Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Albacete

For one person, living is cheaper in Albacete: $1,551 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $29,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Albacete
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Albacete Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Albacete

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,551

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Albacete

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 Albacete actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,986 in London versus $1,551 in Albacete.

London $3,986
Albacete $1,551

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,791 in London versus $2,230 in Albacete.

London $5,791
Albacete $2,230

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,595 in London versus $2,910 in Albacete.

London $7,595
Albacete $2,910

Living in London is roughly 157% more expensive than in Albacete, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: London 195% above, Albacete 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$14.35 €12.77

80.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$48.40 €43.05

120.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$9.24 €8.22

15.91%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.18 €1.94

150.92%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$2.34 €2.08

26.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$1.66 €1.48

32.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.82 €2.51

223.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$4.73 €4.20

67.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$0.82 €0.73

126.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$0.82 €0.73

152.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$1.68 €1.49

44.05%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$2.98 €2.65

70.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$16.58 €14.75

-22.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$5.69 €5.06

83.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$17.42 €15.49

-3.16%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$2.64 €2.35

17.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$2.08 €1.85

-32.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$2.49 €2.21

23.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$2.51 €2.23

30.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$2.21 €1.96

-28.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$2.17 €1.93

-19.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.56 €1.38

-10.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.54 €0.48

233.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$6.53 €5.81

256.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$5.32 €4.73

144.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.21 €1.08

161.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$2.20 €1.96

100.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$1.36 €1.21

199.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

$16.75 €14.90

1373.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$3.81 €3.39

46.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$1.55 €1.38

116.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$29.98 €26.67

89.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.67 €1.49

27.54%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$34.6K €30.7K

10.50%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$29.5K €26.2K

38.82%

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

$372 £279

$187 €166

98.90%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$18.20 €16.19

-2.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$16.99 €15.11

137.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$4.43 €3.94

380.59%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$9.07 €8.07

95.59%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$676 €602

323.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$17.5K €15.6K

101.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$82.5 €73.4

38.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$43.22 €38.44

25.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$90.1 €80.1

37.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$113 €101

43.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$920 €818

211.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$662 €589

237.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$1,240 €1,103

324.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$947 €843

298.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$2,301 €2,047

696.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

$2,041 €1,816

293.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

$1,959 €1,743

157.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

3.14

50.96%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Albacete: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Albacete

$662 42.7% 70.4% $1.6K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Albacete

$222 14.3% 48.3% $208

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Albacete

$208 13.4% 46.3% $179

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Albacete

$258 16.7% 26.1% $91

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Albacete

$34 2.2% 88.2% $252

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Albacete

$148 9.6% 27.8% $57

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Albacete

$18 * 1.2% 81% $77

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 $2,869 in London and $920 in Albacete. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 157% 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: $107 in London vs $48.00 in Albacete for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $258 per month, with Albacete cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇪🇸 Albacete

🕒 Local time

03:42 3:42 AM

04:42 4:42 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

173,206

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Albacete 1,400 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Albacete

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 Albacete: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London and Albacete differ by about 157% in total monthly costs ($3,986 vs $1,551 including rent). Albacete is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 157% higher in London, 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: $2,869 in London versus $920 in Albacete. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Albacete – a meal for two runs $48.00 versus $107 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $3,986 per month in London versus $1,551 in Albacete – a 157% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,551 in Albacete versus $3,986 in London, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Albacete but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Albacete 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, London and Albacete 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 Albacete gentler on the wallet – expenses run 157% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.