Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Kingdom vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
United Kingdom is 24.4% cheaper than San Francisco.
- Restaurants
-
pay 32.4% less in United Kingdom
- Groceries
-
pay 47.5% less in United Kingdom
- Transportation
-
pay 16.3% more in United Kingdom
- Housing
-
pay 33.2% less in United Kingdom
- Childcare
-
pay 53.3% less in United Kingdom
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 16.3% less in United Kingdom
- Clothing
-
pay 4.4% less in United Kingdom
Expenses including childcare, groceries, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in United Kingdom.
United Kingdom vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Kingdom instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 32.4% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$20.41
£15.26
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$9.94
£7.43
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$2.32
£1.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$1.65
£1.23
|
|
San Francisco vs. United Kingdom - Cost of restaurants
pay 47.5% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$1.59
£1.19
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.69
|
$4.71
£3.52
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$6.20
£4.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$3.87
£2.89
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$3.87
£2.89
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$1.32
£0.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$0.73
£0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.28
£0.96
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.23
|
$1.49
£1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$0.72
£0.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$0.71
£0.53
|
|
San Francisco vs. United Kingdom - Cost of groceries
pay 16.3% more for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.89
|
$7.22
£5.40
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$99.05
£74.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$36,224.29
£27,089.65
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$22.08
£16.51
|
|
San Francisco vs. United Kingdom - Cost of transportation
pay 33.2% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$41.90
£31.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,446.66
|
$1,285.79
£961.56
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,736.00
|
$1,062.09
£794.26
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$233.57
£174.67
|
|
San Francisco vs. United Kingdom - Cost of housing
pay 53.3% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,236.11
|
$1,530.71
£1,144.72
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$19,375.12
£14,489.32
|
|
San Francisco vs. United Kingdom - Cost of childcare
pay 16.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.35
£4.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.98
|
$4.54
£3.39
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$19.18
£14.34
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$109.64
|
$49.26
£36.84
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$13.88
£10.38
|
|
San Francisco vs. United Kingdom - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.4% less for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$86.00
£64.31
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.82
|
$44.20
£33.05
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.00
|
$95.21
£71.20
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.67
|
$101.36
£75.80
|
|
San Francisco 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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