Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brighton and Edinburgh

For one person, living is cheaper in Edinburgh: $2,601 a month against $2,950 in Brighton, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

143

Cost of Living Index in Brighton
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Brighton Living Index
127

Cost of Living Index in Edinburgh
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Edinburgh Living Index

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Brighton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,950

/mo nomad

Edinburgh

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,601

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Brighton and in Edinburgh

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,950 in Brighton versus $2,601 in Edinburgh.

Brighton $2,950
Edinburgh $2,601

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,214 in Brighton versus $3,985 in Edinburgh.

Brighton $4,214
Edinburgh $3,985

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,479 in Brighton versus $5,369 in Edinburgh.

Brighton $5,479
Edinburgh $5,369

Living in Brighton is roughly 13% more expensive than in Edinburgh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Brighton 118% above, Edinburgh 92% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.54 £19.16

$23.67 £17.76

7.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.8 £69.6

$108 £81.4

-14.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.77 £7.33

$10.71 £8.04

-8.78%

Cappuccino

$5.33 £4.00

$5.25 £3.94

1.52%

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

$3.93 £2.95

$2.48 £1.86

58.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 £2.50

$2.17 £1.63

53.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.96 £6.72

$7.94 £5.96

12.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.49 £7.12

$8.00 £6.00

18.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.69 £1.27

15.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.54

$2.35 £1.77

-12.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 £1.59

$2.36 £1.77

-10.17%

Eggs

$4.53 £3.40

$4.96 £3.72

-8.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.10 £9.08

$9.20 £6.91

31.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.40 £7.05

$9.33 £7.00

0.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.08 £11.31

$15.79 £11.85

-4.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 £2.22

$3.01 £2.26

-1.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.88 £1.41

1.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.90 £2.17

$3.42 £2.57

-15.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.76 £2.82

$3.67 £2.75

2.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 £1.68

$2.01 £1.51

11.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.55 £1.16

16.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.32 £0.99

-9.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.24

$1.93 £1.45

-14.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.98 £17.99

$23.23 £17.43

3.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.11 £8.33

$11.20 £8.40

-0.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.08 £2.31

$3.12 £2.34

-1.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 £2.43

$3.27 £2.46

-0.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.94 £2.96

$3.14 £2.35

25.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$128 £96.4

$97.0 £72.8

32.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.07 £3.81

$5.43 £4.08

-6.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.62 £1.96

$1.82 £1.37

43.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.62 £29.72

$28.32 £21.25

39.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$2.08 £1.56

0.48%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$38.6K £28.9K

-0.41%

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

$41.1K £30.9K

$39.9K £29.9K

3.20%

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

$291 £218

$328 £246

-11.31%

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

$16.90 £12.68

$16.47 £12.36

2.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.87 £33.66

$42.32 £31.75

6.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.2 £38.38

$44.41 £33.32

15.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.89 £20.17

$23.05 £17.30

16.66%

Cinema Ticket

$17.32 £12.99

$14.39 £10.79

20.36%

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

$2,062 £1,547

$1,775 £1,331

16.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.8K £23.1K

$25.6K £19.2K

20.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 £67.5

$81.2 £60.9

10.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.51 £34.14

$49.04 £36.79

-7.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.8

$108 £81.2

-5.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.7 £68.1

$115 £85.9

-20.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,887 £1,416

$1,600 £1,200

17.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,480 £1,110

$1,168 £876

26.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,833 £2,125

$2,803 £2,103

1.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$2,155 £1,617

3.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,467 £6,352

$6,714 £5,037

26.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,148 £4,612

$4,715 £3,538

30.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,380 £2,536

$3,558 £2,669

-4.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

4.77

7.34%

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

Last update for Brighton: October 18, 2026

Last update for Edinburgh: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brighton

$1.5K 50.2%

Edinburgh

$1.2K 44.9% 21.1% $312

Eating Out

Brighton

$390 13.2%

Edinburgh

$359 13.8% 8.1% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brighton

$353 12%

Edinburgh

$387 14.9% 9.7% $34

Groceries & Markets

Brighton

$331 11.2%

Edinburgh

$332 12.8% 0.3% $0.9

Getting Around

Brighton

$162 5.5%

Edinburgh

$124 4.8% 23.6% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Brighton

$148 5%

Edinburgh

$159 6.1% 7.5% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Brighton

$86 2.9%

Edinburgh

$73 2.8% 14.7% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,887 in Brighton and $1,600 in Edinburgh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Edinburgh pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $93.0 in Brighton vs $108 in Edinburgh for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $331 vs $332 per month, with Brighton cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Brighton

🇬🇧 Edinburgh

🕒 Local time

11:48 11:48 AM

Same time as Brighton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

256,000

488,050

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Brighton Edinburgh 610 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Brighton
Edinburgh

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

Brighton vs Edinburgh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brighton and Edinburgh differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($2,950 vs $2,601 including rent). Edinburgh is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 5% lower in Edinburgh. 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: $1,887 in Brighton versus $1,600 in Edinburgh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,062 in Brighton versus $1,775 in Edinburgh. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Brighton pay roughly 0% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Edinburgh is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Safety-wise, Brighton and Edinburgh are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Edinburgh gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Brighton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.