Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Ashgabat

For one person, living is cheaper in Ashgabat: $3,331 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in London outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
164

Cost of Living Index in Ashgabat
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Ashgabat Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Ashgabat

🇹🇲 Turkmenistan

$3,331

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Ashgabat

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $3,331 in Ashgabat.

London $4,086
Ashgabat $3,331

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $5,094 in Ashgabat.

London $5,816
Ashgabat $5,094

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $6,857 in Ashgabat.

London $7,546
Ashgabat $6,857

Living in London is roughly 23% more expensive than in Ashgabat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: London 205% above, Ashgabat 149% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.12

$31.23 TMT 105

-14.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$85.1 TMT 285

26.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.86

$12.65 TMT 42.39

-17.87%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$6.59 TMT 22.07

-12.14%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$1.53 TMT 5.14

96.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.82 TMT 2.74

162.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.07

$5.67 TMT 18.98

64.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$13.74 TMT 46.04

-42.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$4.48 TMT 15.00

-60.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$2.05 TMT 6.88

0.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$5.82 TMT 19.48

-60.31%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$5.93 TMT 19.87

-14.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$37.90 TMT 127

-66.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$20.09 TMT 67.3

-46.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.95

$23.50 TMT 78.7

-27.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$4.98 TMT 16.70

-39.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$8.53 TMT 28.58

-83.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$7.32 TMT 24.52

-58.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$3.61 TMT 12.09

-6.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$2.33 TMT 7.80

-28.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.46 TMT 4.90

18.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.69 TMT 9.00

-47.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.12 TMT 3.74

59.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$25.56 TMT 85.6

-9.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$42.09 TMT 141

-69.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.41

$5.26 TMT 17.62

-39.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.34

$2.89 TMT 9.67

52.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.15 TMT 0.49

2480.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$9.89 TMT 33.13

2428.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$2.90 TMT 9.73

96.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.88 TMT 2.96

278.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.77

$8.41 TMT 28.17

588.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$0.44 TMT 1.48

363.64%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$44.6K TMT 149.3K

-15.73%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$57.2K TMT 191.5K

-28.45%

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

$376 £284

$580 TMT 1,944

-35.19%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$56.8 TMT 190

-68.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.25

$103 TMT 347

-61.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.23

$191 TMT 640

-68.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$45.50 TMT 152

-53.69%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$8.53 TMT 28.58

110.43%

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

$2,865 £2,166

$23.05 TMT 77.2

12330.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$24.8K TMT 83.0K

42.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$54.8 TMT 184

111.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.88

$115 TMT 385

-52.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$365 TMT 1,224

-65.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$189 TMT 632

-15.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,157

$1,402 TMT 4,695

103.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,740

$1,000 TMT 3,351

130.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,932

$2,288 TMT 7,663

127.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,814

$1,920 TMT 6,433

93.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$3,527 TMT 11.8K

438.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,957

$2,813 TMT 9,422

180.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,642

$736 TMT 2,467

554.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

9.5

-51.05%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Ashgabat: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Ashgabat

$1K 29.5% 56.5% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Ashgabat

$741 21.8% 70.6% $307

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Ashgabat

$432 12.7% 8.9% $35

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Ashgabat

$671 19.8% 92% $321

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Ashgabat

$18 0.5% 93.8% $270

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Ashgabat

$326 9.6% 58.7% $120

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Ashgabat

$208 6.1% 115% $111

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $1,402 in Ashgabat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 554% 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: $108 in London vs $85.0 in Ashgabat. Groceries flip the comparison at $349 vs $671, with London cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇹🇲 Ashgabat

🕒 Local time

11:31 11:31 AM

15:31 3:31 PM

4 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

909,000 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Turkmenistani Manat TMT m

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 TMT = 0.299 USD

1 TMT = 0.266 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TMT, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.847 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Turkmenistani Manat exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.35 TMT (1 TMT = 0.299 USD). 1 EUR = 3.75 TMT (1 TMT = 0.266 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Ashgabat 4,720 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Ashgabat

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 Ashgabat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London and Ashgabat differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($4,086 vs $3,331 including rent). Ashgabat is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 554% 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: $2,853 in London versus $1,402 in Ashgabat. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,865 in London versus $23.05 in Ashgabat. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in London pay roughly 92% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Ashgabat is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Ashgabat 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 Ashgabat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.