Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brussels and London

For one person, living is cheaper in Brussels: $2,552 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $18,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

126

Cost of Living Index in Brussels
Learn more

Brussels Living Index
196

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index

Jump to prices

Brussels

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,552

/mo nomad

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Brussels and in London

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Brussels and in London actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,552 in Brussels versus $4,086 in London.

Brussels $2,552
London $4,086

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,875 in Brussels versus $5,816 in London.

Brussels $3,875
London $5,816

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,197 in Brussels versus $7,546 in London.

Brussels $5,197
London $7,546

Living in Brussels costs roughly 38% less than in London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Brussels 90% above, London 205% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.61 €20.16

$26.62 £20.12

-15.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.2 €81.4

$108 £81.3

-15.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.21 €13.56

$10.39 £7.86

46.39%

Cappuccino

$4.32 €3.85

$5.79 £4.38

-25.39%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.78 €3.37

$3.01 £2.27

25.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 €2.71

$2.15 £1.63

41.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.53 €4.93

$9.35 £7.07

-40.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.73 €5.11

$7.84 £5.93

-26.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.79 £1.35

-26.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.71 €2.42

$2.06 £1.56

31.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$2.31 £1.74

21.21%

Eggs

$5.33 €4.75

$5.05 £3.82

5.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.78 €15.86

$12.57 £9.50

41.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.11 €11.69

$10.66 £8.05

22.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.01 €19.62

$17.13 £12.95

28.49%

Apples (1kg)

$3.12 €2.78

$3.03 £2.29

2.97%

Banana (1kg)

$2.37 €2.11

$1.41 £1.07

68.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 €2.45

$3.05 £2.31

-9.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 €3.78

$3.38 £2.56

25.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.58 €2.30

$1.67 £1.26

54.49%

Onion (1kg)

$2.23 €1.99

$1.73 £1.31

28.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.80 €1.60

$1.41 £1.07

27.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 €1.13

$1.79 £1.35

-29.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.68 €12.20

$23.22 £17.55

-41.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.75 €8.69

$12.99 £9.82

-24.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.68 €2.39

$3.18 £2.41

-15.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 €2.72

$4.41 £3.34

-30.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.88 €2.57

$3.87 £2.93

-25.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.1 €56.2

$250 £189

-74.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 €2.55

$5.71 £4.31

-49.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.31 €2.06

$3.33 £2.51

-30.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.43 €36.05

$57.9 £43.77

-30.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 €1.92

$2.04 £1.54

5.39%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$35.1K €31.3K

$37.5K £28.4K

-6.53%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$33.2K €29.6K

$40.9K £30.9K

-18.91%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$285 €254

$376 £284

-24.14%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$21.90 €19.52

$17.88 £13.51

22.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.0 €47.22

$40.01 £30.25

32.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.51 €29.88

$61.2 £46.23

-45.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.85 €24.83

$21.07 £15.93

32.18%

Cinema Ticket

$16.62 €14.82

$17.95 £13.57

-7.41%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,590 €1,418

$2,865 £2,166

-44.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$37.2K €33.1K

$35.3K £26.7K

5.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.6

$116 £87.7

-10.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.15 €41.14

$54.1 £40.88

-14.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 €99.1

$127 £95.7

-12.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$149 €133

$159 £120

-6.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,318 €1,175

$2,853 £2,157

-53.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,166 €1,039

$2,301 £1,740

-49.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,442 €2,177

$5,201 £3,932

-53.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,980 €1,766

$3,723 £2,814

-46.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,082 €4,531

$19.0K £14.4K

-73.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,941 €3,514

$7,881 £5,957

-49.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,280 €2,924

$4,818 £3,642

-31.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.71

4.65

-20.22%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Brussels: October 5, 2026

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Brussels

$1.2K 44.8%

London

$2.3K 56.5% 97.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Brussels

$393 15.1%

London

$349 8.6% 11.2% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brussels

$360 13.8%

London

$434 10.7% 20.5% $74

Eating Out

Brussels

$345 13.2%

London

$397 9.7% 15.1% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Brussels

$185 7.1%

London

$205 5% 11.1% $21

Getting Around

Brussels

$89 3.4%

London

$288 7.1% 223% $199

Sport & Entertainment

Brussels

$67 2.6%

London

$97 2.4% 45.4% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,318 in Brussels and $2,853 in London. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 47% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $91.0 in Brussels vs $108 in London. Groceries flip the comparison at $393 vs $349, with London cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Brussels

🇬🇧 London

🕒 Local time

08:08 8:08 AM

07:08 7:08 AM

1 h behind Brussels

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,137 Capital

8,908,083 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Brussels London 320 km

From you

Brussels
London

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Brussels vs London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brussels wins on cost – living expenses run 60% lower than in London. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Brussels the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 47% lower in London. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,318 in Brussels versus $2,853 in London. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in London pay roughly 13% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Brussels – a meal for two runs $91.0 versus $108 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,552 in Brussels versus $4,086 in London, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Brussels but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Brussels the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Brussels delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $2,552 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Brussels hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Brussels and London are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Brussels gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.