Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Boksburg and London

For one person, living is cheaper in Boksburg: $1,222 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $33,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Boksburg
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Boksburg Living Index
194

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index

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Boksburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,222

/mo nomad

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Boksburg and in London

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Boksburg and in London actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,222 in Boksburg versus $3,986 in London.

Boksburg $1,222
London $3,986

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,891 in Boksburg versus $5,791 in London.

Boksburg $1,891
London $5,791

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,560 in Boksburg versus $7,595 in London.

Boksburg $2,560
London $7,595

Living in Boksburg costs roughly 69% less than in London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Boksburg is 9% below, London is 195% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.15 R 200

$25.93 £19.45

-53.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.01 R 709

$107 £79.9

-59.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.40 R 88.9

$10.71 £8.03

-49.58%

Cappuccino

$2.28 R 37.62

$5.47 £4.11

-58.32%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.66

$2.97 £2.23

-61.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 R 13.69

$2.20 £1.65

-62.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 R 37.09

$9.13 £6.85

-75.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 R 45.13

$7.94 £5.96

-65.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 R 22.26

$1.86 £1.40

-27.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 R 19.48

$2.07 £1.55

-43.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.15

$2.42 £1.81

-26.86%

Eggs

$2.73 R 44.99

$5.09 £3.82

-46.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.89 R 146

$12.87 £9.66

-30.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.32 R 87.6

$10.43 £7.82

-48.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.86 R 146

$16.87 £12.66

-47.48%

Apples (1kg)

$1.82 R 30.01

$3.11 £2.33

-41.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 R 26.74

$1.40 £1.05

15.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.72

$3.08 £2.31

-39.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.43

$3.27 £2.45

-45.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.68 R 27.66

$1.58 £1.19

6.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 R 29.80

$1.74 £1.31

4.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 R 20.33

$1.40 £1.05

-12.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.06

$1.80 £1.35

-25.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.38 R 55.6

$23.28 £17.46

-85.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 R 99.4

$13.03 £9.77

-53.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 R 25.14

$3.17 £2.38

-51.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 R 31.20

$4.42 £3.32

-57.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.31 R 5.14

$5.58 £4.18

-94.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 R 12.77

$3.36 £2.52

-76.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.54 R 240

$56.8 £42.58

-74.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 R 24.52

$2.13 £1.60

-30.05%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$36.3K R 597.3K

$38.2K £28.6K

-5.07%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$33.7K R 554.6K

$40.9K £30.7K

-17.69%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$231 R 3,808

$372 £279

-37.89%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$38.32 R 631

$17.82 £13.37

115.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.44 R 600

$40.37 £30.29

-9.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.26 R 466

$60.0 £44.99

-52.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

Cinema Ticket

$7.92 R 131

$17.74 £13.31

-55.36%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$243 R 4,006

$2,864 £2,149

-91.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,427 R 89.4K

$35.3K £26.5K

-84.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 R 886

$114 £85.5

-52.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.03 R 758

$54.3 £40.71

-15.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 R 1,721

$124 £93.2

-15.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 R 1,741

$163 £122

-35.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$321 R 5,287

$2,869 £2,152

-88.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$352 R 5,793

$2,233 £1,675

-84.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$674 R 11.1K

$5,266 £3,951

-87.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$764 R 12.6K

$3,778 £2,835

-79.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$873 R 14.4K

$5,037 £3,779

-82.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.91

4.74

130.17%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Boksburg: October 11, 2026

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Boksburg

$352 28.8%

London

$2.2K 56% 535% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Boksburg

$306 25%

London

$430 10.8% 40.7% $124

Groceries & Markets

Boksburg

$212 17.3%

London

$349 8.8% 65.2% $138

Eating Out

Boksburg

$165 13.5%

London

$388 9.7% 134% $222

Clothing & Footwear

Boksburg

$140 11.4%

London

$205 5.1% 47% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Boksburg

$44 3.6%

London

$95 2.4% 116% $51

Getting Around

Boksburg

$4.2 * 0.3%

London

$285 7.2% 6712% $281

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $321 in Boksburg and $2,869 in London. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 477% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Boksburg vs $107 in London for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $212 vs $349 per month, with Boksburg cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Boksburg

🇬🇧 London

🕒 Local time

09:16 9:16 AM

08:16 8:16 AM

1 h behind Boksburg

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

260,000

8,908,083 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Boksburg London 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Boksburg
London

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Boksburg vs London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Boksburg and London differ by about 226% in total monthly costs ($1,222 vs $3,986 including rent). Boksburg is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 477% lower in London. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $321 in Boksburg versus $2,869 in London. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 65% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,222 per month in Boksburg versus $3,986 in London – a 226% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,222 in Boksburg versus $3,986 in London, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Boksburg but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Boksburg the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Boksburg gentler on the wallet – expenses run 226% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.