Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. London Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 15.3% more expensive than London.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.0% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 81.3% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 33.2% less in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 14.9% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 38.8% more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.4% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 20.4% less in San Francisco
The cost of groceries, childcare, restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports in San Francisco are more expensive than in London. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in San Francisco. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in San Francisco.
San Francisco vs. London Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of London, you would:
pay 21.0% more for restaurants
|
London
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.73
£20.18
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.02
£8.33
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.12
£2.36
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.93
£1.45
|
$2.59
|
|
London vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 81.3% more for groceries
|
London
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.16
£1.63
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.54
£4.18
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.58
£4.97
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
£3.79
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.95
£2.98
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.53
£1.15
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.83
£0.63
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.44
£1.09
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.64
£1.24
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.76
£0.57
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.83
£0.63
|
$1.81
|
|
London vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 33.2% less for transportation
|
London
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.12
£5.38
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$240.54
£181.65
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,798.76
£28,544.87
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$31.75
£23.98
|
$20.31
|
|
London vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 14.9% more for housing
|
London
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$42.83
£32.34
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,083.09
£2,328.29
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,340.14
£1,767.22
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$255.85
£193.21
|
$179.63
|
|
London vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 38.8% more for childcare
|
London
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,480.84
£1,873.48
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,512.27
£21,531.90
|
$42,000.00
|
|
London vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 4.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
London
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.69
£6.56
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.21
£3.93
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$22.72
£17.16
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$64.95
£49.05
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.05
£15.14
|
$17.00
|
|
London vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.4% less for clothing
|
London
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$116.11
£87.68
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$52.02
£39.29
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$125.96
£95.13
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$160.88
£121.49
|
$133.67
|
|
London vs. San Francisco - 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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