Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Brakpan

For one person, living is cheaper in Brakpan: $1,114 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $34,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Brakpan
Learn more

Brakpan Living Index

Jump to prices

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Brakpan

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,114

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Brakpan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,986 in London versus $1,114 in Brakpan.

London $3,986
Brakpan $1,114

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,791 in London versus $1,678 in Brakpan.

London $5,791
Brakpan $1,678

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,595 in London versus $2,241 in Brakpan.

London $7,595
Brakpan $2,241

Living in London is roughly 258% more expensive than in Brakpan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 195% above, Brakpan is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$9.57 R 158

170.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$40.41 R 666

163.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$5.86 R 96.6

82.76%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.21 R 36.42

147.51%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$1.07 R 17.65

177.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.89 R 14.66

147.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.27 R 37.44

302.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$2.72 R 44.82

191.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.10 R 18.05

69.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.12 R 18.43

84.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$1.39 R 22.92

74.10%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$2.37 R 39.03

114.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$10.25 R 169

25.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$4.46 R 73.5

133.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$8.29 R 137

103.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$1.62 R 26.74

91.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.55 R 25.53

-9.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.38 R 22.69

123.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.44 R 23.70

127.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.45 R 23.92

8.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.22 R 20.08

42.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.04 R 17.09

34.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.93 R 15.30

93.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.16 R 52.0

636.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$4.88 R 80.4

167.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.03 R 17.04

207.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$1.43 R 23.53

209.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$1.53 R 25.18

166.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.61 R 10.10

814.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.89 R 14.61

277.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$11.91 R 196

376.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.53 R 25.27

39.22%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$34.9K R 575.2K

9.37%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$32.0K R 527.0K

27.86%

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

$372 £279

$147 R 2,423

153.05%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$34.97 R 576

-49.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$52.8 R 869

-23.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$32.50 R 535

84.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$10.87 R 179

95.86%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$7.29 R 120

143.35%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$245 R 4,040

1067.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$5,421 R 89.3K

551.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$53.1 R 875

114.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$32.39 R 534

67.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$102 R 1,675

22.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$86.9 R 1,432

87.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$394 R 6,499

627.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$367 R 6,047

508.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$486 R 8,009

983.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$638 R 10.5K

492.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$887 R 14.6K

1967.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

$662 R 10.9K

1111.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

10.94

-56.67%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Brakpan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Brakpan

$367 33% 83.6% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Brakpan

$235 21.1% 45.4% $196

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Brakpan

$145 13.1% 62.5% $242

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Brakpan

$185 16.6% 47% $164

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Brakpan

$11 * 1% 96.1% $274

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Brakpan

$123 11.1% 39.8% $82

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Brakpan

$47 4.2% 50.7% $48

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 $394 in Brakpan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $107 in London vs $40.00 in Brakpan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $185 per month, with Brakpan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 Brakpan

🕒 Local time

14:08 2:08 PM

15:08 3:08 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

305,692

💱 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 Brakpan 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Brakpan

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 Brakpan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brakpan wins on cost – living expenses run 258% lower than in London. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Brakpan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $5,979 in London and $1,671 in Brakpan to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,869 in London versus $394 in Brakpan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,864 in London versus $245 in Brakpan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Brakpan – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $107 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,114 in Brakpan versus $3,986 in London, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Brakpan but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Brakpan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Brakpan delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,114 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Brakpan hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Brakpan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 258% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.