Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lahore and London

For one person, living is cheaper in Lahore: $518 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $42,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Lahore
🇵🇰 Pakistan
$518
/mo nomad
London
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$4,086
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $518 in Lahore versus $4,086 in London.

  • Lahore $518
  • London $4,086

Estimated couple costs with rent: $789 in Lahore versus $5,816 in London.

  • Lahore $789
  • London $5,816

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,060 in Lahore versus $7,546 in London.

  • Lahore $1,060
  • London $7,546

Living in Lahore costs roughly 87% less than in London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lahore is 61% below, London is 205% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lahore
London
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.50 PKR 691
$26.62 £20.12
-90.61%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$14.70 PKR 4,068
$108 £81.3
-86.34%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.66 PKR 1,565
$10.39 £7.86
-45.52%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.70 PKR 1,024
-
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.40 PKR 1,495
-
-
Cappuccino
$2.65 PKR 734
$5.79 £4.38
-54.23%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.39 PKR 107
$3.01 £2.27
-87.04%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.23 PKR 63.5
$2.15 £1.63
-89.30%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$9.35 £7.07
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$7.84 £5.93
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lahore
London
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.97 PKR 267
$1.79 £1.35
-45.81%
White Bread (500g)
$0.78 PKR 216
$2.06 £1.56
-62.14%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.23 PKR 341
$2.31 £1.74
-46.75%
Eggs
$1.14 PKR 316
$5.05 £3.82
-77.43%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$6.18 PKR 1,710
$12.57 £9.50
-50.84%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$2.50 PKR 692
$10.66 £8.05
-76.55%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$4.84 PKR 1,339
$17.13 £12.95
-71.75%
Apples (1kg)
$1.19 PKR 330
$3.03 £2.29
-60.73%
Banana (1kg)
$0.66 PKR 182
$1.41 £1.07
-53.19%
Oranges (1kg)
$0.91 PKR 251
$3.05 £2.31
-70.16%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.69 PKR 190
$3.38 £2.56
-79.59%
Potato (1kg)
$0.32 PKR 89.5
$1.67 £1.26
-80.84%
Onion (1kg)
$0.36 PKR 101
$1.73 £1.31
-79.19%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.50 PKR 139
$1.41 £1.07
-64.54%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.37 PKR 103
$1.79 £1.35
-79.33%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
$1.05 PKR 291
-
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$0.65 PKR 180
-
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.66 PKR 460
-
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.20 PKR 608
$23.22 £17.55
-90.53%
Wine (Bottle)
-
$12.99 £9.82
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$3.18 £2.41
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$4.41 £3.34
-
🚌 Getting Around
Lahore
London
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.20 PKR 55.5
$3.87 £2.93
-94.83%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$5.52 PKR 1,527
$250 £189
-97.79%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.87 PKR 241
$5.71 £4.31
-84.76%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.74 PKR 205
$3.33 £2.51
-77.78%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$1.77 PKR 491
$57.9 £43.77
-96.94%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.41 PKR 390
$2.04 £1.54
-30.88%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$18.4K PKR 5.1M
$37.5K £28.4K
-50.97%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.3K PKR 7.3M
$40.9K £30.9K
-35.80%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lahore
London
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$126 PKR 35.0K
$376 £284
-66.41%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$5.49 PKR 1,519
$17.88 £13.51
-69.30%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$16.31 PKR 4,514
$40.01 £30.25
-59.24%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lahore
London
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$23.01 PKR 6,369
$61.2 £46.23
-62.38%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$10.89 PKR 3,015
$21.07 £15.93
-48.32%
Cinema Ticket
$4.43 PKR 1,225
$17.95 £13.57
-75.32%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lahore
London
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$48.29 PKR 13.4K
$2,865 £2,166
-98.31%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$2,004 PKR 554.5K
$35.3K £26.7K
-94.33%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lahore
London
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$18.05 PKR 4,994
$116 £87.7
-84.44%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$27.57 PKR 7,629
$54.1 £40.88
-49.02%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$73.0 PKR 20.2K
$127 £95.7
-42.39%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$32.57 PKR 9,015
$159 £120
-79.56%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lahore
London
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$165 PKR 45.7K
$2,853 £2,157
-94.22%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$86.9 PKR 24.1K
$2,301 £1,740
-96.22%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$354 PKR 98.0K
$5,201 £3,932
-93.19%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$201 PKR 55.6K
$3,723 £2,814
-94.61%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$789 PKR 218.5K
$19.0K £14.4K
-95.85%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$609 PKR 168.5K
$7,881 £5,957
-92.27%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lahore
London
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$202 PKR 55.9K
$4,818 £3,642
-95.81%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
14.05
4.65
202.15%

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

Last update for Lahore: October 3, 2026

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lahore
$148
London
$434 193% $286
Groceries & Markets
Lahore
$98
London
$349 258% $252
Accommodation & Living
Lahore
$87
London
$2.3K 2548% $2.2K
Eating Out
Lahore
$71
London
$397 457% $325
Clothing & Footwear
Lahore
$68
London
$205 202% $137
Sport & Entertainment
Lahore
$32
London
$97 205% $65
Getting Around
Lahore
$11
London
$288 2544% $277

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $165 in Lahore and $2,853 in London. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 2284% 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: $15.00 in Lahore vs $108 in London for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $98.0 vs $349 per month, with Lahore cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇵🇰 Lahore
🇬🇧 London
🕒 Local time
12:14 12:14 PM
08:14 8:14 AM
4 h behind Lahore
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
11,126,285
8,908,083 Capital
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Lahore London 6,280 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Lahore
  • 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
Lahore vs London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Lahore and in London?
Lahore and London differ by about 689% in total monthly costs ($518 vs $4,086 including rent). Lahore is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city has better-paying jobs?
On paper, salaries run 2284% lower in London. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How do apartment prices compare in Lahore and in London?
Rent for a central apartment: $165 in Lahore versus $2,853 in London. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 258% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
Dining out is cheaper in Lahore – a meal for two runs $15.00 versus $108 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
At $518 in Lahore versus $4,086 in London, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lahore but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Lahore the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Lahore and London?
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.
Where should expats move: Lahore or London?
Expats usually find Lahore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 689% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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