Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Ajman

For one person, living is cheaper in Ajman: $1,837 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $26,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Ajman
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Ajman Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Ajman

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Ajman

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,048 in London versus $1,837 in Ajman.

London $4,048
Ajman $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,903 in London versus $3,305 in Ajman.

London $5,903
Ajman $3,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,758 in London versus $4,773 in Ajman.

London $7,758
Ajman $4,773

Living in London is roughly 120% more expensive than in Ajman, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: London 199% above, Ajman 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.59

$5.85 AED 21.48

350.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £80.7

$27.42 AED 101

295.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £7.96

$8.36 AED 30.69

28.11%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.15

$3.77 AED 13.84

48.28%

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

$3.00 £2.23

$0.79 AED 2.91

279.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.65

$0.36 AED 1.33

516.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.17

$10.93 AED 40.15

-11.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.14

$12.05 AED 44.26

-31.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$1.92 AED 7.05

2.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.55

$1.34 AED 4.90

55.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$1.47 AED 5.39

76.19%

Eggs

$5.37 £3.99

$2.14 AED 7.84

150.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.75

$7.67 AED 28.16

71.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.20

$6.53 AED 24.00

68.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.18

$9.49 AED 34.83

86.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.36

$2.01 AED 7.37

57.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.33 AED 4.87

3.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.10

$1.58 AED 5.80

78.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.50

$1.03 AED 3.78

226.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.26

$1.05 AED 3.87

61.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$1.15 AED 4.23

54.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.19 AED 4.38

25.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.35

$0.56 AED 2.04

225.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.73

$6.24 AED 22.92

282.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £9.99

$10.93 AED 40.13

22.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.31

$1.68 AED 6.16

85.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.34

$2.32 AED 8.52

93.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$4.02 AED 14.75

2.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

$69.0 AED 253

285.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.45

$3.55 AED 13.05

68.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.52

$0.71 AED 2.61

377.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

$7.96 AED 29.22

610.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$0.99 AED 3.65

123.23%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

$44.3K AED 162.7K

-13.63%

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

$41.0K £30.5K

$21.4K AED 78.6K

91.75%

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

$372 £277

$154 AED 564

142.44%

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

$18.66 £13.87

$49.76 AED 183

-62.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.13

$85.4 AED 314

-52.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.63

$76.8 AED 282

-27.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.71

$10.09 AED 37.05

69.47%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.34

$13.34 AED 48.99

34.56%

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

$2,946 £2,189

$479 AED 1,760

514.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.4K

$6,924 AED 25.4K

587.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.4

$56.8 AED 209

104.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.29

$60.3 AED 222

-5.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.1

$86.4 AED 317

48.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £114

$95.0 AED 349

61.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,182

$2,351 AED 8,634

24.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,678

$805 AED 2,957

180.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,902

$1,591 AED 5,843

229.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,868

$2,725 AED 10.0K

41.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$2,250 AED 8,262

663.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,153

$1,384 AED 5,082

498.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,177

$2,259 AED 8,295

148.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

-4.40%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Ajman: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Ajman

$805 43.8% 64.4% $1.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Ajman

$289 15.7% 33.1% $143

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Ajman

$200 10.9% 49.3% $195

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Ajman

$212 11.6% 41.1% $148

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Ajman

$92 5% 69.8% $213

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Ajman

$134 7.3% 34.4% $70

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Ajman

$104 5.6% 12.6% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,935 in London and $2,351 in Ajman. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $109 in London vs $27 in Ajman for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $212 per month, with Ajman cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇦🇪 Ajman

🕒 Local time

04:18 4:18 AM

08:18 8:18 AM

4 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

238,119

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

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).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

London Ajman 5,470 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Ajman

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

London vs Ajman: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ajman wins on cost – living expenses run 55% lower than in London. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ajman the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in London is about 2.5 times higher, 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: $2,935 in London versus $2,351 in Ajman. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,946 in London versus $479 in Ajman. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 70% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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.

Expats usually find Ajman gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.