Cost of Living in the Netherlands 2023 | Housing, utilities, groceries and more

In this video I talk about how much it costs to live in the Netherlands. I share with you the average amounts of house prices, rental apartments, taxes, groceries, car ownership and much more regarding the day-to-day lifestyle. In addition, I provide an example of the total monthly fixed costs of one person living in Amsterdam.
I mention several resources (all links provided below) that allow you to gain some insights on how the prices in the biggest Dutch cities compare with other European cities and some trends on the evolution of these costs. All the amounts mentioned are converted into US dollars as well.
The fixed cost associated with buying a house is the monthly mortgage payment. This cost depends on numerous factors, so in this video I just give an indication of the average housing prices and the interest rates to expect. If you would like to know how much the mortgage payment could be, given your circumstances, please refer to the online calculators below, to simulate this cost.
I hope this video provides you with context and an idea of the cost of living in the Netherlands.
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⏱️Chapters⏱️
00:00 Introduction
00:16 Fixed Costs
00:36 Buying a House
03:01 Renting a House
05:48 Municipality Taxes
07:04 Groceries
08:14 Utilities - Electricity, Gas and Water
10:40 Internet and TV
11:30 SIM Card and Data
11:47 Health Insurance
12:53 Public Transport
13:56 Car
14:46 Gym
15:19 Total Monthly Fixed Costs Example
16:26 Variable Costs
16:29 Restaurants
17:07 Clothing
17:42 Hairdresser
17:58 Leisure Activities
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Links:
➡️Statista - Cost of apartments in Europe by City in 2022: www.statista.com/statistics/1...
➡️CBS Netherlands Statistics - House prices evolution in 2023: www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2023/25...
➡️De Nederlandsche Bank - Interest Rates Evolution: www.dnb.nl/en/statistics/dash...
➡️ Mortgage Calculators:
- ABN Amro www.abnamro.nl/en/personal/mo...
- Hypotheker www.hypotheker.nl/zelf-bereke...
- Expat Mortagage expatmortgages.nl/mortgagecal...
- ING www.ing.nl/particulier/hypoth...
- Consumentenbond www.consumentenbond.nl/hypoth...
➡️Pararius - Cost of Rental Apartments by City: www.pararius.nl/nieuws/huurpr...
➡️NOS - Article Regarding Overbidding Rental Listing Prices: nos.nl/artikel/2480691-overbi...
➡️Check the official Listed value of a property: www.wozwaardeloket.nl/
➡️Property Tax in Amsterdam: www.amsterdam.nl/en/municipal...
➡️Dutch Government - Municipality Taxes:www.government.nl/topics/muni...
➡️Budgeted Revenues of Part of Municipal Taxes per Inhabitant: www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/cijfers/deta...
➡️Nibud - Minimum Average Spend in Groceries: www.nibud.nl/onderwerpen/uitg...
➡️Consumentenbond - Supermarket Price Ranking:
dutchreview.com/featured/spar...
➡️Dutch Government - Energy Price Caps 2023: www.government.nl/topics/ener...
➡️Statista - Drinking Water Price 2023: www.statista.com/statistics/5...
➡️Price Comparison Websites:
www.pricewise.nl/
www.prijsvergelijken.nl/
www.overstappen.nl/
www.independer.nl/
➡️Consumentenbond - Quality of Internet Test 2023:www.consumentenbond.nl/intern...
➡️Train subscriptions: www.ns.nl/en/nsflex/webshop#/...
➡️Leaseplan - Car Cost Index 2022: www.leaseplan.com/en-ix/blog/...
➡️Numbeo - Cost of Living in the Netherlands: www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living...
➡️Museum Card: www.museum.nl/en/museumpass

[@celilgunes8698]

Wow thanks that was the best video I watched about this topic as you are comparing many cities and covering different kinds of expenses. The summaries are also very nice at the end.

[@anafilipamatias4470]

loved it! very detailed and with great examples, useful indeed! obrigada

[@Nezukochan-ed9fu]

Hi Mafalda, Thank for sharing all info. Very insightful :)

[@spiris9]

Thanks so much for such an informative video! Really appreciated your time and effort to put all together 🙂

[@mafaldaboers]

@spiris9, thank you so much for your feedback :) I'm happy that you find the video informative. I wish you a great day!

[@panlomito]

We left the Netherlands for several reasons but cost of living in NL was one of them. Or more the knowledge that these costs will be exploding coming years due to bad EU/NL government: prices of taxes, housing, food, water/energy, transportation, education and health care are rising rapidly to meet SDG goals in 2030. We moved in 2022 to Curaçao, slowing down to retirement and reducing cost of living significantly. In the NL we payed € 400 per month on mortgage, € 400 on energy bills, € 240 for health insurance (2 p) and € 360 on car fuels. Only these 4 items costs € 1.400 per month (there are a lot more). In Curaçao we pay no rent/mortgage (houses are much cheaper), no energy bill (solar panels with batteries), € 80 for health insurance and € 120 on car fuels. So from 1400 to 200 euro per month. And we have income from a B&B attached to our house.

[@AliAli-uk9nh]

That's nice I might be moving from Bonaire to maybe the Netherlands.

[@d1tson]

Thanks a lot for the insightful information, I also live in NL and agree on pretty much everything.

[@schzo907]

Excelente video, Mafalda! Estou a pensar mudar me da Inglaterra para a Holanda e este video ajudou-me bastante. Obrigado :)

[@kirulu]

very informative video.

[@Yinjikook]

Thanks you for this great Vedio❤

[@SelexyNL]

Thank you for this great video. Especially the part when you compare housing prices from five different cities in the Netherlands. As soon as you move outside the 'Randstad' area housing prices will decrease as well. Housing prices -just like anywhere else- depend on the type of home and the location. Luckily commuting well over 2,5hrs is not the case in the Netherlands. We tend to maximize commuting by 45min tops where public transport (i.e. train) can help a lot.

[@mafaldaboers]

Hi @SelexyNL, thank you for providing more context! Indeed, the public transport network in the Netherlands is much better in comparison with Portugal, for example. This helps in the decision process, when considering living outside of the big cities

[@gerbentvandeveen]

I live in Spakenburg, the Netherlands. About 400 meters from the center. In an old fisherman's house. (1925) And my energy bill will go to € 375 per month in September. But my gross mortgage is €631 per month. Spakenburg, near Amersfoort. In the province of Utrecht. With a view of Flevoland, the newest province of the Netherlands. The first Saturday of September is Fisheries Day in Spakenburg. Then we go back in time. With traditional clothing and beautiful Botters.

[@zesousa1000]

Muitos parabéns pelo vídeo Mafalda. From what I've seen, one of the biggest problems in all Europe is the cost of accommodation, of course the Netherlands is no exception.

[@elbersed]

A very comprehensive list! Thanks! I wonder how this cost of living compares with the wages a typical worker would make. Here in the US housing costs (rent or own) have increased dramatically without a corresponding increase in the wages causing many young people to have to work several jobs in order to get by. Oh one note, in the us it is called insulation rather than isolation.

[@bahareh_rezaie]

The flooring thing took me by surprise! Never heard of it before. That's a big deal for an international student trying to movie.

[@dnd_beyond_is_bad7605]

No cell phone is $28 in the US, unless you have a Government subsidized plan maybe. Then those will not be as good either. More realistic to say $60-90 per person, depending on features. :)

[@DamaxThomas]

Great video with information density! Compare to where I live (Tokyo), the rent can be a lot cheaper and also a lot more expense. The area compared are not the size, for Japan, Utrecht, Laiden and Almere would be in Tokyo and people would commute from there on the daily. 1 hour of commute is normal. I met people doing 2.5 hours of commute! The rest of the expense are more expense. For example gas/water/electricity is usually 100$ per person in a 1 room apartment. A cheap gym like Anytime Fitness are around 60$. Thankfully we can use the membership worldwide which I will use in the Netherlands mid September 🚀 Thanks again for the video

[@mafaldaboers]

@DamaxThomas, thank you for sharing, very interesting to learn the difference Vs Tokyo! 2.5 hours commute within the city is a lot...

[@DamaxThomas]

​@@mafaldaboers ​ It's far away inside the suburbs, many cities away and still consider the Greater Tokyo area. It's the most extreme. Usually it's between 30 to 90 minutes. Looking at the channel's banner, we are still to see a video about self-development and online business... What are you preparing?

[@dicknr1]

its not a good video. Using amsterdam for locals here we know that is a scam pricing up 400% the house prices, and other utilities. For horrible quality isolation and life quality. Dont get fooled by Amsterdam, we locals consider it a scam that traps ignorant tourist. This video is a prime example of people being scammed and not even realizing it.

[@oldsport-gaming]

Living in Netherlands and especially Amsterdam is painstakingly expensive even though, I am about to buy a 30m2 Studio for 240,000EUR! Then at least I'll have a place to *starve*

[@bbms18]

Why would you buy a studio? Save a little more and go for the full apartment

[@mgerhe3464nte]

This video is what you get when you hire PwC to research 'Cost of Living in the Netherlands 2023'.

[@mafaldaboers]

@mgerhe3464nte I blame my analytical background on this!

[@mgerhe3464nte]

You should try and make it more personable. For example, I don’t think you ever introduced yourself.

[@elpayin1]

It is a little confusing to put the prices of houses or apartments in meters since most of the people just want to know the measurements of the whole house or apartment. Also, I imagine that the the two most “used” currencies in the world are the euro and the dollar so, mainly I expected mostly comparison euro-dollar.

[@actuaryaltair6280]

Only 250 euros for groceries? No way. Gyms start from 50 euros in Amsterdam. Unless you are a student.

[@dicknr1]

AmsterScam

[@blackbull2550]

Very important info that in the Netherlands its common that apartments don't have flooring.. Thanks.

[@mafaldaboers]

Indeed, this comes as a surprise for many, including myself😂

[@rts100x5]

Are you saying there are NO floors ? 🤪

[@mafaldaboers]

@@rts100x5 sometimes the houses in the Netherlands don't include floors! I mention this in the video, to prevent someone moving to their apartment and realising that there is no floor 😂

[@blackbull2550]

@@rts100x5 "No Floor" means, not having any finish material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface.

[@blackbull2550]

@@mafaldaboers Very informative vdo. It was in detail. Thanks.