Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. London Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 3.9% more expensive than London.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.7% more in Boston
- Groceries
-
pay 71.7% more in Boston
- Transportation
-
pay 43.0% less in Boston
- Housing
-
pay 15.8% more in Boston
- Childcare
-
pay 4.5% more in Boston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.4% less in Boston
- Clothing
-
pay 18.9% less in Boston
The cost of groceries, housing, restaurants, and childcare in Boston are more expensive than in London. Expenses including transportation, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Boston.
Boston vs. London Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of London, you would:
pay 4.7% more for restaurants
|
London
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.73
£20.18
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.02
£8.33
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.12
£2.36
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.93
£1.45
|
$2.40
|
|
London vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 71.7% more for groceries
|
London
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.16
£1.63
|
$4.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.54
£4.18
|
$8.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.58
£4.97
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
£3.79
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.95
£2.98
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.53
£1.15
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.83
£0.63
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.44
£1.09
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.64
£1.24
|
$3.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.76
£0.57
|
$2.09
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.83
£0.63
|
$1.81
|
|
London vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 43.0% less for transportation
|
London
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.12
£5.38
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$240.54
£181.65
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,798.76
£28,544.87
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$31.75
£23.98
|
$16.52
|
|
London vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 15.8% more for housing
|
London
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$42.83
£32.34
|
$77.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,083.09
£2,328.29
|
$3,451.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,340.14
£1,767.22
|
$2,596.36
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$255.85
£193.21
|
$153.30
|
|
London vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 4.5% more for childcare
|
London
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,480.84
£1,873.48
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,512.27
£21,531.90
|
$27,500.00
|
|
London vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 7.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
London
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.69
£6.56
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.21
£3.93
|
$5.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$22.72
£17.16
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$64.95
£49.05
|
$88.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.05
£15.14
|
$15.00
|
|
London vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.9% less for clothing
|
London
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$116.11
£87.68
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$52.02
£39.29
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$125.96
£95.13
|
$107.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$160.88
£121.49
|
$152.08
|
|
London vs. Boston - 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: November 2025
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