Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Bilbao

For one person, living is cheaper in Bilbao: $2,101 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $23,800 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
101

Cost of Living Index in Bilbao
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Bilbao Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Bilbao

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,101

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Bilbao

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $2,101 in Bilbao.

London $4,086
Bilbao $2,101

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $3,137 in Bilbao.

London $5,816
Bilbao $3,137

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $4,172 in Bilbao.

London $7,546
Bilbao $4,172

Living in London is roughly 94% more expensive than in Bilbao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: London 205% above, Bilbao 57% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$20.91 €18.66

27.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$69.0 €61.6

55.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$12.14 €10.83

-14.42%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$2.50 €2.23

131.60%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$2.91 €2.59

3.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$1.73 €1.55

24.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$3.40 €3.03

175.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$3.27 €2.92

139.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.30 €1.16

37.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$1.58 €1.41

30.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.51 €1.35

52.98%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$3.32 €2.96

52.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$14.39 €12.85

-12.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$8.05 €7.18

32.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$13.25 €11.82

29.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$2.72 €2.43

11.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.02 €1.80

-30.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$2.61 €2.33

16.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$2.38 €2.13

42.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.52 €1.36

9.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$2.41 €2.15

-28.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.21 €1.08

16.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.78 €0.70

129.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$6.83 €6.09

239.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$7.78 €6.94

66.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.48 €1.32

114.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$2.62 €2.34

68.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$1.83 €1.63

111.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$50.7 €45.25

393.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$5.63 €5.02

1.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.99 €0.88

236.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$31.89 €28.46

81.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.79 €1.60

13.97%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$35.0K €31.2K

7.24%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$30.4K €27.1K

34.61%

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

$376 £284

$142 €127

164.15%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$20.34 €18.15

-12.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$30.13 €26.89

32.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$55.8 €49.81

9.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$15.27 €13.62

37.98%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$9.92 €8.86

80.95%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$538 €480

432.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$11.5K €10.3K

206.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$89.5 €79.9

29.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$34.39 €30.69

57.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$68.7 €61.3

84.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$127 €114

25.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$1,261 €1,125

126.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$1,054 €941

118.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$2,469 €2,203

110.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$1,707 €1,523

118.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$5,875 €5,243

223.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$3,675 €3,280

114.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$2,385 €2,128

102.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

2.98

56.04%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Bilbao: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Bilbao

$1.1K 50.6% 54.2% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Bilbao

$193 9.3% 55.6% $241

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Bilbao

$276 13.2% 30.5% $121

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Bilbao

$271 13% 22.4% $78

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Bilbao

$69 3.3% 76.2% $219

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Bilbao

$144 6.9% 29.8% $61

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Bilbao

$76 3.6% 22% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $1,261 in Bilbao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 102% 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 $69.0 in Bilbao for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $271 per month, with Bilbao cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇪🇸 Bilbao

🕒 Local time

11:13 11:13 AM

12:13 12:13 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

346,096

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Bilbao 940 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Bilbao

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 Bilbao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London and Bilbao differ by about 94% in total monthly costs ($4,086 vs $2,101 including rent). Bilbao is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 102% 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 $1,261 in Bilbao. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,865 in London versus $538 in Bilbao. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,101 in Bilbao versus $4,086 in London, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Bilbao but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Bilbao 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 Bilbao 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 Bilbao gentler on the wallet – expenses run 94% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.