Cost of Living in Ghent, 🇧🇪 Belgium - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 9 $1,793 $928 $1,591 $713 $123

Utilities 1 9 — $168 $216 $140 —

Internet & Mobile 6 7 14 $17 $70 $87 $67 $0

Groceries 1 20 26 27 $92 $410 $915 $305 $14

Transportation 2 3 16 $112 $75 $210 $70 $17

Dining Out 18 21 $1,836 $490 $712 $282 $84

Leisure Activities 1 13 15 $280 $215 $2,020 $86 $32

Health Insurance 10 11 $63 $95 $247 $35 —

Visa & Legal Fees 12 — $28 $58 — —

Total $4,193 $2,479 $6,056 $1,698 $270

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Food & Dining

Bread 1 $2.52 per loaf

Coffee 22 $3.37 per cup

Beer 23 $6.17 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 21 $23.46 per meal

Fast Food Combo 18 $14.14 per meal

Apples — per kg

Milk 20 $1.29 per liter

Rice 1 $2.06 per kg

Chicken Fillets 27 $16.53 per kg

Beef 26 $16.81 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) — per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 1 $93.48 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 24 $1.48 per bottle

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 9 $928.30 $713 – $1,066 per month

Coworking Space 8 $247.05 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 1 9 $1,793.00 $1,500 – $1,909 per month

Coliving Space 1 9 $897.00 per month

Transportation

Taxi Start 3 4 $11.22 per trip

Taxi per km 3 4 $2.92 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 2 17 $69.63 per month

Gasoline 5 $2.23 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 3 4 $17.06 per trip

Scooter Rental 16 $19.54 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 6 $16.84 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 14 $50.51 per month

Gym Membership 13 $30.38 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 1 $24.69 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 7 $5.61 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 15 $16.00 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans — per pair

Summer Dress 28 $33.66 per dress

Running Shoes — per pair

Personal Care

Haircut — per visit

Laundry 25 $6.73 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 19 11 $26.39 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) — per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 0.8909 EUR on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Leuven, Amsterdam, Zurich, Hanoi

Livingcost.org Ghent basket (updated Jun 2026)Index
De Lijn Omnipas €62/month (25–64)Official
Stad Gent standplaats taxi Tariff A €10 incl. 3 km, €2.60/kmOfficial
Visit Gent fixed taxi-stand fares (Tariff A/B)Official
Belgium Octane-95 €1.99/litre (19 Oct 2026)Index
Mobile Vikings €15/month (40 GB)Official
Proximus Pay&Go+ prepaid (country prep)Official
Dokwerkers flex desk €220/month excl. VAT (full-time)Official
Furnished 1BR monthly €1,500–€1,700 incl. utilities (Oct 2026)Listings
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
UK FCDO Belgium health (EHIC/GHIC, paid GP visits)Official
UK FCDO Belgium entry (Schengen 90/180-day short stays)Official
Basic-Fit Comfort €24.99/4 weeksOfficial
Proximus Internet Go Fiber €44.99/month promo (150 Mbps unlimited)Official
UGC Antwerpen tarif plein €14.25 (national chain cross-check)Official
Swapfiets Deluxe 7 €17.40/month incl. VATOfficial
De Lijn 2026 Omnipas €62/month press tariff tableOfficial
McDonald's Belgium Big Mac McMenu €12.60 (delivery menu cross-check)Listings
CM recognized GP consultation fee €23.50 (Jan 2026)Official
Delhaize skim milk €1.15/L (Belgium delivery shop)Official
Brasserie Uilenspiegel weekday lunch dagsuggestie €20.90Official
Cappuccino Gent espresso €3.00Official
't Zuiden van Europa Bavik 50 cl draft €5.50Official
Thysshop Spa Reine PET 1.5 L €1.32Official
WASBAR laundry €6/machine (detergent incl.)Official
ALDI Rundsstoofvlees €14.98/kgOfficial
ALDI Kipfilet €14.73/kg (400 g pack)Official
H&M BE Mouwloze strandjurk van katoen €29.99Official

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 2484.11 1793
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 1057.19 928.3
- Apples 3.06 not set
- Beef 21.03 16.81
- Beer 5.2 6.17
40 more changes
- Bread 3.35 2.52
- Chicken Fillets 14.79 16.53
- Cinema Ticket 15.6 16
- Coffee 4.39 3.37
- Coliving Space 982.09 897
- Coworking Space 242.63 247.05
- Dining Out local 161.76, nomad 982.09, expat 439.05, family 635.47, tourist 98.21 local 282, nomad 1836, expat 490, family 712, tourist 84
- Doctor Visit (GP) 36.97 26.39
- Fast Food Combo 13.29 14.14
- Gasoline 2.06 2.23
- Groceries local 369.73, nomad 207.97, expat 462.16, family 982.09, tourist 13.86 local 305, nomad 92, expat 410, family 915, tourist 14
- Gym Membership 40.44 30.38
- Haircut 32.35 not set
- Health Insurance local 13.86, nomad 75.1, expat 40.44, family 92.43, tourist 0 local 35, nomad 62.72, expat 95, family 247, tourist 0
- Housing local 982.09, nomad 2021.95, expat 1213.17, family 1906.41, tourist 155.98 local 713, nomad 1793, expat 928.3, family 1591, tourist 123.47
- Internet & Mobile local 51.99, nomad 75.1, expat 63.55, family 109.76, tourist 5.78 local 67.35, nomad 16.84, expat 70, family 87, tourist 0.37
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 55.46 50.51
- Jeans 98.21 not set
- Laundry 7.51 6.73
- Leisure Activities local 115.54, nomad 323.51, expat 207.97, family 462.16, tourist 28.89 local 86, nomad 280, expat 215, family 2020, tourist 32
- Meal (Inexpensive) 20.22 23.46
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 86.66 93.48
- Milk 1.68 1.29
- Mobile Plan 28.89 16.84
- Monthly Transport Pass 57.77 69.63
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 10.63 not set
- Rice 2.77 2.06
- Ride-hailing (5km) 18.49 17.06
- Running Shoes 109.76 not set
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 17.33 5.61
- Scooter Rental 13.86 19.54
- Summer Dress 48.53 33.66
- Taxi Start 9.82 11.22
- Taxi per km 2.83 2.92
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 20.8 24.69
- Transportation local 56.61, nomad 69.32, expat 86.66, family 254.19, tourist 17.33 local 70, nomad 112, expat 75, family 210, tourist 17
- Utilities local 190.64, nomad 138.65, expat 219.53, family 358.17, tourist 0 local 140, nomad 0, expat 168, family 216, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 28.89, family 57.77 local 0, expat 28, family 58
- Water (1.5L bottle) 1.1 1.48
- Wine (Mid-range) 10.98 not set
Coffee, Gym Membership, Laundry, Summer Dress, Water (1.5L bottle), Beef, Chicken Fillets, Meal (Inexpensive), Dining Out (local), Airbnb (1 month) high and Apples, Wine (Mid-range), Jeans, Running Shoes, Haircut, Pharmacy (basic meds) updated to Ghent operator and venue pages (cappuccino-gent.be, basic-fit.com, wasbar.be, www2.hm.com, thysshop.be, aldi.be, aldi.be, eetcafe-uilenspiegel.be, housinganywhere.com).

Ghent cost of living