Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Barlad

For one person, living is cheaper in Barlad: $968 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $37,000 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 Barlad
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Barlad Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Barlad

🇷🇴 Romania

$968

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Barlad

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

A single person spends $4,048 per month in London vs $968 in Barlad, rent included.

London $4,048
Barlad $968

A couple spends around $5,903 per month in London vs $1,470 in Barlad, rent included.

London $5,903
Barlad $1,470

A family of three spends $7,758 per month in London vs $1,971 in Barlad, rent included.

London $7,758
Barlad $1,971

London costs about 318% more than Barlad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

London sits 199% above the global median, while Barlad is 28% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.59

$10.01 RON 47.55

163.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £80.7

$42.25 RON 201

156.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £7.96

$7.32 RON 34.78

46.31%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.15

$2.39 RON 11.37

133.89%

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

$3.00 £2.23

$1.92 RON 9.14

56.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.65

$1.63 RON 7.75

36.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.17

$2.05 RON 9.73

370.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.14

$2.59 RON 12.31

218.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$1.38 RON 6.57

42.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.55

$1.20 RON 5.70

74.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$1.24 RON 5.89

108.87%

Eggs

$5.37 £3.99

$3.01 RON 14.31

78.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.75

$7.11 RON 33.78

84.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.20

$5.34 RON 25.37

106.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.17

$9.14 RON 43.45

93.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.36

$1.15 RON 5.45

175.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.69 RON 8.05

-18.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.10

$1.68 RON 7.99

67.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.50

$2.11 RON 10.04

59.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.26

$0.81 RON 3.85

109.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$0.79 RON 3.74

125.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$0.91 RON 4.34

63.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.35

$0.88 RON 4.19

106.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.72

$5.94 RON 28.23

301.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £9.98

$6.63 RON 31.51

102.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.31

$0.91 RON 4.34

241.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.34

$1.59 RON 7.57

182.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$0.49 RON 2.35

742.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

$20.93 RON 99.5

1170.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.44

$0.73 RON 3.45

719.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.52

$0.71 RON 3.39

377.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

$7.47 RON 35.47

657.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$1.86 RON 8.81

18.82%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

$27.1K RON 128.9K

41.02%

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

$41.0K £30.5K

$26.3K RON 125.0K

55.97%

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

$372 £277

$117 RON 557

217.58%

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

$18.66 £13.87

$8.60 RON 40.88

116.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.12

$7.13 RON 33.88

468.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.63

$34.57 RON 164

62.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.71

$19.76 RON 93.9

-13.46%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.34

$6.27 RON 29.77

186.28%

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

$2,946 £2,189

$372 RON 1,769

691.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.4K

$7,742 RON 36.8K

515.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.4

$64.5 RON 306

80.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.28

$39.38 RON 187

44.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.1

$72.4 RON 344

76.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £114

$82.8 RON 393

85.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,182

$416 RON 1,977

605.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,678

$293 RON 1,394

669.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,901

$639 RON 3,037

721.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,868

$422 RON 2,003

815.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$2,092 RON 9,940

721.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,152

$1,294 RON 6,147

539.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,177

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

6.97

-31.42%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Barlad: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Barlad

$293 30.3% 87% $2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Barlad

$133 13.7% 69.2% $299

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Barlad

$160 16.6% 59.5% $235

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Barlad

$191 19.7% 47.1% $170

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Barlad

$27 2.8% 91.1% $278

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Barlad

$117 12% 43.1% $88

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Barlad

$47 4.9% 48.8% $45

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,935 in London versus $416 in Barlad. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London versus $42 in Barlad. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $191 – making Barlad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇷🇴 Barlad

🕒 Local time

08:48 8:48 AM

10:48 10:48 AM

2 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

77,518

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Barlad 2,100 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Barlad

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 Barlad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,048 in London, $968 in Barlad – Barlad comes out roughly 76% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,072 per month in London and $1,453 in Barlad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Barlad, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $416 there versus $2,935 in London.

Public transport costs about 92% less in Barlad. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,946 per month in London and $372 in Barlad. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Barlad, where all-in costs run around $968, than in London at $4,048. In Barlad it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

For expats, Barlad is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 76% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.