Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Arad, Romania

Name: Arad
Address: Arad, RO

For one person, living is cheaper in Arad: $982 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $36,800 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Arad
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Arad Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Arad

🇷🇴 Romania

$982

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Arad

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

A single person spends $4,048 per month in London vs $982 in Arad, rent included.

London $4,048
Arad $982

A couple spends around $5,903 per month in London vs $1,437 in Arad, rent included.

London $5,903
Arad $1,437

A family of three spends $7,758 per month in London vs $1,892 in Arad, rent included.

London $7,758
Arad $1,892

London costs about 312% more than Arad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

London sits 199% above the global median, while Arad is 27% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.59

$10.38 RON 49.32

153.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £80.7

$32.95 RON 157

229.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £7.96

$7.18 RON 34.12

49.16%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.15

$2.60 RON 12.36

115.00%

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

$3.00 £2.23

$1.50 RON 7.11

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.65

$1.61 RON 7.64

37.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.17

$2.14 RON 10.15

350.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.14

$2.56 RON 12.14

222.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$1.27 RON 6.05

55.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.55

$1.24 RON 5.90

68.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$1.71 RON 8.10

51.46%

Eggs

$5.37 £3.99

$2.59 RON 12.31

107.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.75

$7.29 RON 34.65

79.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.20

$4.96 RON 23.57

122.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.17

$10.19 RON 48.41

73.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.36

$1.67 RON 7.93

89.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.71 RON 8.14

-19.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.10

$1.73 RON 8.21

63.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.50

$1.39 RON 6.62

141.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.26

$0.79 RON 3.75

115.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$0.86 RON 4.11

106.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.22 RON 5.80

22.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.35

$0.81 RON 3.85

124.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.72

$5.90 RON 28.04

304.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £9.98

$5.60 RON 26.61

140.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.31

$1.22 RON 5.82

154.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.34

$1.68 RON 7.99

167.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$0.81 RON 3.86

409.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

$21.49 RON 102

1137.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.44

$1.59 RON 7.56

276.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.52

$1.59 RON 7.57

113.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

$15.49 RON 73.6

265.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$1.93 RON 9.18

14.51%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

$28.4K RON 135.1K

34.55%

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

$41.0K £30.5K

$24.8K RON 117.8K

65.52%

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

$372 £277

$126 RON 599

195.48%

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

$18.66 £13.87

$8.29 RON 39.39

125.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.12

$7.20 RON 34.20

462.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.63

$34.31 RON 163

63.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.71

$31.84 RON 151

-46.29%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.34

$5.09 RON 24.20

252.65%

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

$2,946 £2,189

$155 RON 735

1805.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.4K

$3,839 RON 18.2K

1140.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.4

$41.19 RON 196

182.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.28

$21.77 RON 103

161.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.1

$70.2 RON 333

82.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £114

$72.1 RON 342

113.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,182

$431 RON 2,049

580.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,678

$314 RON 1,493

618.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,901

$524 RON 2,491

901.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,868

$403 RON 1,917

856.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$1,889 RON 8,977

809.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,152

$1,334 RON 6,340

520.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,177

$1,038 RON 4,930

441.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

7.35

-34.97%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Arad: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Arad

$314 32% 86.1% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Arad

$142 14.4% 67.2% $290

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Arad

$164 16.7% 58.6% $232

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Arad

$191 19.5% 46.9% $169

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Arad

$34 3.5% 88.8% $271

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Arad

$92 9.4% 54.9% $112

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Arad

$44 4.5% 51.6% $47

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,935 in London versus $431 in Arad. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in London are about 5.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London versus $33 in Arad. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $191 – making Arad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇷🇴 Arad

🕒 Local time

07:32 7:32 AM

09:32 9:32 AM

2 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

159,074

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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 = 0.835 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

London Arad 1,670 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Arad

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 Arad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London costs about 312% more than Arad, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,072 per month in London and $1,474 in Arad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Arad, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $431 there versus $2,935 in London.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London and $33 in Arad. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $4,048 in London and $982 in Arad. That makes Arad about 76% cheaper.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $4,048 in London and $982 in Arad. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Arad – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Arad. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.