Cost of living comparison
compared to
Edinburgh vs. Glasgow Cost of Living Summary
Edinburgh is 16.3% more expensive than Glasgow.
- Restaurants
-
pay 22.2% more in Edinburgh
- Groceries
-
pay 7.1% more in Edinburgh
- Transportation
-
pay 4.4% more in Edinburgh
- Housing
-
pay 12.7% more in Edinburgh
- Childcare
-
pay 50.1% more in Edinburgh
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.2% more in Edinburgh
- Clothing
-
pay 11.3% more in Edinburgh
The cost of childcare, restaurants, housing, clothing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Edinburgh are more expensive than in Glasgow.
Edinburgh vs. Glasgow Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Edinburgh instead of Glasgow, you would:
pay 22.2% more for restaurants
|
Glasgow
|
Edinburgh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.03
£14.98
|
$22.72
£16.99
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.02
£7.49
|
$9.92
£7.42
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
£1.49
|
$2.68
£2.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.46
£1.09
|
$2.07
£1.55
|
|
Glasgow vs. Edinburgh - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.1% more for groceries
|
Glasgow
|
Edinburgh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.54
£1.15
|
$1.73
£1.30
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.81
£3.60
|
$5.07
£3.79
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.28
£4.69
|
$6.45
£4.82
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.67
£2.75
|
$4.38
£3.28
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.02
£3.00
|
$4.52
£3.38
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.35
£1.01
|
$1.43
£1.07
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
£0.53
|
$0.67
£0.50
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.51
£1.13
|
$1.68
£1.26
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.52
£1.14
|
$2.06
£1.54
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.83
£0.62
|
$0.79
£0.59
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.76
£0.57
|
$0.63
£0.47
|
|
Glasgow vs. Edinburgh - Cost of groceries
pay 4.4% more for transportation
|
Glasgow
|
Edinburgh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.38
£5.52
|
$7.11
£5.32
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$93.48
£69.91
|
$90.87
£67.96
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,772.71
£28,247.61
|
$37,798.76
£28,267.08
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$24.84
£18.58
|
$30.81
£23.04
|
|
Glasgow vs. Edinburgh - Cost of transportation
pay 12.7% more for housing
|
Glasgow
|
Edinburgh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$39.59
£29.61
|
$40.98
£30.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,311.52
£980.80
|
$1,552.40
£1,160.93
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$982.21
£734.53
|
$1,199.68
£897.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$260.47
£194.79
|
$277.58
£207.59
|
|
Glasgow vs. Edinburgh - Cost of housing
pay 50.1% more for childcare
|
Glasgow
|
Edinburgh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,139.57
£852.21
|
$1,951.08
£1,459.08
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,028.34
£13,482.15
|
$23,252.55
£17,388.98
|
|
Glasgow vs. Edinburgh - Cost of childcare
pay 6.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Glasgow
|
Edinburgh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.54
£4.89
|
$8.02
£6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.75
£3.55
|
$5.20
£3.89
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$20.83
£15.58
|
$20.05
£14.99
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.22
£36.81
|
$52.63
£39.36
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.69
£12.48
|
$16.04
£11.99
|
|
Glasgow vs. Edinburgh - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.3% more for clothing
|
Glasgow
|
Edinburgh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$124.09
£92.80
|
$117.77
£88.07
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.97
£36.62
|
$52.34
£39.14
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.20
£78.67
|
$124.28
£92.94
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$99.97
£74.76
|
$125.28
£93.69
|
|
Glasgow vs. Edinburgh - 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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