Cost of living comparison
compared to
Brussels vs. Helsinki Cost of Living Summary
Brussels is 19.2% more expensive than Helsinki.
Brussels vs. Helsinki Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Brussels instead of Helsinki, you would:
pay 18.3% more for restaurants
|
Helsinki
|
Brussels
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.92
€15.95
|
$22.39
€19.93
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.44
€11.96
|
$15.12
€13.45
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.45
€3.07
|
$3.73
€3.32
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
€2.30
|
$3.11
€2.77
|
|
Helsinki vs. Brussels - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.8% more for groceries
|
Helsinki
|
Brussels
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.76
€2.45
|
$2.75
€2.45
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.96
€4.41
|
$8.91
€7.93
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.08
€4.52
|
$5.00
€4.45
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.93
€3.50
|
$5.29
€4.71
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.02
€5.36
|
$5.97
€5.32
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.12
|
$1.40
€1.24
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.99
€0.88
|
$1.09
€0.97
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.12
€1.00
|
$1.27
€1.13
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.77
€1.58
|
$1.87
€1.67
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.55
€0.49
|
$1.14
€1.01
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.74
€0.66
|
$1.00
€0.89
|
|
Helsinki vs. Brussels - Cost of groceries
pay 12.6% less for transportation
|
Helsinki
|
Brussels
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.89
€7.91
|
$7.99
€7.11
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$81.74
€72.75
|
$62.71
€55.81
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,622.07
€32,594.96
|
$35,462.03
€31,562.48
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$26.34
€23.44
|
$21.27
€18.94
|
|
Helsinki vs. Brussels - Cost of transportation
pay 32.9% more for housing
|
Helsinki
|
Brussels
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$24.77
€22.05
|
$51.88
€46.18
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,207.26
€1,074.51
|
$1,339.95
€1,192.60
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$904.00
€804.59
|
$1,154.19
€1,027.27
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$104.89
€93.35
|
$215.91
€192.17
|
|
Helsinki vs. Brussels - Cost of housing
pay 3.1 times more for childcare
|
Helsinki
|
Brussels
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$476.51
€424.11
|
$1,603.72
€1,427.37
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,685.20
€11,290.29
|
$36,825.21
€32,775.76
|
|
Helsinki vs. Brussels - Cost of childcare
pay 23.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Helsinki
|
Brussels
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$10.08
€8.97
|
$5.60
€4.98
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.23
€4.65
|
$4.44
€3.96
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
€12.46
|
$13.44
€11.96
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$46.96
€41.80
|
$32.93
€29.31
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.48
€16.44
|
$16.68
€14.85
|
|
Helsinki vs. Brussels - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.5% more for clothing
|
Helsinki
|
Brussels
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$92.46
€82.29
|
$101.94
€90.73
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.55
€38.76
|
$46.03
€40.97
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.85
€93.32
|
$109.64
€97.58
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.45
€133.01
|
$146.15
€130.08
|
|
Helsinki vs. Brussels - Cost of clothing
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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Compare further: Helsinki vs. Brussels
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cost of living in Finland vs. Belgium.
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