Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cotonou and London

For one person, living is cheaper in Cotonou: $898 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $37,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Cotonou
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Cotonou Living Index
196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index

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Cotonou

🇧🇯 Benin

$898

/mo nomad

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cotonou 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 Cotonou and in London actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $898 in Cotonou versus $4,048 in London.

Cotonou $898
London $4,048

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,424 in Cotonou versus $5,903 in London.

Cotonou $1,424
London $5,903

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,949 in Cotonou versus $7,758 in London.

Cotonou $1,949
London $7,758

Living in Cotonou costs roughly 78% less than in London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cotonou is 34% below, London is 199% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.06 F CFA 2,952

$26.36 £19.59

-80.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.89 F CFA 20.9K

$109 £80.7

-66.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.19 F CFA 5,366

$10.71 £7.96

-14.19%

Cappuccino

$5.23 F CFA 3,054

$5.59 £4.15

-6.44%

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

$1.03 F CFA 602

$3.00 £2.23

-65.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.93 F CFA 541

$2.22 £1.65

-58.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 F CFA 515

$9.65 £7.17

-90.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 F CFA 1,452

$8.26 £6.14

-69.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.08 F CFA 1,796

$1.97 £1.46

56.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 F CFA 697

$2.09 £1.55

-43.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.87 F CFA 1,094

$2.59 £1.93

-27.80%

Eggs

$2.76 F CFA 1,611

$5.37 £3.99

-48.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.13 F CFA 5,331

$13.12 £9.75

-30.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.43 F CFA 3,172

$11.03 £8.20

-50.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.05 F CFA 2,949

$17.73 £13.17

-71.52%

Apples (1kg)

$4.17 F CFA 2,436

$3.17 £2.36

31.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.80 F CFA 1,049

$1.38 £1.03

30.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.29 F CFA 755

$2.82 £2.10

-54.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 F CFA 1,511

$3.36 £2.50

-22.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 F CFA 766

$1.70 £1.26

-22.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 F CFA 1,014

$1.78 £1.32

-2.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 F CFA 273

$1.49 £1.11

-68.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 F CFA 639

$1.82 £1.35

-39.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.50 F CFA 2,045

$23.85 £17.72

-85.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.22 F CFA 2,465

$13.44 £9.98

-68.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 F CFA 685

$3.11 £2.31

-62.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 F CFA 1,087

$4.49 £3.34

-58.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.31 F CFA 764

$4.13 £3.07

-68.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 F CFA 771

$5.98 £4.44

-77.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.39 F CFA 813

$3.39 £2.52

-59.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 F CFA 727

$2.21 £1.64

-43.44%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

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

$23.8K F CFA 13.9M

$41.0K £30.5K

-41.86%

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

$146 F CFA 85.4K

$372 £277

-60.72%

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

$33.91 F CFA 19.8K

$18.66 £13.87

81.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.62 F CFA 28.4K

$40.53 £30.12

19.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.77 F CFA 27.9K

$56.0 £41.63

-14.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.37 F CFA 1,965

$17.10 £12.71

-80.29%

Cinema Ticket

$8.59 F CFA 5,016

$17.95 £13.34

-52.14%

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

$131 F CFA 76.5K

$2,946 £2,189

-95.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,560 F CFA 3.2M

$47.6K £35.4K

-88.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.09 F CFA 14.6K

$116 £86.4

-78.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.28

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$33.52 F CFA 19.6K

$128 £95.1

-73.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.9 F CFA 40.2K

$154 £114

-55.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$176 F CFA 102.5K

$2,935 £2,182

-94.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$164 F CFA 96.0K

$2,258 £1,678

-92.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$590 F CFA 344.7K

$5,250 £3,901

-88.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$403 F CFA 235.2K

$3,859 £2,868

-89.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,152

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$254 F CFA 148.4K

$5,621 £4,177

-95.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

-16.32%

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

Last update for Cotonou: November 1, 2026

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cotonou

$229 25.5%

London

$432 10.7% 88.6% $203

Groceries & Markets

Cotonou

$221 24.6%

London

$360 8.9% 62.9% $139

Accommodation & Living

Cotonou

$164 18.3%

London

$2.3K 55.8% 1274% $2.1K

Eating Out

Cotonou

$148 16.5%

London

$396 9.8% 167% $248

Sport & Entertainment

Cotonou

$65 7.2%

London

$92 2.3% 41.5% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Cotonou

$57 * 6.4%

London

$205 5.1% 257% $147

Getting Around

Cotonou

$14 * 1.5%

London

$305 7.6% 2159% $292

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 $176 in Cotonou and $2,935 in London. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays about 22 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $36 in Cotonou vs $109 in London for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $221 vs $360 per month, with Cotonou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇯 Cotonou

🇬🇧 London

🕒 Local time

08:01 8:01 AM

07:01 7:01 AM

1 h behind Cotonou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

780,000

8,908,083 Capital

💱 Currency

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to XOF – West African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 West African CFA Franc (Fr)

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 584 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 655 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to XOF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cotonou London 5,020 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cotonou
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

Cotonou vs London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cotonou is about 78% cheaper overall, especially in transport, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 95% lower in Cotonou. 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: $176 in Cotonou versus $2,935 in London. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 63% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $898 per month in Cotonou versus $4,048 in London – Cotonou is about 78% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $898 in Cotonou versus $4,048 in London, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cotonou but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Cotonou 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.

It comes down to priorities – Cotonou wins on affordability, London on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.