Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mechelen vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary
Mechelen is 22.1% more expensive than Ottawa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 55.1% more in Mechelen
- Groceries
-
pay 5.5% less in Mechelen
- Transportation
-
pay 40.0% more in Mechelen
- Housing
-
pay 2.9% less in Mechelen
- Childcare
-
pay 1.7% less in Mechelen
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 5.3% more in Mechelen
- Clothing
-
pay 64.1% more in Mechelen
The cost of clothing, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Mechelen are more expensive than in Ottawa. Expenses including groceries, housing, and childcare are lower in Mechelen.
Mechelen vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mechelen instead of Ottawa, you would:
pay 55.1% more for restaurants
|
Ottawa
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.99
CA$24.87
|
$23.36
€20.06
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.01
CA$15.22
|
$12.85
€11.03
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CA$2.77
|
$3.45
€2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.56
CA$2.15
|
$3.14
€2.70
|
|
Ottawa vs. Mechelen - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.5% less for groceries
|
Ottawa
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.73
CA$3.77
|
$2.81
€2.41
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.85
CA$8.09
|
$8.55
€7.34
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.65
CA$11.97
|
$4.72
€4.05
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
CA$4.86
|
$3.79
€3.25
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.74
CA$7.94
|
$5.42
€4.65
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.91
CA$2.64
|
$1.30
€1.11
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
CA$0.83
|
$1.05
€0.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
CA$2.25
|
$1.02
€0.88
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
CA$2.30
|
$1.41
€1.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
CA$1.53
|
$0.86
€0.73
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
CA$2.02
|
$0.96
€0.82
|
|
Ottawa vs. Mechelen - Cost of groceries
pay 40.0% more for transportation
|
Ottawa
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.05
CA$5.60
|
$7.21
€6.20
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$97.12
CA$134.31
|
$57.23
€49.15
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,444.83
CA$33,803.54
|
$30,776.53
€26,431.22
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.82
CA$20.49
|
$29.20
€25.08
|
|
Ottawa vs. Mechelen - Cost of transportation
pay 2.9% less for housing
|
Ottawa
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.93
CA$69.04
|
$50.22
€43.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,452.55
CA$2,008.67
|
$992.79
€852.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,228.71
CA$1,699.13
|
$856.53
€735.59
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.93
CA$164.46
|
$178.28
€153.11
|
|
Ottawa vs. Mechelen - Cost of housing
pay 1.7% less for childcare
|
Ottawa
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$788.18
CA$1,089.93
|
$583.99
€501.54
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,753.32
CA$21,784.48
|
$19,301.03
€16,575.94
|
|
Ottawa vs. Mechelen - Cost of childcare
pay 5.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ottawa
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.76
CA$7.96
|
$5.84
€5.02
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.74
CA$5.18
|
$4.22
€3.63
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.95
CA$17.91
|
$12.85
€11.03
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.60
CA$61.68
|
$31.15
€26.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.79
CA$14.92
|
$15.48
€13.29
|
|
Ottawa vs. Mechelen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 64.1% more for clothing
|
Ottawa
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.82
CA$73.05
|
$114.61
€98.43
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.91
CA$53.81
|
$54.02
€46.39
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.10
CA$120.44
|
$108.62
€93.29
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.91
CA$128.48
|
$163.52
€140.43
|
|
Ottawa 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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