Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Boksburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Boksburg: $1,222 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $33,200 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Boksburg
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Boksburg Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Boksburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,222

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Boksburg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,986 in London versus $1,222 in Boksburg.

London $3,986
Boksburg $1,222

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,791 in London versus $1,891 in Boksburg.

London $5,791
Boksburg $1,891

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,595 in London versus $2,560 in Boksburg.

London $7,595
Boksburg $2,560

Living in London is roughly 226% more expensive than in Boksburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 195% above, Boksburg is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$12.15 R 200

113.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$43.01 R 709

147.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$5.40 R 88.9

98.33%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.28 R 37.62

139.91%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$1.13 R 18.66

162.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.83 R 13.69

165.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.25 R 37.09

305.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$2.74 R 45.13

189.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.35 R 22.26

37.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.18 R 19.48

75.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$1.77 R 29.15

36.72%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$2.73 R 44.99

86.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$8.89 R 146

44.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$5.32 R 87.6

96.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$8.86 R 146

90.41%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$1.82 R 30.01

70.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.62 R 26.74

-13.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.86 R 30.72

65.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.79 R 29.43

82.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.68 R 27.66

-5.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.81 R 29.80

-3.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.23 R 20.33

13.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.34 R 22.06

34.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.38 R 55.6

588.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$6.03 R 99.4

116.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.53 R 25.14

107.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$1.89 R 31.20

133.86%

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

$0.31 R 5.14

1700.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.78 R 12.77

330.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$14.54 R 240

290.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.49 R 24.52

42.95%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$36.3K R 597.3K

5.34%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$33.7K R 554.6K

21.49%

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

$372 £279

$231 R 3,808

61.02%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$38.32 R 631

-53.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$36.44 R 600

10.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$28.26 R 466

112.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$7.92 R 131

123.99%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$243 R 4,006

1077.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$5,427 R 89.4K

550.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$53.8 R 886

111.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$46.03 R 758

17.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$104 R 1,721

18.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$106 R 1,741

54.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$321 R 5,287

794.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$352 R 5,793

535.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$674 R 11.1K

681.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$764 R 12.6K

394.83%

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

$873 R 14.4K

477.16%

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 Boksburg: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Boksburg

$352 28.8% 84.3% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Boksburg

$306 25% 28.9% $124

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Boksburg

$165 13.5% 57.3% $222

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Boksburg

$212 17.3% 39.5% $138

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Boksburg

$4.2 * 0.3% 98.5% $281

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Boksburg

$140 11.4% 32% $66

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Boksburg

$44 3.6% 53.8% $51

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 $321 in Boksburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 477% 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 $43.00 in Boksburg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $212 per month, with Boksburg cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 Boksburg

🕒 Local time

04:48 4:48 AM

05:48 5:48 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

260,000

💱 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 Boksburg 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Boksburg

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 Boksburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London and Boksburg differ by about 226% in total monthly costs ($3,986 vs $1,222 including rent). Boksburg is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 477% 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 $321 in Boksburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 65% 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 $1,222 in Boksburg – a 226% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,222 in Boksburg versus $3,986 in London, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Boksburg but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Boksburg 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 Boksburg gentler on the wallet – expenses run 226% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.