Cost of living comparison
compared to
London vs. Boston Cost of Living Summary
London is 14.2% more expensive than Boston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.0% less in London
- Groceries
-
pay 33.2% less in London
- Transportation
-
pay 94.2% more in London
- Housing
-
pay 0.4% more in London
- Childcare
-
pay 3.7% less in London
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.5% more in London
- Clothing
-
pay 26.9% more in London
The cost of transportation, clothing, entertainment and sports, and housing in London are more expensive than in Boston. Expenses including groceries, childcare, and restaurants are lower in London. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in London.
London vs. Boston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in London instead of Boston, you would:
pay 3.0% less for restaurants
|
Boston
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$26.73
£20.18
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.02
£8.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.87
|
$3.12
£2.36
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$1.93
£1.45
|
|
Boston vs. London - Cost of restaurants
pay 33.2% less for groceries
|
Boston
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.16
|
$2.16
£1.63
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.92
|
$5.54
£4.18
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$6.58
£4.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$5.02
£3.79
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.15
|
$3.95
£2.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$1.53
£1.15
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.83
£0.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$1.44
£1.09
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.61
|
$1.64
£1.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$0.76
£0.57
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$0.83
£0.63
|
|
Boston vs. London - Cost of groceries
pay 94.2% more for transportation
|
Boston
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$7.12
£5.38
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$240.54
£181.65
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,000.00
|
$37,798.76
£28,544.87
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.52
|
$31.75
£23.98
|
|
Boston vs. London - Cost of transportation
pay 0.4% more for housing
|
Boston
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.28
|
$42.83
£32.34
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,451.79
|
$3,083.09
£2,328.29
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,596.36
|
$2,340.14
£1,767.22
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.30
|
$255.85
£193.21
|
|
Boston vs. London - Cost of housing
pay 3.7% less for childcare
|
Boston
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,793.33
|
$2,480.84
£1,873.48
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,500.00
|
$28,512.27
£21,531.90
|
|
Boston vs. London - Cost of childcare
pay 17.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Boston
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.69
£6.56
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.36
|
$5.21
£3.93
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$22.72
£17.16
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.48
|
$64.95
£49.05
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$20.05
£15.14
|
|
Boston vs. London - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 26.9% more for clothing
|
Boston
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.87
|
$116.11
£87.68
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$52.02
£39.29
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.71
|
$125.96
£95.13
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$152.08
|
$160.88
£121.49
|
|
Boston vs. London - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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