Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Brussels

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.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
126

Cost of Living Index in Brussels
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Brussels Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Brussels

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,552

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Brussels

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

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

London $4,086
Brussels $2,552

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

London $5,816
Brussels $3,875

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

London $7,546
Brussels $5,197

Living in London is roughly 60% more expensive than in Brussels, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$22.61 €20.18

17.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$91.2 €81.4

17.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$15.21 €13.57

-31.69%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$4.32 €3.86

34.03%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$3.78 €3.37

-20.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$3.04 €2.71

-29.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$5.53 €4.94

69.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$5.73 €5.11

36.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.31 €1.17

36.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$2.71 €2.42

-23.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$2.80 €2.50

-17.50%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$5.33 €4.76

-5.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$17.78 €15.87

-29.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$13.11 €11.70

-18.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$22.01 €19.64

-22.17%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$3.12 €2.78

-2.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.37 €2.11

-40.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$2.75 €2.45

10.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$4.24 €3.78

-20.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$2.58 €2.30

-35.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$2.23 €1.99

-22.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.80 €1.60

-21.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.27 €1.13

40.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$13.68 €12.21

69.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$9.75 €8.70

33.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$2.68 €2.39

18.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$3.06 €2.73

44.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$2.88 €2.57

34.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$63.1 €56.3

296.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$2.86 €2.55

99.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$2.31 €2.06

44.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$40.43 €36.08

43.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$2.15 €1.92

-5.12%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$35.1K €31.3K

6.99%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$33.2K €29.6K

23.33%

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

$376 £284

$285 €255

31.82%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$21.90 €19.54

-18.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$53.0 €47.26

-24.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$33.51 €29.90

82.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$27.85 €24.85

-24.34%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$16.62 €14.83

8.00%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$1,590 €1,419

80.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$37.2K €33.2K

-4.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$104 €92.7

11.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$46.15 €41.18

17.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$111 €99.2

13.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$149 €133

6.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$1,318 €1,176

116.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$1,166 €1,040

97.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$2,442 €2,179

113.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$1,980 €1,767

87.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$5,082 €4,535

274.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$3,941 €3,517

99.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$3,280 €2,927

46.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

3.71

25.34%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Brussels: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Brussels

$1.2K 44.8% 49.4% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Brussels

$360 13.8% 17% $74

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Brussels

$345 13.2% 13.1% $52

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Brussels

$393 15.1% 12.6% $44

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Brussels

$89 3.4% 69.1% $199

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Brussels

$185 7.1% 10% $21

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Brussels

$67 2.6% 31.2% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $1,318 in Brussels. 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: $108 in London vs $91.0 in Brussels. Groceries flip the comparison at $349 vs $393, with London cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇧🇪 Brussels

🕒 Local time

07:08 7:08 AM

08:08 8:08 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

188,137 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Brussels 320 km

From you

London
Brussels

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

London vs Brussels: 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.

Average pay runs 47% higher in London, 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: $2,853 in London versus $1,318 in Brussels. 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, London and Brussels 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.