🇬🇧 United Kingdom · #19 of 538 cities · 2026

Cost of Living in London

18.9% above the United Kingdom average

Ranked #19 of 538 cities · More expensive than 96.5% of cities worldwide

Compared to United Kingdom average

Rent Prices

Rent Prices in London

Apartment City Centre Outside Centre You Save
1-Bedroom GBP 2,276/mo ≈ $3,057 GBP 1,745/mo ≈ $2,344 23%
3-Bedroom GBP 3,773/mo ≈ $5,068 GBP 2,899/mo ≈ $3,894 23%
Numbeo · 2026-03-18

Multi-Source Comparison

★★ Medium Confidence

London has a composite cost index of 90.3 from 4 independent data sources.

90.3
Composite
4
Sources
10.8
Spread

Source Values (NYC = 100)

Numbeo
81.2
Expatistan
92.0
LivingCost
109.2
SIM
80.4
Eurostat Validation (EU27 = 100) Gov. Data
Eurostat
140.4

Based on 117 country PLI x 1.2 city factor

View all 127 cities | Data last updated: 2026-03-18

Cost Indices

Cost of Living
+18.9% Expensive
Rent
+31.6% Very expensive
Groceries
+5.7% Average
Restaurants
+11.8% Expensive
Purchasing Power
-8.3% Weak

Living in London: What to Expect

London is expensive by global standards (ranked #19 of 538 cities). It is 18.9% more expensive than the United Kingdom average, based on 25 cities.

Groceries are average, while dining out is expensive. Groceries offers the best value, while Rent is the priciest.

Local purchasing power is limited — residents can afford fewer goods and services than in most cities.

Workers in United Kingdom earning GBP 43,341 gross take home GBP 2,894/month after tax (19.9% effective rate). See full United Kingdom tax calculator →

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