Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Basel

For one person, living is cheaper in Basel: $3,548 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 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
170

Cost of Living Index in Basel
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Basel Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Basel

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Basel

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $3,548 in Basel.

London $4,086
Basel $3,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $5,573 in Basel.

London $5,816
Basel $5,573

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $7,599 in Basel.

London $7,546
Basel $7,599

Living in London is roughly 15% more expensive than in Basel, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: London 205% above, Basel 165% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.12

$30.00 CHF 24.95

-11.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$125 CHF 104

-14.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.86

$18.03 CHF 15.00

-42.37%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$6.54 CHF 5.44

-11.47%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$6.48 CHF 5.39

-53.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$5.77 CHF 4.80

-62.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.07

$9.22 CHF 7.66

1.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$9.42 CHF 7.84

-16.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$2.20 CHF 1.83

-18.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$3.09 CHF 2.57

-33.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$3.34 CHF 2.77

-30.84%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$7.70 CHF 6.40

-34.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$26.14 CHF 21.73

-51.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$27.34 CHF 22.73

-61.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.95

$41.29 CHF 34.33

-58.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$3.63 CHF 3.02

-16.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.27 CHF 1.89

-37.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$3.03 CHF 2.52

0.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$4.70 CHF 3.91

-28.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.75 CHF 1.46

-4.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.98 CHF 1.65

-12.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.17 CHF 1.81

-35.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.61 CHF 1.34

11.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$11.41 CHF 9.49

103.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$12.15 CHF 10.10

6.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.41

$2.45 CHF 2.04

29.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.34

$2.98 CHF 2.48

47.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$4.82 CHF 4.01

-19.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$103 CHF 85.4

143.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$7.68 CHF 6.39

-25.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$4.70 CHF 3.91

-29.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.77

$82.9 CHF 68.9

-30.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$2.31 CHF 1.92

-11.69%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$42.0K CHF 34.9K

-10.59%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$39.3K CHF 32.7K

4.05%

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

$376 £284

$286 CHF 238

31.49%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$46.01 CHF 38.26

-61.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.25

$63.0 CHF 52.4

-36.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.23

$83.2 CHF 69.2

-26.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$57.2 CHF 47.54

-63.15%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$22.81 CHF 18.97

-21.31%

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

$2,865 £2,166

$2,915 CHF 2,424

-1.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$32.5K CHF 27.0K

8.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$147 CHF 122

-21.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.88

$79.8 CHF 66.4

-32.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$164 CHF 137

-22.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$197 CHF 164

-19.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,157

$1,943 CHF 1,616

46.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,740

$1,503 CHF 1,250

53.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,932

$3,544 CHF 2,947

46.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,814

$2,822 CHF 2,346

31.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$18.3K CHF 15.2K

3.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,957

$14.4K CHF 12.0K

-45.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,642

$6,904 CHF 5,741

-30.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

2.42

92.15%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Basel: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Basel

$1.5K 42.8% 34.7% $798

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Basel

$395 11.2% 9% $39

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Basel

$487 13.8% 22.7% $90

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Basel

$583 16.6% 66.9% $234

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Basel

$153 4.4% 46.8% $135

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Basel

$265 7.5% 29.1% $60

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Basel

$129 3.7% 32.7% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $1,943 in Basel. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Basel pays 43% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $108 in London vs $125 in Basel for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $583 per month, with London cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇨🇭 Basel

🕒 Local time

05:03 5:03 AM

06:03 6:03 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

174,491

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 CHF = 1.2 USD

1 CHF = 1.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, 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 = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.832 CHF (1 CHF = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 0.933 CHF (1 CHF = 1.07 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Basel 710 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Basel

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 Basel: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Basel wins on cost – living expenses run 15% lower than in London. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Basel the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 43% lower in Basel. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,853 in London versus $1,943 in Basel. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,865 in London versus $2,915 in Basel. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in London pay roughly 67% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Basel is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Basel delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $3,548 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Basel hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, London and Basel 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 Basel gentler on the wallet – expenses run 15% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.