Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Kingdom vs. Ireland Cost of Living Summary
United Kingdom is 10.6% more expensive than Ireland overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 6.3% less in United Kingdom
- Groceries
-
pay 10.9% less in United Kingdom
- Transportation
-
pay 9.6% less in United Kingdom
- Housing
-
pay 5.8% less in United Kingdom
- Childcare
-
pay 2.1 times more in United Kingdom
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.5% less in United Kingdom
- Clothing
-
pay 1.9% more in United Kingdom
The cost of childcare and clothing in United Kingdom are more expensive than in Ireland. Expenses including groceries, transportation, restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in United Kingdom. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in United Kingdom.
United Kingdom vs. Ireland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Kingdom instead of Ireland, you would:
pay 6.3% less for restaurants
|
Ireland
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.70
€16.99
|
$20.41
£15.41
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.31
€9.76
|
$9.94
£7.51
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.39
€2.06
|
$2.32
£1.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.91
€1.64
|
$1.65
£1.24
|
|
Ireland vs. United Kingdom - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.9% less for groceries
|
Ireland
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.04
€1.76
|
$1.59
£1.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.16
€4.45
|
$4.71
£3.55
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.89
€5.08
|
$6.20
£4.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.07
€3.51
|
$3.87
£2.92
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.10
€4.39
|
$3.87
£2.92
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.37
€1.18
|
$1.32
£1.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.97
€0.84
|
$0.73
£0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.39
€1.20
|
$1.28
£0.97
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.79
€1.54
|
$1.49
£1.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.86
€0.74
|
$0.72
£0.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
€0.59
|
$0.71
£0.54
|
|
Ireland vs. United Kingdom - Cost of groceries
pay 9.6% less for transportation
|
Ireland
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.75
€6.68
|
$7.22
£5.45
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$121.81
€105.04
|
$99.05
£74.80
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,319.33
€35,630.77
|
$36,224.29
£27,355.86
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.20
€19.14
|
$22.08
£16.67
|
|
Ireland vs. United Kingdom - Cost of transportation
pay 5.8% less for housing
|
Ireland
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$51.47
€44.39
|
$41.90
£31.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,543.12
€1,330.68
|
$1,285.79
£971.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,305.59
€1,125.85
|
$1,062.09
£802.07
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$178.90
€154.27
|
$233.57
£176.39
|
|
Ireland vs. United Kingdom - Cost of housing
pay 2.1 times more for childcare
|
Ireland
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,108.91
€956.25
|
$1,530.71
£1,155.97
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,959.78
€6,001.60
|
$19,375.12
£14,631.70
|
|
Ireland vs. United Kingdom - Cost of childcare
pay 3.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Ireland
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
€5.72
|
$6.35
£4.79
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.32
€3.73
|
$4.54
£3.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.16
€16.52
|
$19.18
£14.48
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.57
€54.82
|
$49.26
£37.20
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.32
€11.49
|
$13.88
£10.48
|
|
Ireland vs. United Kingdom - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.9% more for clothing
|
Ireland
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$89.93
€77.55
|
$86.00
£64.94
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.06
€35.41
|
$44.20
£33.38
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$96.01
€82.79
|
$95.21
£71.90
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.40
€83.13
|
$101.36
£76.54
|
|
Ireland vs. United Kingdom - 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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