Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge and Alkmaar

For one person, living is cheaper in Alkmaar: $2,394 a month against $3,191 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cambridge outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

155

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
Learn more

Cambridge Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Alkmaar
Learn more

Alkmaar Living Index

Jump to prices

Cambridge

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,191

/mo nomad

Alkmaar

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,394

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cambridge and in Alkmaar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,191 in Cambridge versus $2,394 in Alkmaar.

Cambridge $3,191
Alkmaar $2,394

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,509 in Cambridge versus $3,536 in Alkmaar.

Cambridge $4,509
Alkmaar $3,536

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,827 in Cambridge versus $4,677 in Alkmaar.

Cambridge $5,827
Alkmaar $4,677

Living in Cambridge is roughly 33% more expensive than in Alkmaar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cambridge 136% above, Alkmaar 77% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.56 £16.17

$29.74 €26.45

-27.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.5 £66.4

$88.1 €78.3

0.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.83 £8.12

$14.67 €13.05

-26.18%

Cappuccino

$4.49 £3.37

$3.96 €3.52

13.38%

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

$2.79 £2.09

$3.19 €2.83

-12.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 £1.41

$2.47 €2.20

-23.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.90 £5.93

$5.75 €5.12

37.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.54 £4.91

$4.57 €4.06

43.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.43 €1.27

14.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 £1.34

$2.37 €2.10

-24.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 £1.87

$3.45 €3.07

-27.83%

Eggs

$4.53 £3.40

$4.90 €4.36

-7.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.93 £7.45

$14.23 €12.66

-30.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.43 £7.07

$15.08 €13.41

-37.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.44 £11.59

$16.85 €14.99

-8.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 £2.22

$2.54 €2.26

16.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$2.47 €2.20

-29.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.70 £2.77

$1.84 €1.64

101.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.54

$4.25 €3.78

-20.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.84 £1.38

$1.94 €1.73

-5.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 £1.42

$2.15 €1.91

-12.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.28 €1.13

-3.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.47

$0.80 €0.71

143.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.36 £16.77

$12.78 €11.37

74.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.97 £8.23

$6.89 €6.13

59.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.34 €1.19

144.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.15 £3.11

$2.19 €1.95

89.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$2.20 €1.96

85.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.1 £71.3

$57.9 €51.5

64.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.76 £5.82

$2.75 €2.44

182.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 £2.02

$1.63 €1.45

65.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.9 £38.18

$24.82 €22.07

105.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$2.24 €1.99

-7.59%

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

$37.9K £28.4K

$41.3K €36.7K

-8.27%

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

$41.1K £30.8K

$38.6K €34.4K

6.33%

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

$345 £258

$242 €216

42.18%

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

$18.37 £13.78

$20.63 €18.35

-10.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.78 £32.10

$46.41 €41.28

-7.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.4 £49.09

$46.05 €40.96

42.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.63 £15.48

$6.11 €5.44

237.64%

Cinema Ticket

$17.15 £12.86

$15.00 €13.34

14.33%

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

$2,590 £1,943

$726 €645

257.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.8K £26.9K

$2,393 €2,128

1397.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.4 £67.8

$116 €103

-22.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.74 £35.82

$46.67 €41.51

2.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.4 £68.6

$109 €97.3

-16.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 £95.5

$118 €105

7.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,115 £1,587

$778 €692

171.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,736 £1,302

$1,020 €907

70.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,193 £2,396

$2,855 €2,539

11.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,694 £2,021

$1,576 €1,401

70.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,107 £6,832

$4,974 €4,424

83.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,803 £4,353

$4,169 €3,709

39.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,405 £3,305

$3,317 €2,950

32.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

26.00%

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

Last update for Cambridge: October 18, 2026

Last update for Alkmaar: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge

$1.7K 54.4%

Alkmaar

$1K 42.6% 41.3% $716

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$406 12.7%

Alkmaar

$309 12.9% 23.7% $96

Eating Out

Cambridge

$330 10.3%

Alkmaar

$390 16.3% 18.1% $60

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$327 10.2%

Alkmaar

$346 14.5% 5.8% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$161 5%

Alkmaar

$176 7.3% 9.5% $15

Getting Around

Cambridge

$133 4.2%

Alkmaar

$78 3.2% 41.5% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$100 3.1%

Alkmaar

$76 3.2% 23.8% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,115 in Cambridge and $778 in Alkmaar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cambridge pays 33% 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: $88.0 in Cambridge vs $88.0 in Alkmaar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $327 vs $346 per month, with Cambridge cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cambridge

🇳🇱 Alkmaar

🕒 Local time

12:51 12:51 PM

13:51 1:51 PM

1 h ahead of Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

145,818

111,834

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cambridge Alkmaar 320 km

From you

Cambridge
Alkmaar

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

Cambridge vs Alkmaar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alkmaar wins on cost – living expenses run 33% lower than in Cambridge. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Alkmaar the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 33% higher in Cambridge, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,115 in Cambridge versus $778 in Alkmaar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Alkmaar runs roughly 64% less than in Cambridge. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $2,590 in Cambridge versus $726 in Alkmaar. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $2,394 in Alkmaar versus $3,191 in Cambridge, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Alkmaar but tight or insufficient in Cambridge. The gap between the two cities makes Alkmaar the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Alkmaar delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $2,394 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Alkmaar hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Cambridge and Alkmaar 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 Alkmaar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Cambridge. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.