Dutch Inflation Holds Steady at 3.3% in 2025

The Hague / Heerlen – The reprieve from skyrocketing prices seems to have stalled. According to the latest annual report from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Dutch inflation held steady at an elevated 3.3% in 2025, mirroring the rate of the previous year. While the days of double-digit inflation are behind us, the persistent high costs of housing and groceries mean the “cost of living crisis” is far from over for the average household.

Table of Contents

• The 2025 Inflation Report: By the Numbers
• The Rent Trap: Housing Costs Soar
• The Grocery Bill: Why Coffee and Meat are Luxuries
• The Silver Lining: Cheaper Travel & Tech
• Technical Deep Dive: CPI vs. HICP
• Analysis: What Happened to Purchasing Power?
• Key Takeaways
• Dutch Learning Corner
• Community CTA

The 2025 Inflation Report: By the Numbers

Consumer prices in the Netherlands rose by an average of 3.3% throughout 2025. While this suggests stability compared to 2024, economists warn that “stable” inflation at this level continues to erode savings. The cumulative effect of price rises over the last three years means that a basket of goods costing €100 in 2021 now costs significantly more.

The stabilization is largely due to balancing factors: while services and food became much more expensive, energy and communication costs acted as a brake on the overall figure.

The Rent Trap: Housing Costs Soar

The single biggest driver of inflation in 2025 was housing. The CBS data reveals that rental prices (including imputed rent for homeowners) jumped by 5.1%, a sharp acceleration from the 3.7% recorded in 2024. This is particularly punishing for expats and starters in the housing market, who are already facing a severe shortage of available properties in cities like Amsterdam and Utrecht.

The Grocery Bill: Why Coffee and Meat are Luxuries

If you felt like your supermarket visits were draining your bank account, you weren’t wrong. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 4.0% in 2025 (up from 1.7% the previous year). The specific breakdown of price hikes is startling:

• Beef: +23.0% (Driven by stricter environmental regulations and feed costs)
• Coffee: +20.3% (Climate impact on bean harvests)
• Cocoa/Chocolate: +18.8% (Global supply shortages)
• Butter: +11.2%

These increases are not just temporary spikes; they reflect structural changes in the global food supply chain.

The Silver Lining: Cheaper Travel & Tech

It wasn’t all bad news. Deflation in specific sectors helped prevent the headline inflation figure from reaching 4%.

• Air Travel: Ticket prices dropped by an average of 7.2% as capacity returned to pre-pandemic levels and competition increased.
• Communication: Mobile phone and internet tariffs fell by 6.7% due to aggressive price wars between providers like KPN, Odido, and VodafoneZiggo.
• Fuel: Gasoline prices saw a modest decline of 2.4%.

Technical Deep Dive: CPI vs. HICP

For financial professionals, understanding the metric matters. CBS publishes two figures:

1. CPI (Consumer Price Index): The national standard, which includes the costs of owning a home (imputed rent). Result: 3.3%.
2. HICP (Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices): The European standard, which excludes owner-occupied housing costs to allow for comparison across the Eurozone. Result: 3.0%.

The fact that the CPI is higher than the HICP directly highlights how much the Dutch housing crisis is inflating the national cost of living compared to neighboring countries.

Analysis: What Happened to Purchasing Power?

While wages in the Netherlands have risen in collective labor agreements (CAO), the question remains: are they keeping up? With inflation at 3.3%, any wage increase below this figure effectively results in a pay cut in real terms.

ING economists predict a slow decline to 2.5% inflation in 2026, but warn of “sticky inflation” in the services sector. For expats, this means budgeting strategies need to shift. The era of cheap borrowing and stable prices is over; the new normal requires creating a financial buffer against structural price increases in essentials like housing and food.

Key Takeaways

• Sticky Inflation: Dutch inflation holds at 3.3%, still above the ECB target of 2%.
• Housing Crisis Impact: Rent increases of 5.1% are the primary engine driving inflation up.
• Food Shock: Basic items like coffee and meat saw double-digit price explosions.
• Tech Deflation: Mobile plans and flights became cheaper, offering some relief.

Dutch Learning Corner

Source / Data: Statistics Netherlands (CBS)