaurants

	Brussels	London
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$22.39 €19.93	$26.43 £19.83	+18.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$15.12 €13.45	$10.57 £7.93	-30.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.73 €3.32	$2.95 £2.22	-20.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 €2.77	$2.16 £1.62	-30.8%
Average			-10.5%

Brussels vs. London - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.9% less for groceries

	Brussels	London
Bread 1 loaf	$2.75 €2.45	$2.04 £1.53	-25.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.91 €7.93	$6.36 £4.77	-28.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.00 €4.45	$6.98 £5.24	+39.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.29 €4.71	$5.01 £3.76	-5.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.97 €5.32	$4.81 £3.61	-19.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 €1.24	$1.40 £1.05	+0.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.09 €0.97	$0.63 £0.47	-42.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.27 €1.13	$1.38 £1.03	+8.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.87 €1.67	$1.52 £1.14	-19.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 €1.01	$0.74 £0.55	-35.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.00 €0.89	$0.80 £0.60	-19.9%
Average			-15.9%

Brussels vs. London - Cost of groceries

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pay 49.5% more for transportation

	Brussels	London
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.99 €7.11	$7.95 £5.96	-0.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$62.71 €55.81	$245.79 £184.41	+292.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,462.03 €31,562.48	$38,182.92 £28,648.64	+7.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.27 €18.94	$31.77 £23.84	+49.3%
Average			+49.5%

Brussels vs. London - Cost of transportation

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pay 82.7% more for housing

	Brussels	London
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.88 €46.18	$40.48 £30.38	-22.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,339.95 €1,192.60	$2,841.09 £2,131.67	+112.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,154.19 €1,027.27	$2,287.10 £1,716.01	+98.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$215.91 €192.17	$284.00 £213.09	+31.5%
Average			+82.7%

Brussels vs. London - Cost of housing

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pay 31.5% more for childcare

	Brussels	London
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,603.72 €1,427.37	$2,857.20 £2,143.76	+78.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$36,825.21 €32,775.76	$35,755.44 £26,827.31	-2.9%
Average			+31.5%

Brussels vs. London - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Brussels	London
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.60 €4.98	$9.25 £6.94	+65.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.44 €3.96	$5.62 £4.22	+26.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.44 €11.96	$23.46 £17.60	+74.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.93 €29.31	$60.55 £45.43	+83.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.68 €14.85	$17.84 £13.38	+6.9%
Average			+45.1%

Brussels vs. London - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.6% more for clothing

	Brussels	London
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$101.94 €90.73	$113.97 £85.51	+11.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.03 €40.97	$53.96 £40.49	+17.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$109.64 €97.58	$125.54 £94.19	+14.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$146.15 €130.08	$162.46 £121.89	+11.2%
Average			+13.6%

Brussels vs. London - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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