Where you live in the Netherlands makes a large difference to what you pay in rent. If you are flexible about location, looking beyond Amsterdam, Utrecht and the rest of the Randstad can widen your options considerably.
This guide uses the latest city-level rent data, Pararius’ Huurmonitor for the third quarter of 2026, to show where new tenants paid least per square meter. It explains why rents differ so much between cities, points to smaller towns the data does not cover, and gives practical tips for finding a fairly priced home, even near the big cities.
Why rents differ so much between cities
For social and mid-segment homes (up to 186 points in the woningwaarderingsstelsel, the points system), the law sets a maximum rent per point count. One of the things that earns points is the home’s WOZ value, the value the municipality sets each year. The other points come from things like floor area, energy performance, the kitchen, the bathroom and outdoor space. Two otherwise identical homes can therefore have a different maximum rent if one is in a city with much higher property values.
Free-sector homes, with 187 points or more, have no maximum rent. Their price follows the market, which is tightest in the largest cities. You can check any regulated home’s points and maximum rent yourself with the Huurcommissie’s free Huurprijscheck.
What official data says about 2026
The national statistics office CBS measures how much rents actually rise each year. In July 2026, rents were on average 4.4% higher than a year earlier. The increase differed by region: rents rose most in Overijssel and Noord-Brabant (4.6%) and least in Fryslân (4.0%). Among the four largest cities, Rotterdam saw the biggest rise (4.7%) and Amsterdam the smallest (4.3%), with The Hague at 4.4% and Utrecht at 4.5%.
Those figures describe how fast rents are rising, not how high they are. For the level of rent in each city, the most recent city-by-city data comes from Pararius.
The cheapest of 19 cities, per square meter
Pararius publishes a quarterly Huurmonitor of the rents new tenants agreed for free-sector homes let through its site, broken down for 19 larger cities. In the third quarter of 2026 (July to September) the national average was €20.92 per square meter. These were the ten cities with the lowest average:
| City | Rent per m², Q3 2026 | Change on a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Zwolle | €14.32 | −2.9% |
| Apeldoorn | €15.70 | +12.9% |
| Enschede | €15.98 | +9.4% |
| Arnhem | €17.24 | +2.3% |
| Tilburg | €17.64 | −4.0% |
| Amersfoort | €17.81 | +9.3% |
| Almere | €18.69 | +1.0% |
| Breda | €18.75 | +0.8% |
| Maastricht | €18.87 | +9.1% |
| Groningen | €19.05 | +6.9% |
At the other end, Amsterdam averaged €28.56 per square meter, followed by Haarlem at €24.34 and Leiden at €23.45.
To see what that means for a home, multiply by its floor area. For a 70 m² apartment, Zwolle’s average works out at about €1,000 a month and Amsterdam’s at about €2,000. Treat that as a rough guide: these are averages across homes of every size and condition, and smaller homes usually cost more per square meter.
Two things to keep in mind when reading the table:
- It covers the free sector only. Social-rent and mid-segment homes have a legal maximum rent, set by the points system, so they are not in these figures.
- The yearly changes swing a lot. Apeldoorn rose 12.9% while Tilburg fell 4.0%. A quarter’s figure for one city rests on a limited number of lettings, so look at the level rather than read much into one quarter’s change.
Smaller towns the data does not cover
The Huurmonitor only reports larger cities. Smaller towns further from the Randstad are worth adding to a search if rent is your main concern, but no source we can cite publishes their rent levels, so compare the asking rents in current listings for the type of home you want.
Leeuwarden (Friesland)
The capital of Friesland, in the province where CBS measured the smallest rent increase in 2026. A good base if you are drawn to a distinct regional culture and to the Frisian lakes. Browse Leeuwarden listings
Heerlen and Venlo (Limburg)
Heerlen lies in the far south of Limburg, close to the German border and Aachen. Since the coal mines closed, the city has been reinventing itself, with SCHUNCK, a combined museum, library and music and dance school, as its cultural center. Browse Heerlen listings
Venlo sits on the Maas by the German border, with Blerick on the opposite bank. Cross-border life is part of daily routine here, which suits people who work in logistics or on either side of the border. Browse Venlo listings
Den Helder (North Holland)
At the northern tip of North Holland, across the water from the island of Texel, which you reach by ferry from Den Helder. A fit for remote workers who want to live by the sea. Browse Den Helder listings
Bergen op Zoom and Roosendaal (North Brabant)
Bergen op Zoom is a historic fortress town in western North Brabant, known for its carnival. Roosendaal, nearby, is a rail junction on the line towards Belgium, which makes it a practical base for commuters heading north to the Randstad or south to Antwerp. Browse Bergen op Zoom listings · Browse Roosendaal listings
Deventer and Kampen (Overijssel)
Deventer is a Hanseatic city on the IJssel with a medieval center. It hosts the Deventer Boekenmarkt, which its organizers call the largest book market in Europe; the 37th edition is on 1 August 2027. Every December the Dickens Festijn turns the Bergkwartier into a 19th-century English town, with more than 950 characters from Charles Dickens’s books. In 2026 it takes place on 12 and 13 December. Browse Deventer listings
Kampen is a well-preserved Hanseatic town on the IJssel, close to Zwolle. It suits people who want a historic town and are happy to go to Zwolle for a bigger city. Browse Kampen listings
Middelburg (Zeeland)
The capital of Zeeland, with a historic city center and the Zeeland coast nearby. The city is small enough to cover on foot or by bike. Check internet speeds in older properties before you sign. Browse Middelburg listings
Tips for finding affordable rentals, even in expensive cities
Not everyone can move to Heerlen or Kampen. If you need to stay in or near a major city, these strategies can help:
- Look at neighboring municipalities. Add Schiedam, Vlaardingen and Capelle aan den IJssel to a Rotterdam search, and Zaanstad to an Amsterdam search. Compare their listings with the big city’s for the same type of home.
- Expand your radius. Zoetermeer near The Hague and Amersfoort near Utrecht are worth adding to your search.
- Mind the student calendar. In university cities such as Groningen, Utrecht and Leiden, demand for rooms and small homes is highest around the start of the academic year.
- Check the points. Since 1 July 2024, under the Wet betaalbare huur, homes with up to 186 points have a maximum rent for contracts signed from that date. In 2026, the upper limit of the mid-segment is €1,228.07 a month. Since 1 January 2025, landlords must tell you a home’s point count with every new contract, so check whether the asking rent fits.
- Respond quickly. In popular cities, good-value homes attract many applicants. Being among the first to respond helps.
How RentBear helps
RentBear watches the major Dutch rental sites and sends you an alert when a new listing matches your search: instantly or hourly on Premium, or in one daily digest on the free plan. You set your maximum budget, each alert links to the original listing, and RentBear charges no commission.
Whether you are looking in Den Helder or trying to find a fairly priced apartment in Amsterdam, you see new homes without checking every site yourself.
Actual rents vary by size, condition, furnishing and exact location within each city. Visit our city guides for more on each city.
Sources
- CBS, Woninghuur stijgt gemiddeld met 4,4 procent (July 2026 compared with July 2025)
- Wetten.overheid.nl, Besluit huurprijzen woonruimte (points system, WOZ points)
- Rijksoverheid, Indexering maximale huurprijsgrenzen 2026
- Pararius, Duurste huurwoningen nu vaakst verkocht: Pararius Huurmonitor Q3 2026 (free-sector rents per m² by city, July to September 2026). The city table was cross-checked against its reprint by HubSnap (updated 8 October 2026) and the figures quoted by PMA Makelaardij (7 October 2026)
- Volkshuisvesting Nederland, Veelgestelde vragen over de Wet betaalbare huur
- Deventer Boekenmarkt, deventerboekenmarkt.nl
- Dickens Festijn Deventer, dickensfestijn.nl
- SCHUNCK, schunck.nl
- University of Twente, utwente.nl
