How much does it cost to live and rent in Antwerp?

You are planning a move to Antwerp, or a few months of work here, and you need a budget. Online calculators give figures without telling you where they come from. This guide explains what you will pay for, and where to find the current numbers.

Is Antwerp an expensive city to live in?

Antwerp is one of the more expensive cities in Flanders to rent in. The half-yearly CIB and Korfine rent barometer, reported by VRT in September 2026, puts Antwerp second for apartment rents, after Leuven and ahead of Mechelen. Rents across Flanders were still rising.

So when people ask whether Antwerp is expensive, they mostly mean the rent. The rest of this guide goes through each cost category and the official source that tracks it.

For the wider picture of a move, from visas to districts, read our guide to living in Antwerp.

Rent in Antwerp by type of home

Rent in Antwerp depends first on the type of home. The rent barometer reported by VRT finds apartments the cheapest type to rent, with terraced, semi-detached and detached houses costing more. Small apartments and small terraced houses rose faster in price than large ones over the past year.

The barometers describe the general rental market. A furnished home is a different product, so compare it with other furnished offers rather than with the averages.

Two official rules shape what you pay over time:

• Indexation. A landlord may index the rent once a year, on the anniversary of the lease, based on the health index. Statbel’s rent calculator shows the calculation.
• Deposit. In Flanders, a landlord may ask a rental deposit of at most three months’ rent, for leases since 1 January 2019. One option is a blocked account in your name.

Which district fits your budget and your commute? Compare them in our guide to the best areas to live in Antwerp.

What other costs come with renting in Antwerp?

Renting in Antwerp brings costs beyond the rent itself: energy, water, internet and the deposit you pay upfront. Statbel’s household budget survey groups rent, water, gas, electricity and other fuels together. In 2024, Belgian households spent about a third of their budget on that group.

Cost categories when you rent in Antwerp

Ask a landlord what the rent includes before you compare two homes. One home with energy included and one without are not the same offer.

Daily costs: transport, food and the rest

Daily costs in Antwerp follow the same pattern as the rest of Flanders. Statbel’s survey shows that Flemish households spend about 11.5% of their budget on transport, less than households in Wallonia. Food, recreation and eating out make up much of the rest.

Public transport is the simplest way to keep transport costs down. De Lijn lists single tickets, travel passes and contactless payment on its tickets page, with discounts for some groups. If you drive, the low-emission zone in the centre may affect which car you can use.

Cost of living in Antwerp vs Brussels

The cost of living in Antwerp and Brussels differs most in housing. Statbel’s 2024 survey shows that households in Brussels spend a larger share of their budget on housing: 34.6%, against 29.9% in Flanders.

Choosing between the cities for remote work is about more than cost. Trains, coworking and daily life matter too. Our comparison of Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels for a month of remote work weighs them side by side.

Furnished accommodation while you search

Furnished accommodation while you search lets you view homes in person before you sign a lease and pay a deposit. A Hoost stay keeps your costs simple. Electricity, heating and water are included in the price of the stay. There is no deposit.

Two costs come on top: cleaning, charged per booking, and the city tax, charged separately. On longer stays, extra cleaning can be arranged roughly every two weeks. Hoost does not publish prices; we send the price with the availability for your dates.

The four apartments are in Antwerp South, near Middelheim Park, with trams 2 and 6 nearby. Each has a kitchen, a workspace with Ethernet, bed linen and towels. You book from 2 nights to 6 months. Ask for a furnished apartment while you look for a lease.

When Hoost is not the right choice

A furnished stay suits a period of weeks or months, not years. Hoost is not the right choice when:

• You need to register your address. Hoost does not allow address registration.
• You want to stay more than 6 months in one booking. A longer stay needs a new booking.
• You need parking on site. There is none; P+R Olympiade is about 0.2 km away.

For the next steps of your move, go back to our guide on moving to Antwerp for weeks or months.