Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Benoni

For one person, living is cheaper in Benoni: $1,072 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $35,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
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Benoni Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,072

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Benoni

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,986 in London versus $1,072 in Benoni.

London $3,986
Benoni $1,072

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,791 in London versus $1,331 in Benoni.

London $5,791
Benoni $1,331

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,595 in London versus $1,589 in Benoni.

London $7,595
Benoni $1,589

Living in London is roughly 272% more expensive than in Benoni, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 195% above, Benoni is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$10.19 R 168

154.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$37.46 R 617

184.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$5.86 R 96.5

82.76%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.22 R 36.61

146.40%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$1.19 R 19.64

149.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.85 R 14.00

158.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.33 R 38.33

291.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$2.74 R 45.15

189.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.22 R 20.16

52.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.13 R 18.65

83.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$1.72 R 28.33

40.70%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$2.46 R 40.48

106.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$8.31 R 137

54.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$4.86 R 80.1

114.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$7.12 R 117

136.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$1.73 R 28.55

79.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.63 R 26.81

-14.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.80 R 29.58

71.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.56 R 25.70

109.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.12 R 18.39

41.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.22 R 20.10

42.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.23 R 20.29

13.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.27 R 20.97

41.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.37 R 55.5

590.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$5.09 R 83.8

155.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.51 R 24.94

109.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$1.95 R 32.14

126.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.29 R 4.72

1824.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.89 R 14.67

277.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$14.73 R 243

285.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.54 R 25.41

38.31%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$35.1K R 578.8K

8.71%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$32.5K R 534.9K

25.96%

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

$372 £279

$203 R 3,342

83.46%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$38.42 R 633

-53.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$36.63 R 604

10.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$18.06 R 297

232.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$7.10 R 117

149.86%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$246 R 4,051

1064.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$5,577 R 91.9K

533.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$53.5 R 882

112.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$32.40 R 534

67.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$91.9 R 1,515

35.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$84.8 R 1,397

92.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$398 R 6,557

620.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$296 R 4,881

653.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$487 R 8,029

980.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

$2,041 R 33.6K

146.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

10.91

-56.55%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Benoni: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Benoni

$296 27.6% 86.7% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Benoni

$278 25.9% 35.4% $152

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Benoni

$151 14.1% 61% $236

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Benoni

$192 17.9% 45.1% $158

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Benoni

$4.7 * 0.4% 98.3% $281

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Benoni

$118 11% 42.3% $87

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Benoni

$32 3% 66.2% $63

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,869 in London and $398 in Benoni. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 147% 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: $107 in London vs $37.00 in Benoni for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $192 per month, with Benoni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 Benoni

🕒 Local time

10:06 10:06 AM

11:06 11:06 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

158,777

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Benoni 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Benoni

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 Benoni: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London and Benoni differ by about 272% in total monthly costs ($3,986 vs $1,072 including rent). Benoni is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 147% 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: $2,869 in London versus $398 in Benoni. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $3,986 per month in London versus $1,072 in Benoni – a 272% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,072 in Benoni versus $3,986 in London, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Benoni but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Benoni 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.

Safety-wise, London and Benoni 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 Benoni gentler on the wallet – expenses run 272% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.