Cost of living comparison
compared to
London vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary
London is 39.1% more expensive than United Kingdom overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 23.3% more in London
- Groceries
-
pay 15.1% more in London
- Transportation
-
pay 47.4% more in London
- Housing
-
pay 68.0% more in London
- Childcare
-
pay 54.7% more in London
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 29.3% more in London
- Clothing
-
pay 35.9% more in London
The cost of housing, childcare, transportation, clothing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in London are more expensive than in United Kingdom.
London vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown
If you lived in London instead of United Kingdom, you would:
pay 23.3% more for restaurants
|
United Kingdom
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.41
£15.41
|
$26.73
£20.18
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.94
£7.51
|
$11.02
£8.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.32
£1.75
|
$3.12
£2.36
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.65
£1.24
|
$1.93
£1.45
|
|
United Kingdom vs. London - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.1% more for groceries
|
United Kingdom
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.59
£1.20
|
$2.16
£1.63
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.71
£3.55
|
$5.54
£4.18
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.20
£4.68
|
$6.58
£4.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.87
£2.92
|
$5.02
£3.79
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.87
£2.92
|
$3.95
£2.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.32
£1.00
|
$1.53
£1.15
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
£0.55
|
$0.83
£0.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.28
£0.97
|
$1.44
£1.09
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.49
£1.13
|
$1.64
£1.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.72
£0.54
|
$0.76
£0.57
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
£0.54
|
$0.83
£0.63
|
|
United Kingdom vs. London - Cost of groceries
pay 47.4% more for transportation
|
United Kingdom
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.22
£5.45
|
$7.12
£5.38
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.05
£74.80
|
$240.54
£181.65
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,224.29
£27,355.86
|
$37,798.76
£28,544.87
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.08
£16.67
|
$31.75
£23.98
|
|
United Kingdom vs. London - Cost of transportation
pay 68.0% more for housing
|
United Kingdom
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.90
£31.64
|
$42.83
£32.34
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,285.79
£971.00
|
$3,083.09
£2,328.29
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,062.09
£802.07
|
$2,340.14
£1,767.22
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$233.57
£176.39
|
$255.85
£193.21
|
|
United Kingdom vs. London - Cost of housing
pay 54.7% more for childcare
|
United Kingdom
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,530.71
£1,155.97
|
$2,480.84
£1,873.48
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,375.12
£14,631.70
|
$28,512.27
£21,531.90
|
|
United Kingdom vs. London - Cost of childcare
pay 29.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
United Kingdom
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.35
£4.79
|
$8.69
£6.56
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.54
£3.43
|
$5.21
£3.93
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.18
£14.48
|
$22.72
£17.16
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.26
£37.20
|
$64.95
£49.05
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.88
£10.48
|
$20.05
£15.14
|
|
United Kingdom vs. London - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 35.9% more for clothing
|
United Kingdom
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.00
£64.94
|
$116.11
£87.68
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.20
£33.38
|
$52.02
£39.29
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.21
£71.90
|
$125.96
£95.13
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.36
£76.54
|
$160.88
£121.49
|
|
United Kingdom vs. London - 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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