Cost of Living Comparison Between Cardiff and Chester Cost of Living Comparison Between Cardiff and Chester

🙂 Solo nomad: Cardiff is 5% cheaper than Chester without rent, and 0.1% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Cardiff is 14.4% more expensive than Chester without rent, and 5.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cardiff
Chester
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$20.76 £15.34
$20.02 £14.79
3.70%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$87.4 £64.6
$93.3 £68.9
-6.34%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.80 £7.98
$9.46 £6.99
14.16%
Cappuccino
$4.72 £3.49
$4.57 £3.37
3.28%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.57 £1.90
$2.32 £1.72
10.78%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.72 £1.27
$2.10 £1.55
-18.10%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$6.75 £4.99
$6.38 £4.72
5.80%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.96 £4.40
$6.01 £4.44
-0.83%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cardiff
Chester
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.01 £1.48
$1.61 £1.19
24.84%
White Bread (500g)
$1.68 £1.24
$1.65 £1.22
1.82%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$3.10 £2.29
$2.26 £1.67
37.17%
Eggs
$4.65 £3.43
$3.92 £2.89
18.62%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.41 £7.69
$8.29 £6.12
25.57%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.78 £6.49
$9.01 £6.66
-2.55%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.78 £7.22
$8.02 £5.92
21.95%
Apples (1kg)
$2.79 £2.06
$2.91 £2.15
-4.12%
Banana (1kg)
$1.60 £1.18
$1.59 £1.17
0.63%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.33 £2.46
$4.18 £3.09
-20.33%
Tomato (1kg)
$5.56 £4.11
$2.24 £1.66
148.21%
Potato (1kg)
$1.72 £1.27
$1.34 £0.99
28.36%
Onion (1kg)
$1.54 £1.14
$1.38 £1.02
11.59%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 £0.85
$1.28 £0.94
-10.16%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.67 £1.23
$1.27 £0.94
31.50%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$20.02 £14.79
$20.78 £15.36
-3.66%
Wine (Bottle)
$11.26 £8.32
$11.31 £8.36
-0.44%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.13 £2.32
$3.01 £2.23
3.99%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.49 £2.58
$2.76 £2.04
26.45%
🚌 Getting Around
Cardiff
Chester
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.09 £2.29
$4.04 £2.99
-23.51%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$79.9 £59.1
$48.58 £35.90
64.47%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.15 £3.07
$4.04 £2.98
2.72%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.57 £1.90
$0.80 £0.59
221.25%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$20.25 £14.96
$16.59 £12.26
22.06%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.90 £1.40
$1.89 £1.39
0.53%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$39.1K £28.9K
$38.1K £28.1K
2.54%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$55.7K £41.2K
$37.2K £27.5K
49.82%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cardiff
Chester
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$292 £216
$313 £231
-6.53%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$20.11 £14.86
$23.22 £17.16
-13.39%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$43.14 £31.88
$41.39 £30.59
4.23%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cardiff
Chester
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$38.77 £28.65
$38.30 £28.30
1.23%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.65 £6.39
$13.47 £9.96
-35.78%
Cinema Ticket
$7.66 £5.66
$13.56 £10.02
-43.51%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cardiff
Chester
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,946 £1,438
$1,651 £1,220
17.90%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$33.9K £25.1K
$13.7K £10.1K
147.26%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cardiff
Chester
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$69.3 £51.2
$88.0 £65.1
-21.23%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$35.60 £26.31
$50.0 £36.96
-28.81%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$72.3 £53.4
$125 £92.2
-42.06%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$65.4 £48.31
$128 £94.8
-49.03%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cardiff
Chester
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,296 £957
$1,359 £1,004
-4.63%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,110 £820
$1,059 £783
4.80%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,577 £1,904
$2,090 £1,544
23.32%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,685 £1,245
$1,698 £1,255
-0.77%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$5,497 £4,062
$2,988 £2,208
83.95%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,524 £2,604
$2,994 £2,213
17.68%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cardiff
Chester
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,120 £2,305
$4,071 £3,009
-23.38%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
6
5.6
7.14%

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

Last update for Cardiff: April 12, 2026

Last update for Chester: April 12, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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