Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bristol and Manchester

For one person, living is cheaper in Manchester: $2,532 a month against $2,853 in Bristol, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Bristol
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Bristol Living Index
123

Cost of Living Index in Manchester
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Manchester Living Index

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Bristol

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,853

/mo nomad

Manchester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,532

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bristol and in Manchester

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,853 in Bristol versus $2,532 in Manchester.

Bristol $2,853
Manchester $2,532

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,195 in Bristol versus $3,686 in Manchester.

Bristol $4,195
Manchester $3,686

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,537 in Bristol versus $4,839 in Manchester.

Bristol $5,537
Manchester $4,839

Living in Bristol is roughly 13% more expensive than in Manchester, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bristol 111% above, Manchester 87% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.72 £17.79

$20.23 £15.18

17.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$115 £86.1

$87.1 £65.3

31.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.90

$10.83 £8.12

-2.68%

Cappuccino

$5.23 £3.92

$4.81 £3.61

8.73%

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

$2.66 £2.00

$2.44 £1.83

9.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 £1.33

$1.62 £1.21

9.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.84 £5.88

$7.82 £5.87

0.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.83 £5.12

$6.48 £4.86

5.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 £1.15

$1.45 £1.09

5.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.95 £1.47

-15.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.86 £1.40

7.53%

Eggs

$4.27 £3.21

$4.05 £3.04

5.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.15 £6.12

$9.76 £7.32

-16.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.55 £7.17

$9.11 £6.83

4.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.84 £9.63

$15.52 £11.64

-17.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 £2.41

$3.20 £2.40

0.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.52 £1.14

13.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 £1.98

$3.02 £2.26

-12.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.06 £3.05

$3.34 £2.51

21.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.55 £1.17

30.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 £1.14

$1.30 £0.98

17.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 £0.94

$1.22 £0.92

3.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.28 £0.96

61.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.02 £17.27

$23.68 £17.77

-2.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.53 £7.90

$10.88 £8.16

-3.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 £2.11

$2.55 £1.91

10.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.55 £2.66

$3.15 £2.36

12.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.53 £2.65

$2.68 £2.01

31.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$120 £89.9

$105 £79.1

13.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.49 £2.62

$4.42 £3.31

-21.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 £1.22

$2.20 £1.65

-25.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.14 £20.36

$30.45 £22.85

-10.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.04 £1.53

0.49%

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

$39.3K £29.5K

$39.2K £29.4K

0.39%

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

$41.3K £31.0K

$40.3K £30.2K

2.63%

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

$317 £238

$252 £189

26.01%

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

$17.00 £12.76

$16.62 £12.47

2.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.33 £29.51

$40.61 £30.47

-3.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.53 £37.16

$55.1 £41.32

-10.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.77 £8.83

$18.02 £13.52

-34.68%

Cinema Ticket

$15.31 £11.49

$13.26 £9.95

15.46%

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

$2,273 £1,705

$1,252 £939

81.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.4K £19.0K

$19.9K £14.9K

27.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 £76.1

$84.2 £63.2

20.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.13 £36.10

$42.72 £32.05

12.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.2

$92.2 £69.2

14.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.1 £74.4

$106 £79.8

-6.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,907 £1,430

$1,789 £1,342

6.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,433 £1,075

$1,242 £932

15.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,065 £2,300

$3,014 £2,261

1.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,326 £1,745

$1,961 £1,471

18.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,885 £5,165

$4,552 £3,415

51.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,305 £3,980

$4,349 £3,262

21.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,771 £2,829

$3,460 £2,596

8.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

4.82

1.04%

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

Last update for Bristol: October 17, 2026

Last update for Manchester: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bristol

$1.4K 50.3%

Manchester

$1.2K 49.1% 13.3% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bristol

$373 13.1%

Manchester

$309 12.2% 17.3% $65

Eating Out

Bristol

$355 12.4%

Manchester

$320 12.7% 9.7% $34

Groceries & Markets

Bristol

$306 10.7%

Manchester

$301 11.9% 1.6% $4.9

Clothing & Footwear

Bristol

$159 5.6%

Manchester

$146 5.8% 8.1% $13

Getting Around

Bristol

$146 5.1%

Manchester

$132 5.2% 9.7% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Bristol

$80 2.8%

Manchester

$82 3.2% 1.8% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,907 in Bristol and $1,789 in Manchester. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bristol pays 9% 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: $115 in Bristol vs $87.0 in Manchester for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $306 vs $301 per month, with Manchester cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bristol

🇬🇧 Manchester

🕒 Local time

11:50 11:50 AM

Same time as Bristol

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

463,400

503,100

💱 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

Bristol Manchester 230 km

From you

Bristol
Manchester

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

Bristol vs Manchester: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bristol and Manchester differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($2,853 vs $2,532 including rent). Manchester is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 9% higher in Bristol, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,907 in Bristol versus $1,789 in Manchester. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Bristol. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Manchester – a meal for two runs $87.0 versus $115 in Bristol. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Manchester 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, Bristol and Manchester 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 Manchester gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Bristol. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.