Cost of living comparison
compared to
Berlin vs. Mechelen Cost of Living Summary
Berlin is 12.9% more expensive than Mechelen.
Berlin vs. Mechelen Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Berlin instead of Mechelen, you would:
pay 11.5% less for restaurants
|
Mechelen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.39
€19.99
|
$16.80
€14.99
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.44
€11.99
|
$13.44
€11.99
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.43
€3.06
|
$3.44
€3.07
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.89
€2.58
|
$3.10
€2.77
|
|
Mechelen vs. Berlin - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.4% more for groceries
|
Mechelen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.74
€2.45
|
$2.40
€2.14
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.62
€7.69
|
$8.59
€7.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.48
€4.00
|
$4.72
€4.21
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.71
€3.31
|
$4.47
€3.99
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.42
€4.84
|
$5.44
€4.85
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.25
€1.12
|
$1.61
€1.44
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.08
€0.97
|
$0.90
€0.81
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.17
€1.04
|
$1.52
€1.36
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.31
€1.17
|
$1.70
€1.51
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.97
€0.87
|
$0.94
€0.84
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.87
€0.78
|
$0.98
€0.87
|
|
Mechelen vs. Berlin - Cost of groceries
pay 9.1% more for transportation
|
Mechelen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.82
€6.98
|
$8.66
€7.73
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$54.87
€48.97
|
$70.54
€62.96
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,462.03
€31,651.21
|
$32,914.63
€29,377.56
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$27.10
€24.19
|
$30.29
€27.03
|
|
Mechelen vs. Berlin - Cost of transportation
pay 52.3% more for housing
|
Mechelen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$47.40
€42.31
|
$48.20
€43.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$933.11
€832.84
|
$1,478.95
€1,320.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$783.81
€699.58
|
$1,114.14
€994.41
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$156.74
€139.90
|
$295.08
€263.37
|
|
Mechelen vs. Berlin - Cost of housing
pay 56.3% less for childcare
|
Mechelen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$559.87
€499.70
|
$144.45
€128.92
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$21,386.95
€19,088.66
|
$15,853.22
€14,149.60
|
|
Mechelen vs. Berlin - Cost of childcare
pay 6.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Mechelen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.49
€4.90
|
$5.43
€4.85
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.29
€3.83
|
$4.34
€3.87
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.13
€11.72
|
$10.53
€9.39
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$29.86
€26.65
|
$40.06
€35.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.12
€13.49
|
$15.68
€13.99
|
|
Mechelen vs. Berlin - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.5% less for clothing
|
Mechelen
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$107.90
€96.30
|
$95.44
€85.18
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.83
€44.47
|
$47.03
€41.98
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.76
€96.18
|
$104.60
€93.36
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.69
€133.61
|
$141.17
€126.00
|
|
Mechelen vs. Berlin - 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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