Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Bitola

For one person, living is cheaper in Bitola: $856 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $38,800 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Bitola
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Bitola Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Bitola

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$856

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Bitola

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $856 in Bitola.

London $4,086
Bitola $856

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $1,271 in Bitola.

London $5,816
Bitola $1,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $1,686 in Bitola.

London $7,546
Bitola $1,686

Living in London is roughly 377% more expensive than in Bitola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 205% above, Bitola is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$5.13 MKD 281

418.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$27.02 MKD 1,480

298.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$5.27 MKD 289

97.15%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$1.89 MKD 103

206.35%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$1.79 MKD 98.3

68.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$1.40 MKD 76.9

53.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$2.14 MKD 118

336.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$2.49 MKD 136

214.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.38 MKD 75.4

29.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$0.70 MKD 38.37

194.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.66 MKD 91.1

39.16%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$2.00 MKD 109

152.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$9.75 MKD 534

28.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$7.18 MKD 393

48.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$13.03 MKD 714

31.47%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$1.00 MKD 54.7

203.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.38 MKD 75.9

2.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$1.23 MKD 67.6

147.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.53 MKD 83.7

120.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$0.89 MKD 48.86

87.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.30 MKD 71.4

33.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.53 MKD 29.01

166.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.52 MKD 28.51

244.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$3.25 MKD 178

614.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$5.92 MKD 324

119.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$0.98 MKD 54.0

224.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$1.77 MKD 96.9

149.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.52 MKD 28.75

644.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$16.10 MKD 882

1453.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$1.10 MKD 60.3

419.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.61 MKD 33.25

445.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$6.21 MKD 340

832.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.51 MKD 82.9

35.10%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$30.8K MKD 1.7M

21.82%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$32.4K MKD 1.8M

26.18%

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

$376 £284

$145 MKD 7,950

159.25%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$13.90 MKD 762

28.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$13.01 MKD 713

207.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$21.40 MKD 1,173

185.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$6.28 MKD 344

235.51%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$4.49 MKD 246

299.78%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$211 MKD 11.5K

1259.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$1,146 MKD 62.8K

2983.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$75.3 MKD 4,128

53.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$46.55 MKD 2,551

16.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$72.0 MKD 3,943

75.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$112 MKD 6,111

42.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$264 MKD 14.5K

980.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$185 MKD 10.2K

1140.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$397 MKD 21.8K

1209.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$295 MKD 16.2K

1162.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$1,707 MKD 93.5K

1013.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$1,180 MKD 64.6K

567.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$755 MKD 41.4K

538.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

6.45

-27.91%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Bitola: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Bitola

$185 21.7% 91.9% $2.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Bitola

$172 20.1% 60.4% $262

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Bitola

$108 12.6% 72.8% $289

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Bitola

$199 23.3% 42.9% $150

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Bitola

$22 2.6% 92.2% $266

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Bitola

$137 16.1% 33% $68

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Bitola

$30 3.6% 68.7% $67

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $264 in Bitola. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 538% 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 $27.00 in Bitola for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $199 per month, with Bitola cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇲🇰 Bitola

🕒 Local time

07:09 7:09 AM

08:09 8:09 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

74,550

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, 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).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 54.8 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.46 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

London Bitola 2,010 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Bitola

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 Bitola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London and Bitola differ by about 377% in total monthly costs ($4,086 vs $856 including rent). Bitola is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 538% 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 $264 in Bitola. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 75% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Bitola – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $108 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $856 in Bitola versus $4,086 in London, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bitola but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Bitola 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 Bitola 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 Bitola gentler on the wallet – expenses run 377% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.