Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Edinburgh and Cardiff

For one person, living is cheaper in Cardiff: $2,454 a month against $2,617 in Edinburgh, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

127

Cost of Living Index in Edinburgh
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Edinburgh Living Index
119

Cost of Living Index in Cardiff
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Cardiff Living Index

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Edinburgh

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,617

/mo nomad

Cardiff

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,454

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Edinburgh and in Cardiff

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,617 in Edinburgh versus $2,454 in Cardiff.

Edinburgh $2,617
Cardiff $2,454

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,956 in Edinburgh versus $3,414 in Cardiff.

Edinburgh $3,956
Cardiff $3,414

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,295 in Edinburgh versus $4,373 in Cardiff.

Edinburgh $5,295
Cardiff $4,373

Living in Edinburgh is roughly 7% more expensive than in Cardiff, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Edinburgh 94% above, Cardiff 82% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.64 £17.73

$20.04 £15.04

17.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$104 £78.2

$83.4 £62.6

24.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.48 £7.86

$10.74 £8.06

-2.42%

Cappuccino

$5.08 £3.81

$4.45 £3.34

14.16%

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

$2.50 £1.87

$2.92 £2.19

-14.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.61

$2.00 £1.50

7.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.06 £6.04

$7.80 £5.85

3.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.13 £6.10

$6.32 £4.74

28.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.72 £1.29

-2.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 £1.71

$1.43 £1.07

60.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 £1.69

$2.15 £1.61

4.65%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.79

$3.62 £2.72

39.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.05 £6.79

$9.47 £7.11

-4.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.49 £7.12

$8.85 £6.64

7.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.12 £12.10

$16.18 £12.14

-0.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 £2.29

$2.80 £2.10

8.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.55 £1.16

24.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.36 £2.52

$3.03 £2.28

10.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.68 £2.76

$3.51 £2.63

4.84%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.99 £1.50

4.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.54 £1.15

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.94

$1.09 £0.82

14.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.64 £1.23

18.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.67 £17.76

$23.08 £17.31

2.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 £8.35

$11.07 £8.31

0.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.22 £2.42

$3.05 £2.29

5.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 £2.40

$3.31 £2.48

-3.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.20 £2.40

$3.21 £2.41

-0.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.7 £72.6

$79.1 £59.3

22.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.18 £3.89

$4.58 £3.44

13.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.66 £1.25

12.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.69 £21.52

$35.87 £26.91

-20.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.60

$2.06 £1.55

3.88%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$37.9K £28.4K

2.09%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$40.9K £30.7K

0.72%

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

$330 £248

$335 £252

-1.60%

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

$16.39 £12.30

$25.35 £19.02

-35.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.15 £31.63

$43.54 £32.67

-3.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.13 £33.11

$37.26 £27.95

18.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.04 £17.28

$11.37 £8.53

102.64%

Cinema Ticket

$14.30 £10.73

$10.36 £7.77

38.03%

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

$1,759 £1,319

$1,990 £1,493

-11.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.4K £19.0K

$32.5K £24.4K

-22.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.6 £60.4

$97.8 £73.4

-17.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.45 £37.10

$48.54 £36.41

1.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.2

$116 £86.9

-8.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 £86.0

$99.4 £74.6

15.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,611 £1,209

$1,168 £876

38.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 £889

$1,102 £826

7.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,738 £2,054

$2,136 £1,602

28.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,106 £1,580

$1,482 £1,112

42.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,632 £4,976

$5,255 £3,942

26.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,609 £3,458

$3,432 £2,575

34.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,522 £2,642

$3,179 £2,385

10.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

5.11

-6.65%

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

Last update for Edinburgh: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cardiff: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Edinburgh

$1.2K 45.3%

Cardiff

$1.1K 44.9% 7% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Edinburgh

$389 14.9%

Cardiff

$404 16.5% 4% $16

Eating Out

Edinburgh

$357 13.6%

Cardiff

$317 12.9% 11% $39

Groceries & Markets

Edinburgh

$333 12.7%

Cardiff

$306 12.5% 8.1% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Edinburgh

$158 6%

Cardiff

$163 6.6% 3.3% $5.2

Getting Around

Edinburgh

$124 4.7%

Cardiff

$105 4.3% 15.5% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Edinburgh

$73 2.8%

Cardiff

$58 2.4% 20.3% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,611 in Edinburgh and $1,168 in Cardiff. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Edinburgh pays 11% 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: $104 in Edinburgh vs $83.0 in Cardiff for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $333 vs $306 per month, with Cardiff cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Edinburgh

🇬🇧 Cardiff

🕒 Local time

22:13 10:13 PM

Same time as Edinburgh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

488,050

346,100

💱 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

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Between locations

Edinburgh Cardiff 500 km

From you

Edinburgh
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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

Edinburgh vs Cardiff: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Edinburgh and Cardiff differ by about 7% in total monthly costs ($2,617 vs $2,454 including rent). Cardiff is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 11% higher in Edinburgh, 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: $1,611 in Edinburgh versus $1,168 in Cardiff. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cardiff – a meal for two runs $83.0 versus $104 in Edinburgh. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,617 per month in Edinburgh versus $2,454 in Cardiff – a 7% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,454 in Cardiff versus $2,617 in Edinburgh, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Cardiff but tight or insufficient in Edinburgh. The gap between the two cities makes Cardiff 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.

Safety-wise, Edinburgh and Cardiff 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 Cardiff gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Edinburgh. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.