Cost of living comparison

compared to

Belgium vs. Netherlands Cost of Living Summary

Belgium is 15.9% cheaper than Netherlands overall.

Restaurants
pay 6.3% less in Belgium
Groceries
pay 2.9% less in Belgium
Transportation
pay 24.5% less in Belgium
Housing
pay 27.9% less in Belgium
Childcare
pay 5.7% more in Belgium
Entertainment and Sports
pay 10.8% less in Belgium
Clothing
pay 2.8% more in Belgium

The cost of childcare and clothing in Belgium are more expensive than in Netherlands. Expenses including housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Belgium.

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Belgium vs. Netherlands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Belgium instead of Netherlands, you would:

pay 6.3% less for restaurants

 
Netherlands
Belgium
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $22.24
€19.80
$21.51
€19.15
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $13.74
€12.23
$12.72
€11.32
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.60
€3.21
$3.15
€2.80
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pay 2.9% less for groceries

 
Netherlands
Belgium
Bread
1 loaf
 $2.06
€1.84
$2.56
€2.28
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.70
€5.96
$7.21
€6.41
Milk (1 gallon) $5.08
€4.52
$4.74
€4.22
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pay 24.5% less for transportation

 
Netherlands
Belgium
Gasoline (1 gallon) $9.11
€8.11
$7.52
€6.70
Monthly public transit pass $95.45
€84.95
$50.17
€44.65
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $40,608.58
€36,143.10
$34,462.94
€30,673.26
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pay 27.9% less for housing

 
Netherlands
Belgium
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $48.29
€42.98
$51.15
€45.52
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,426.76
€1,269.87
$940.80
€837.35
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,174.28
€1,045.15
$826.78
€735.87
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pay 5.7% more for childcare

 
Netherlands
Belgium
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,884.17
€1,676.98
$923.48
€821.93
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,083.31
€8,974.51
$22,984.85
€20,457.34
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pay 10.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
Netherlands
Belgium
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.25
€5.56
$4.94
€4.40
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.16
€3.70
$4.03
€3.58
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $13.60
€12.11
$12.32
€10.96
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pay 2.8% more for clothing

 
Netherlands
Belgium
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $89.45
€79.61
$100.04
€89.04
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $43.43
€38.65
$43.19
€38.44
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $100.67
€89.60
$96.42
€85.82
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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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Compare further: Netherlands vs. Belgium

Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Belgium?
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Quality of Life Comparison · 13 statistics
Be 52.7% more likely to be unemployed in Belgium
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Size Comparison · See true size
Netherlands is about 1.4 times bigger than Belgium.
→
Moving from Netherlands to Belgium · OECD 2023
7,385 people moved from Netherlands to Belgium.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Amsterdam vs Antwerp
→
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