Cost of living comparison
compared to
London vs. Edinburgh Cost of Living Summary
London is 23.5% more expensive than Edinburgh.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.6% more in London
- Groceries
-
pay 5.6% more in London
- Transportation
-
pay 56.0% more in London
- Housing
-
pay 47.6% more in London
- Childcare
-
pay 24.9% more in London
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.0% more in London
- Clothing
-
pay 6.9% more in London
The cost of transportation, housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing in London are more expensive than in Edinburgh.
London vs. Edinburgh Cost Breakdown
If you lived in London instead of Edinburgh, you would:
pay 9.6% more for restaurants
|
Edinburgh
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.72
£17.16
|
$26.73
£20.18
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.92
£7.49
|
$11.02
£8.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.68
£2.02
|
$3.12
£2.36
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.07
£1.57
|
$1.93
£1.45
|
|
Edinburgh vs. London - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.6% more for groceries
|
Edinburgh
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.73
£1.31
|
$2.16
£1.63
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.07
£3.83
|
$5.54
£4.18
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.45
£4.87
|
$6.58
£4.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.38
£3.31
|
$5.02
£3.79
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.52
£3.41
|
$3.95
£2.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.43
£1.08
|
$1.53
£1.15
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
£0.51
|
$0.83
£0.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.68
£1.27
|
$1.44
£1.09
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.06
£1.55
|
$1.64
£1.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.79
£0.60
|
$0.76
£0.57
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.63
£0.48
|
$0.83
£0.63
|
|
Edinburgh vs. London - Cost of groceries
pay 56.0% more for transportation
|
Edinburgh
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.11
£5.37
|
$7.12
£5.38
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.87
£68.62
|
$240.54
£181.65
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,798.76
£28,544.87
|
$37,798.76
£28,544.87
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$30.81
£23.27
|
$31.75
£23.98
|
|
Edinburgh vs. London - Cost of transportation
pay 47.6% more for housing
|
Edinburgh
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$40.98
£30.95
|
$42.83
£32.34
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,552.40
£1,172.34
|
$3,083.09
£2,328.29
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,199.68
£905.98
|
$2,340.14
£1,767.22
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$277.58
£209.63
|
$255.85
£193.21
|
|
Edinburgh vs. London - Cost of housing
pay 24.9% more for childcare
|
Edinburgh
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,951.08
£1,473.41
|
$2,480.84
£1,873.48
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,252.55
£17,559.86
|
$28,512.27
£21,531.90
|
|
Edinburgh vs. London - Cost of childcare
pay 14.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Edinburgh
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.02
£6.06
|
$8.69
£6.56
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.20
£3.93
|
$5.21
£3.93
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$20.05
£15.14
|
$22.72
£17.16
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.63
£39.75
|
$64.95
£49.05
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.04
£12.11
|
$20.05
£15.14
|
|
Edinburgh vs. London - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.9% more for clothing
|
Edinburgh
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$117.77
£88.94
|
$116.11
£87.68
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$52.34
£39.53
|
$52.02
£39.29
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$124.28
£93.85
|
$125.96
£95.13
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.28
£94.61
|
$160.88
£121.49
|
|
Edinburgh 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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