Cost of living comparison

Croatia

compared to

Belgium

Brussels vs. Zagreb Cost of Living Summary

Brussels is 50.1% more expensive than Zagreb.

Restaurants: pay 69.1% more in Brussels
Groceries: pay 41.3% more in Brussels
Transportation: pay 21.6% more in Brussels
Housing: pay 56.3% more in Brussels
Childcare: pay 3.5 times more in Brussels
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.1% more in Brussels
Clothing: pay 12.3% more in Brussels

The cost of childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation in Brussels are more expensive than in Zagreb. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Brussels.

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Brussels vs. Zagreb Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 69.1% more for restaurants

	Zagreb	Brussels
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.32 HRK82.58	$22.39 €19.93	+81.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.12 HRK54.42	$15.12 €13.45	+86.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.04 HRK20.36	$3.73 €3.32	+22.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.59 HRK17.36	$3.11 €2.77	+20.2%
Average			+69.1%

Zagreb vs. Brussels - Cost of restaurants

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pay 41.3% more for groceries

	Zagreb	Brussels
Bread 1 loaf	$1.63 HRK10.95	$2.75 €2.45	+68.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.46 HRK50.04	$8.91 €7.93	+19.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.78 HRK32.05	$5.00 €4.45	+4.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.93 HRK26.33	$5.29 €4.71	+34.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.41 HRK36.30	$5.97 €5.32	+10.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.04 HRK6.96	$1.40 €1.24	+34.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 HRK5.32	$1.09 €0.97	+37.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.95 HRK6.35	$1.27 €1.13	+33.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.15 HRK7.71	$1.87 €1.67	+63.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 HRK4.05	$1.14 €1.01	+88.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 HRK3.54	$1.00 €0.89	+89.1%
Average			+41.3%

Zagreb vs. Brussels - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.6% more for transportation

	Zagreb	Brussels
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.15 HRK47.92	$7.99 €7.11	+11.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$53.50 HRK358.68	$62.71 €55.81	+17.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,993.39 HRK188K	$35,462.03 €31,562.48	+26.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.44 HRK90.08	$21.27 €18.94	+58.3%
Average			+21.6%

Zagreb vs. Brussels - Cost of transportation

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pay 56.3% more for housing

	Zagreb	Brussels
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$40.80 HRK273.55	$51.88 €46.18	+27.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$869.66 HRK5,830.31	$1,339.95 €1,192.60	+54.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$659.99 HRK4,424.62	$1,154.19 €1,027.27	+74.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$167.33 HRK1,121.83	$215.91 €192.17	+29.0%
Average			+56.3%

Zagreb vs. Brussels - Cost of housing

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pay 3.5 times more for childcare

	Zagreb	Brussels
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$494.08 HRK3,312.40	$1,603.72 €1,427.37	+224.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,918.06 HRK66,491.85	$36,825.21 €32,775.76	+271.3%
Average			+247.2%

Zagreb vs. Brussels - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Zagreb	Brussels
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.36 HRK22.52	$5.60 €4.98	+66.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.50 HRK16.73	$4.44 €3.96	+78.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.77 HRK38.66	$13.44 €11.96	+133.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.32 HRK337.34	$32.93 €29.31	-34.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.96 HRK60.05	$16.68 €14.85	+86.2%
Average			+42.1%

Zagreb vs. Brussels - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.3% more for clothing

	Zagreb	Brussels
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$105.08 HRK704.49	$101.94 €90.73	-3.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.32 HRK290.43	$46.03 €40.97	+6.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.92 HRK636.35	$109.64 €97.58	+15.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.43 HRK733.62	$146.15 €130.08	+33.6%
Average			+12.3%

Zagreb vs. Brussels - 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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