Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cardiff vs. Manchester Cost of Living Summary
Cardiff is 3.7% cheaper than Manchester.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.2% less in Cardiff
- Groceries
-
pay 0.9% more in Cardiff
- Transportation
-
pay 25.8% less in Cardiff
- Housing
-
pay 8.4% less in Cardiff
- Childcare
-
pay 29.4% more in Cardiff
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.0% less in Cardiff
- Clothing
-
pay 16.1% less in Cardiff
The cost of childcare and groceries in Cardiff are more expensive than in Manchester. Expenses including transportation, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Cardiff.
Cardiff vs. Manchester Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cardiff instead of Manchester, you would:
pay 0.2% less for restaurants
|
Manchester
|
Cardiff
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.03
£14.98
|
$20.03
£14.98
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.68
£7.99
|
$10.68
£7.99
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.60
£1.95
|
$2.54
£1.90
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.73
£1.29
|
$1.76
£1.32
|
|
Manchester vs. Cardiff - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.9% more for groceries
|
Manchester
|
Cardiff
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.78
£1.33
|
$2.16
£1.62
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.21
£4.65
|
$5.31
£3.97
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.09
£4.55
|
$8.12
£6.07
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.65
£2.73
|
$4.22
£3.16
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.29
£3.21
|
$3.78
£2.83
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.47
£1.10
|
$1.27
£0.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.85
£0.64
|
$0.65
£0.49
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.83
£1.37
|
$2.05
£1.53
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.96
£1.47
|
$2.27
£1.69
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.88
£0.66
|
$0.83
£0.62
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.82
£0.62
|
$0.66
£0.49
|
|
Manchester vs. Cardiff - Cost of groceries
pay 25.8% less for transportation
|
Manchester
|
Cardiff
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.19
£5.38
|
$7.12
£5.32
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$126.87
£94.87
|
$78.79
£58.92
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,772.71
£28,247.61
|
$37,772.71
£28,247.61
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$29.90
£22.36
|
$18.35
£13.72
|
|
Manchester vs. Cardiff - Cost of transportation
pay 8.4% less for housing
|
Manchester
|
Cardiff
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$44.30
£33.13
|
$39.84
£29.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,594.57
£1,192.47
|
$1,329.78
£994.45
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,271.05
£950.53
|
$1,148.47
£858.86
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$204.87
£153.20
|
$210.34
£157.30
|
|
Manchester vs. Cardiff - Cost of housing
pay 29.4% more for childcare
|
Manchester
|
Cardiff
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,933.26
£1,445.75
|
$1,947.51
£1,456.41
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,699.21
£15,479.51
|
$32,718.10
£24,467.61
|
|
Manchester vs. Cardiff - Cost of childcare
pay 6.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Manchester
|
Cardiff
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.34
£5.49
|
$6.68
£4.99
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.88
£3.65
|
$4.70
£3.51
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.03
£14.23
|
$19.36
£14.48
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$42.07
£31.46
|
$43.54
£32.56
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.35
£9.99
|
$10.35
£7.74
|
|
Manchester vs. Cardiff - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.1% less for clothing
|
Manchester
|
Cardiff
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$94.31
£70.53
|
$69.00
£51.60
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.06
£29.96
|
$48.52
£36.29
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.25
£68.24
|
$75.67
£56.59
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$114.47
£85.60
|
$66.77
£49.93
|
|
Manchester vs. Cardiff - 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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