Why do students pick Antwerp over Brussels?
Cost is the blunt answer. Numbeo's 2025 comparison shows rent in Antwerp is 30.5% lower than in Brussels across the board, with a one-bedroom in the city centre 23.1% cheaper and one outside the centre 24.4% cheaper. That gap is corroborated independently by market data: VRT NWS reported in September 2025, citing CIB/Korfine figures, that Flemish apartments averaged €893/month in H1 2025 versus roughly €1,293/month in Brussels — a difference of about €400 a month.
The city also earns its second-place billing on scale. Antwerp hosts three major institutions: the University of Antwerp with around 20,000 students across five city campuses, KdG Karel de Grote with about 14,871, and AP Hogeschool Artesis Plantijn with roughly 18,000 — some 53,000 students combined. That volume keeps a real market of kots and shared flats turning over every August and September.
The rent gap is also stable, not a fluke of one bad month. VRT NWS noted that Flemish rents grew just 1.8% in H1 2025 — the slowest rate since autumn 2021 — so the discount versus Brussels isn't about to close quickly. If you want the full capital comparison, our Brussels rent breakdown by commune shows exactly where those extra euros go.
What does a room actually cost in Antwerp in 2026?
📷 Davide Locatelli / Pexels
The honest answer depends on which source you trust, so here are three. Antwerp's official studyinantwerp.be portal lists indicative prices of €437/month for a furnished room (a kot), €542 for a studio, and €722 for an apartment — excluding utilities of €40-€80/month. KdG Karel de Grote estimates a shared student room at €500/month and a studio at €620 as typical market rates.
Marketplace data sits higher. Erasmus Play's 2026 figures for Antwerp put the average private room at €814/month, a residence or coliving room at €794, and a studio at €1,267. Treat the portal numbers as a floor for basic kots and the marketplace numbers as a ceiling for furnished, ready-to-move listings. The University of Antwerp's 2024-25 survey — what enrolled students genuinely paid — landed at €545/month average rent inside a €1,461 total monthly budget.
Sint-Andries: walkable, central, priciest
📷 Bent Vermeiren / Pexels
Sint-Andries sits inside the central 2000 postal district, which the University of Antwerp flatly calls the most expensive part of the city. You pay for location: excellent public transport, walkable nightlife, and a short hop to most UA campuses. For students who value time over money, that trade often wins.
Room prices in Sint-Andries aren't broken out separately in any official source — the area falls under the 2000 postcode band. Market listings in that central band run roughly €495-€605/month for a shared room and €925-€995 for a studio, so budget toward the upper end of the portal ranges. If you want walkable and don't want a commute, this is where you look — just expect the premium the university warns about.
Het Zuid: galleries, bars, and 'Petit Paris'
Het Zuid — locally 't Zuid — also sits in the central 2000 district, and it's the neighbourhood students name when they want atmosphere. Expatica's 2024 neighbourhood guide describes wide boulevards, art galleries, museums, and trendy cocktail bars, with stately townhouses that earned it the nickname Petit Paris. It's popular with students and young expats alike.
Because it shares the 2000 postcode with Sint-Andries, expect the same price reality: this is premium central Antwerp, not a budget play. The same central-band listings — roughly €495-€605 for a shared room, €925-€995 for a studio — apply here. What you gain over Sint-Andries is character and a heavier concentration of nightlife and culture within walking distance. What you don't gain is a discount.
Berchem: the cheaper campus-side alternative
If Sint-Andries and Het Zuid feel steep, Berchem (postal code 2600) is the university's own recommendation. The University of Antwerp lists it as a student-friendly outer district close to Campus Groenenborger and Middelheim, reachable from the city centre in 20-30 minutes by bus or tram. That commute is the whole bargain: you trade central walkability for lower rent and campus proximity.
Berchem suits students at the science and engineering campuses on the south-east edge, where being near Groenenborger or Middelheim matters more than being near the nightlife of the 2000 core. Pair it with a De Lijn Buzzy Pazz — €39/month, €96 for three months, or €215/year for unlimited trams and buses (ages 6-24, per De Lijn rates cited by Study in Antwerp) — and the centre stays a short ride away without central rent.
Run the maths before you commit. A room in the 2000 core near the top of the €495-€605 band versus a Berchem room closer to the portal's €437 kot figure can save €100-€150/month; over a ten-month academic year, that's more than a full year of Buzzy Pazz. The commute costs you 20-30 minutes each way, so the choice comes down to how much your time near campus is worth against a four-figure annual saving.
What about the central 2000 core beyond Het Zuid?
Sint-Andries and Het Zuid don't sit alone — they're two named pockets inside the wider central 2000 district the University of Antwerp calls the most expensive in the city. The rest of that core, from the historic centre toward the university's downtown campuses, shares the same profile: dense transit, walkable to lectures, and priced accordingly.
This is the zone where the marketplace and portal numbers diverge most. Study in Antwerp's portal floor of €437 for a basic kot rarely holds in the heart of 2000; central-band listings of €495-€605 for a shared room are the realistic figure, with studios at €925-€995. If your programme is at a central UA campus and you want to skip the tram, budget for the top of every range quoted here — and treat any listing far below it as a reason to verify, not to celebrate.
Where should you search for a room?
Start with Kotweb, the city's own database. Run by the City of Antwerp, its higher-education institutions, and the student body STAN, Kotweb is the largest student housing database in the city with over 6,000 rooms. Watch for the Flemish Kotlabel: green means the room was inspected and is fully compliant, blue means it's pending or needs adjustments.
For roommate-sharing and flat-shares beyond single kots, a few apps cover Belgium. One of them is Coinquilino — a free room and roommate app from Italy, now available in Belgium (full disclosure: Coinquilino is our app). Whatever platform you use, the scam patterns are identical everywhere in Belgium; our guide to rental scams that hit Erasmus students in Ghent transfers directly to Antwerp.
What deposit and contract rules protect you?
Flemish law is firmly on the tenant's side, and knowing it saves money. Per HousingAnywhere's June 2025 guide, the security deposit (huurwaarborg) is capped at 2 months' rent via a blocked bank account, or 3 months via a bank guarantee — and it can never be paid in cash or directly to the landlord. If someone asks for cash, walk away.
Under the Flemish Housing Rental Decree in force since 1 January 2019, the landlord must register the tenancy within 2 months of signing; if they fail, you can cancel penalty-free. For short leases up to three years, leaving early means 3 months' notice plus a break fee of 1.5 months' rent in year one, 1 month in year two, or 0.5 in year three — and landlords in Flanders cannot terminate early at all.
How much is a student room in Antwerp per month?
Between roughly €437 and €814/month depending on the source and type. The studyinantwerp.be portal lists €437 for a basic furnished kot; Erasmus Play's 2026 marketplace data averages €814 for a private room. The University of Antwerp's 2024-25 survey found students actually paid €545/month on average.
Is Antwerp really cheaper than Brussels for renting?
Yes. Numbeo's 2025 data shows overall rent 30.5% lower in Antwerp, with a one-bedroom outside the centre 24.4% cheaper. VRT NWS's September 2025 report corroborates the gap: Flanders apartments averaged €893/month versus roughly €1,293 in Brussels.
What is a kot, and what is the Kotlabel?
A kot is the Flemish word for a student room. The Kotlabel is an optional Flemish quality certification: on the Kotweb database, a green label means the room was inspected and is fully compliant, while blue means it's pending or needs adjustments before it qualifies.
How big can my deposit be in Antwerp?
Under Flemish rules (HousingAnywhere, June 2025), the huurwaarborg is capped at 2 months' rent if paid into a blocked bank account, or 3 months' rent via a bank guarantee. It cannot be paid in cash or handed directly to the landlord.
How do I get around Antwerp cheaply as a student?
De Lijn's Buzzy Pazz youth pass (ages 6-24) covers unlimited trams and buses across Flanders. Per De Lijn rates cited by Study in Antwerp, it costs €39/month, €96 for three months, or €215/year — which is what makes cheaper outer districts like Berchem viable.
Which Antwerp neighbourhood is cheapest for students?
Of the four covered here, Berchem (2600) is the value pick — the University of Antwerp recommends it as a student-friendly district near the Groenenborger and Middelheim campuses, 20-30 minutes from the centre. Sint-Andries and Het Zuid, both in the central 2000 postcode, are the priciest.
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This article was produced with the help of AI tools and reviewed by the Coinquilino editorial team.
