Cost of Living in London, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 2 3 15 17 $3,536 $2,877 $3,804 $2,101 $220

Utilities 22 17 — $205 $260 $171 —

Internet & Mobile 4 9 10 $67 $61 $94 $39 $7

Groceries 1 17 $166 $469 $949 $345 $9

Transportation 5 6 $376 $336 $720 $316 $16

Dining Out 1 17 23 $1,468 $734 $867 $137 $100

Leisure Activities 19 21 17 $467 $400 $4,681 $88 $47

Health Insurance 11 $63 $147 $534 — $3

Visa & Legal Fees 12 13 — $18 $36 — —

Total $6,143 $5,247 $11,945 $3,197 $402

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 2 15 $2,101.40 $1,668 – $2,802 per month

Coworking Space 14 $467.00 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 3 17 $3,536.00 $2,789 – $4,136 per month

Coliving Space 3 $1,534.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 23 $5.60 per cup

Beer 1 $6.00 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 1 $14.68 per meal

Fast Food Combo 1 $10.34 per meal

Apples 1 $3.34 per kg

Bread 1 $1.73 per loaf

Milk 1 $1.17 per liter

Rice 1 $2.39 per kg

Chicken Fillets 1 $9.34 per kg

Beef 1 $16.01 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 1 $10.01 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 17 $93.40 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 1 $1.13 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 7 $5.60 per trip

Taxi per km 6 $3.43 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 5 $268.98 per month

Gasoline 8 $3.10 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 6 7 $19.69 per trip

Scooter Rental 17 $20.01 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 9 10 $13.34 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 4 $25.35 per month

Gym Membership 19 $40.01 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 24 16 $26.88 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 9 10 $13.34 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 21 $17.33 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 1 $93.40 per pair

Summer Dress 25 $53.37 per dress

Running Shoes 1 $106.74 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 1 $17.40 per visit

Laundry 17 $13.34 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 20 $91.40 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 1 $1.32 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 0.7495 GBP on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Hanoi, Zurich, Berlin, Dublin, Falmouth

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Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 5604.58 3536
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 2869.01 2101.4
- Apples 3.47 3.34
- Beef 16.68 16.01
- Beer 9.07 6
40 more changes
- Bread 1.93 1.73
- Chicken Fillets 10.94 9.34
- Cinema Ticket 20.68 17.33
- Coffee 5.47 5.6
- Coliving Space 2201.8 1534
- Coworking Space 433.69 467
- Dining Out local 213.51, nomad 1467.87, expat 733.93, family 867.38, tourist 100.08 local 137, nomad 1468, expat 734, family 867, tourist 100
- Doctor Visit (GP) 113.43 91.4
- Fast Food Combo 12.68 10.34
- Gasoline 2.07 3.1
- Groceries local 373.64, nomad 200.16, expat 560.46, family 1134.26, tourist 10.68 local 345, nomad 166, expat 469, family 949, tourist 9.33
- Gym Membership 73.39 40.01
- Haircut 46.7 17.4
- Health Insurance local 0, nomad 86.74, expat 146.79, family 320.26, tourist 5.34 local 0, nomad 62.72, expat 147, family 534, tourist 2.8
- Housing local 1868.19, nomad 4270.16, expat 2802.29, family 4136.71, tourist 220.18 local 2101, nomad 3536, expat 2877, family 3804, tourist 220
- Internet & Mobile local 60.05, nomad 373.64, expat 100.08, family 146.79, tourist 6.67 local 39, nomad 67, expat 61, family 94, tourist 6.67
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 46.7 25.35
- Jeans 113.43 93.4
- Laundry 33.36 13.34
- Leisure Activities local 133.44, nomad 467.05, expat 400.33, family 600.49, tourist 46.7 local 88, nomad 467, expat 400, family 4681, tourist 46.7
- Meal (Inexpensive) 24.02 14.68
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 106.75 93.4
- Milk 1.73 1.17
- Mobile Plan 29.36 13.34
- Monthly Transport Pass 260.21 268.98
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 12.88 1.32
- Rice 2.6 2.39
- Ride-hailing (5km) 18.68 19.69
- Running Shoes 126.77 106.74
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 26.69 13.34
- Scooter Rental 10.68 20.01
- Summer Dress 53.38 53.37
- Taxi Start 5.07 5.6
- Taxi per km 4.27 3.43
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 21.35 26.88
- Transportation local 233.52, nomad 280.23, expat 253.54, family 427.02, tourist 29.36 local 316, nomad 376, expat 336, family 720, tourist 16
- Utilities local 260.21, nomad 0, expat 306.92, family 507.08, tourist 0 local 171, nomad 0, expat 205, family 260, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 113.43, family 266.88 local 0, expat 18, family 36
- Water (1.5L bottle) 1.6 1.13
- Wine (Mid-range) 13.34 10.01
Coffee, Tennis Court (Weekend), and Summer Dress moved to Pret Deliveroo, CourtFinder Hyde Park, and M&S dress listings (deliveroo.co.uk, courtfinder.app, marksandspencer.com).

London cost of living