# Brussels vs London

> On balanced weights, Brussels and London are too close to call: 50 and 51 out of 100. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/brussels-be-vs-london-gb/

Scores out of 100: Brussels 50, London 51. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=brussels-be,london-gb

## Line by line

| Line | Brussels | London |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,095 take-home a month | €3,950 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) | €3,877 a month (Price Index of Private Rents; World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 28 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 22 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 7 h 56 min | 7 h 49 min |
| Sunshine | 1,604 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) | 1,675 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) |
| Dry days | 145 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 131 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 7.6 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 11.2 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 1.1 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 1.1 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 82.3 years (World Development Indicators) | 81.4 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €95 a month (World Development Indicators) | €64 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 22 weeks (mother 15, father 7) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 12 weeks (mother 12, father 0) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.60 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.45 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 54 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 50 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 11 km (OurAirports airports) | 24 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 40 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 53 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Rail and metro stations | 118 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 300 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | no data | no data |
| Cycle network | 1.66 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 1.53 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 100 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 100 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 6.0 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 13.6 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Quick way out by bike | 5.9 km, about 24 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 15.5 km, about 62 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 73 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 36 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 18.4 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 14.3 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 45 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 47 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 59 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 98 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 49.7 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 36.7 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 3.6 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 3.3 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 5.9 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 4.7 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 56.9 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) | 57.2 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Developers around | 8.1 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 17.2 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 1.36 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 1.53 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre, 5.5 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | centre, 5.6 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | also on social or economic grounds; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 53 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 144 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 15 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 30 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 26 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 57 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 8 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 8 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 263 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 285 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 172 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 169 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 6 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 11 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 12 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Brussels or London?

Everyday prices are lower in Belgium: 87.2 against 92.4 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Brussels, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Brussels and in London?

About €37,134 a year in Brussels (Belgium 2026 tax rules) and £39,727 in London (United Kingdom 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Brussels or London?

London is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 15.4 °C against 15.1 °C in Brussels (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Brussels or London?

Brussels has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 7.6 µg/m³ against 11.2 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2019).

### Can a citizen of Belgium live and work in London without a visa?

No. Citizens of Belgium need a visa or permit to live and work in the United Kingdom; free movement there covers Common Travel Area citizens.

## Cite

Borgo, "Brussels vs London", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/brussels-be-vs-london-gb/, figures as of 2026-11-05.