Cost of Living Comparison Between Leuven and Mechelen Cost of Living Comparison Between Leuven and Mechelen

🙂 Solo nomad: Leuven is 8.8% cheaper than Mechelen without rent, and 6.8% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Leuven is 10.6% cheaper than Mechelen without rent, and 2.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 €15.15

$23.41 €20.27

-25.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.0 €79.7

$115 €99.7

-20.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.64 €10.08

$12.75 €11.04

-8.71%

Cappuccino

$4.14 €3.59

$4.13 €3.58

0.24%

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

$3.57 €3.09

$3.35 €2.90

6.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 €3.00

$3.17 €2.74

9.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.91 €4.25

$5.60 €4.85

-12.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 €3.11

$4.53 €3.92

-20.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 €1.19

$1.26 €1.09

8.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.15 €1.87

$2.74 €2.38

-21.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.93 €2.54

$2.38 €2.06

23.11%

Eggs

$3.59 €3.11

$4.01 €3.47

-10.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.96 €10.36

$17.43 €15.10

-31.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.03 €11.28

$11.65 €10.09

11.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.09 €14.80

$18.95 €16.41

-9.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.71 €2.35

$2.90 €2.51

-6.55%

Banana (1kg)

$2.37 €2.05

$2.36 €2.05

0.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.02 €1.75

$2.24 €1.94

-9.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.67 €2.31

$3.04 €2.63

-12.17%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.86

$1.92 €1.66

11.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 €1.49

$2.06 €1.79

-16.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 €1.36

$1.39 €1.20

12.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 €1.06

$0.83 €0.71

48.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.77 €11.06

$12.92 €11.19

-1.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.50 €6.50

$9.13 €7.91

-17.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 €2.02

$1.83 €1.59

27.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.88

$2.24 €1.94

-2.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.94 €2.55

$3.11 €2.69

-5.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.49 €33.33

$56.2 €48.69

-31.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.47 €5.60

$5.66 €4.90

14.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.53 €2.19

$2.55 €2.21

-0.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.66 €30.02

$45.43 €39.34

-23.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 €1.67

$1.85 €1.60

3.78%

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

$30.7K €26.6K

$33.7K €29.2K

-8.82%

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

$28.1K €24.3K

$33.3K €28.8K

-15.73%

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

$185 €160

$203 €176

-8.98%

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

$21.58 €18.69

$24.84 €21.51

-13.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.05 €41.61

$52.3 €45.29

-8.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.90 €40.62

$31.23 €27.04

50.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.29 €14.98

$14.13 €12.24

22.36%

Cinema Ticket

$14.27 €12.35

$14.90 €12.90

-4.23%

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

$668 €579

$575 €498

16.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.6K €11.8K

$13.3K €11.6K

1.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €89.7

$113 €97.9

-8.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.39 €28.05

$50.8 €43.95

-36.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.1 €82.4

$109 €94.7

-13.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 €116

$165 €143

-19.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$993 €860

$917 €794

8.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,088 €942

$741 €642

46.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,142 €1,855

$1,332 €1,154

60.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,710 €1,481

$1,121 €970

52.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 €4,865

$2,316 €2,006

142.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,800 €3,291

$1,173 €1,016

223.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,523 €3,051

$2,280 €1,975

54.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.83

3.27

17.13%

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

Last update for Leuven: March 1, 2026

Last update for Mechelen: February 28, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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