🇧🇪 Belgium · Utilities
Belgium utilities
What it actually costs to live there.
€410
Monthly utilities (5 items + extras)
Average per household, official sources.
| Item | Avg / month | Range | Social mirror |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity | €105 | €50—€250 | Three regional regulators (VREG in Flanders, CWaPE in Wallonia, BRUGEL in Brussels) plus federal CREG. The tariff shifts by linguistic border. The same street can fall under two regulators. |
| Natural gas | €110 | €40—€280 | Gas remains the main heating fuel. The 2022-2023 crisis doubled bills; the federal price cap only delayed the shock. |
| Water + sewer | €38 | €18—€70 | Water managed regionally — Vivaqua in Brussels, De Watergroep in Flanders, SWDE in Wallonia. Federalism is literally drunk. |
| Mobile phone | €25 | €5—€70 | Three dominant operators (Proximus, Orange, Telenet/BASE) plus Digi as the 2024 fourth. The BIPT pushed for this competition for years — Belgium had Western Europe's most expensive mobile prices until Digi arrived. |
| Internet | €55 | €30—€90 | Belgian internet long ranked among Europe's priciest. Fiber is finally arriving (Proximus + Fiberklaar) but late. Cable operators (Telenet, VOO) keep their regional monopolies. |
| Heating oil (mazout) ★ | €95 | €0—€300 | About 30% of Belgian homes still heat with mazout (heating oil) — older housing stock not all connected to gas. Tank refilled 1–2 times a year in large lump sums. Mazout is fading: banned in Walloon new builds since 2025. |
By household type
Single · 4-person family · elderly couple.
| Household | Size | Avg total / month |
|---|---|---|
| single | 1 | €220 |
| family4 | 4 | €410 |
| elder | 2 | €320 |
Share of income (households × income tiers)
9-cell matrix: how much of your salary goes to utilities.
| low €1,700 | median €3,500 | high €7,000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| single | 12.9% | 6.3% | 3.1% |
| family4 | 24.1% | 11.7% | 5.9% |
| elder | 18.8% | 9.1% | 4.6% |
📚 Go deeper
Compare providers · Cultural context.