Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Beirut

For one person, living is cheaper in Beirut: $1,702 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $28,200 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
81

Cost of Living Index in Beirut
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Beirut Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Beirut

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,702

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Beirut

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,048 in London versus $1,702 in Beirut.

London $4,048
Beirut $1,702

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,903 in London versus $2,718 in Beirut.

London $5,903
Beirut $2,718

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,758 in London versus $3,735 in Beirut.

London $7,758
Beirut $3,735

Living in London is roughly 138% more expensive than in Beirut, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: London 199% above, Beirut 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.59

$15.02 LBP 1.3M

75.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £80.7

$68.6 LBP 6.1M

58.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £7.96

$10.05 LBP 899.3K

6.57%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.15

$5.08 LBP 455.0K

10.04%

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

$3.00 £2.23

$2.40 LBP 214.5K

25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.65

$0.81 LBP 72.2K

174.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.17

$5.02 LBP 448.9K

92.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.14

$4.69 LBP 420.1K

76.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$2.00 LBP 179.4K

-1.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.55

$0.85 LBP 76.5K

145.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$2.18 LBP 194.8K

18.81%

Eggs

$5.37 £3.99

$3.54 LBP 317.0K

51.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.75

$11.18 LBP 1.0M

17.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.20

$9.96 LBP 891.5K

10.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.17

$14.72 LBP 1.3M

20.45%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.36

$3.13 LBP 280.0K

1.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.66 LBP 148.4K

-16.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.10

$1.64 LBP 146.5K

71.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.50

$1.46 LBP 130.7K

130.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.26

$1.22 LBP 109.1K

39.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$1.55 LBP 138.6K

14.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.21 LBP 108.3K

23.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.35

$0.71 LBP 63.7K

156.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.72

$3.04 LBP 272.3K

684.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £9.98

$11.14 LBP 997.1K

20.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.31

$1.33 LBP 118.6K

133.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.34

$2.52 LBP 225.2K

78.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$1.58 LBP 141.7K

161.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

$76.3 LBP 6.8M

248.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.44

$4.91 LBP 439.8K

21.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.52

$2.18 LBP 195.5K

55.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

$22.60 LBP 2.0M

150.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$1.06 LBP 95.2K

108.49%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

$54.2K LBP 4.9B

-29.38%

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

$41.0K £30.5K

$32.2K LBP 2.9B

27.51%

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

$372 £277

$211 LBP 18.9M

76.07%

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

$18.66 £13.87

$23.33 LBP 2.1M

-20.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.12

$37.50 LBP 3.4M

8.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.63

$101 LBP 9.0M

-44.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.71

$33.17 LBP 3.0M

-48.45%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.34

$9.81 LBP 878.2K

82.98%

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

$2,946 £2,189

$686 LBP 61.4M

329.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.4K

$12.6K LBP 1.1B

278.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.4

$68.8 LBP 6.2M

69.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.28

$50.1 LBP 4.5M

13.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.1

$139 LBP 12.4M

-7.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £114

$122 LBP 10.9M

25.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,182

$974 LBP 87.1M

201.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,678

$509 LBP 45.6M

343.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,901

$2,373 LBP 212.3M

121.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,868

$1,084 LBP 97.0M

256.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$4,503 LBP 403.1M

281.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,152

$1,921 LBP 171.9M

330.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,177

$690 LBP 61.8M

714.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

-56.55%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Beirut: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Beirut

$509 29.9% 77.5% $1.7K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Beirut

$272 16% 36.9% $159

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Beirut

$259 15.2% 34.7% $137

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Beirut

$272 16% 24.4% $88

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Beirut

$98 5.8% 67.8% $207

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Beirut

$171 10.1% 16.5% $34

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Beirut

$120 7.1% 30.8% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,935 in London and $974 in Beirut. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays about 8.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $109 in London vs $69 in Beirut for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $272 per month, with Beirut cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇱🇧 Beirut

🕒 Local time

06:22 6:22 AM

08:22 8:22 AM

2 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

1,916,100 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.95 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LBP, 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 = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,472 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.95 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

London Beirut 3,460 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Beirut

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 Beirut: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Beirut is about 58% cheaper overall, especially in transport, eating out, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in London is about 8.1 times higher, 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: $2,935 in London versus $974 in Beirut. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $4,048 per month in London versus $1,702 in Beirut – Beirut is about 58% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Beirut runs roughly 71% less than in London. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,702 in Beirut versus $4,048 in London, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Beirut but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Beirut 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.

Expats usually find Beirut gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.