Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Buchs

For one person, living is cheaper in Buchs: $3,009 a month against $4,049 in London, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

195

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index
146

Cost of Living Index in Buchs
Learn more

Buchs Living Index

Jump to prices

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,049

/mo nomad

Buchs

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,009

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Buchs

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,049 in London versus $3,009 in Buchs.

London $4,049
Buchs $3,009

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,827 in London versus $4,535 in Buchs.

London $5,827
Buchs $4,535

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,605 in London versus $6,062 in Buchs.

London $7,605
Buchs $6,062

Living in London is roughly 35% more expensive than in Buchs, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: London 199% above, Buchs 122% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$27.09 £20.33

$23.43 CHF 19.30

15.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$104 £78.3

$84.3 CHF 69.4

23.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.86 £8.15

$15.36 CHF 12.65

-29.30%

Cappuccino

$5.60 £4.20

$4.71 CHF 3.88

18.90%

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

$3.05 £2.29

$3.77 CHF 3.10

-19.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 £1.71

$3.20 CHF 2.63

-28.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.23 £6.92

$6.13 CHF 5.04

50.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.95 £5.96

$5.39 CHF 4.44

47.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 £1.37

$2.01 CHF 1.66

-8.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 £1.54

$3.94 CHF 3.24

-47.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.47 £1.86

$4.64 CHF 3.82

-46.77%

Eggs

$5.12 £3.84

$7.32 CHF 6.03

-30.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.89 £9.67

$32.21 CHF 26.53

-59.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.84 £8.14

$18.51 CHF 15.24

-41.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.03 £12.78

$32.47 CHF 26.74

-47.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.07 £2.30

$3.53 CHF 2.91

-13.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$2.14 CHF 1.76

-35.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 £2.24

$3.14 CHF 2.59

-4.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.54

$6.70 CHF 5.52

-49.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.78 CHF 1.46

-10.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$2.54 CHF 2.10

-29.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.06

$2.44 CHF 2.01

-42.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 £1.36

$1.21 CHF 1.00

49.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.92 £17.94

$10.84 CHF 8.92

120.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.54 £10.16

$12.70 CHF 10.46

6.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.42

$3.28 CHF 2.70

-1.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.39 £3.29

$3.91 CHF 3.22

12.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.92 £2.94

$5.17 CHF 4.25

-24.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$243 £182

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$5.36 CHF 4.42

4.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.27 £2.46

$3.46 CHF 2.85

-5.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.4 £43.81

$61.2 CHF 50.4

-4.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$2.23 CHF 1.83

-6.73%

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

$38.8K £29.1K

$42.5K CHF 35.0K

-8.72%

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

$40.6K £30.5K

$39.6K CHF 32.6K

2.63%

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

$380 £285

$184 CHF 152

106.08%

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

$18.62 £13.97

$31.24 CHF 25.73

-40.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.45 £30.35

$67.2 CHF 55.4

-39.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.3 £45.95

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.41 £16.07

Cinema Ticket

$18.09 £13.57

$15.20 CHF 12.52

19.01%

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

$2,905 £2,180

$611 CHF 503

375.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.5K £26.6K

$20.7K CHF 17.0K

71.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.3

$107 CHF 88.0

8.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.5 £40.89

$23.70 CHF 19.52

130.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.8

$95.2 CHF 78.4

34.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$167 £125

$170 CHF 140

-1.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,852 £2,140

$1,828 CHF 1,505

56.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,269 £1,702

$1,561 CHF 1,285

45.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,939

$2,690 CHF 2,216

95.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,752 £2,815

$2,746 CHF 2,261

36.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.5K £13.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,100 £6,077

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,109 £3,833

$8,480 CHF 6,984

-39.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

1.93

145.60%

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

Last update for London: October 19, 2026

Last update for Buchs: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56%

Buchs

$1.6K 51.9% 31.2% $708

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$439 10.9%

Buchs

$283 9.4% 35.6% $156

Eating Out

London

$400 9.9%

Buchs

$359 11.9% 10.2% $41

Groceries & Markets

London

$353 8.7%

Buchs

$555 18.4% 57% $201

Getting Around

London

$280 6.9%

Buchs

$43 * 1.4% 84.6% $237

Clothing & Footwear

London

$209 5.2%

Buchs

$178 5.9% 15.1% $32

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Buchs

$30 * 1% 68.8% $67

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 $2,852 in London and $1,828 in Buchs. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buchs pays 66% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $104 in London vs $84.0 in Buchs. Groceries flip the comparison at $353 vs $555, with London cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇨🇭 Buchs

🕒 Local time

23:37 11:37 PM

00:37 12:37 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

12,187

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Buchs 850 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Buchs

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 Buchs: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London and Buchs differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($4,049 vs $3,009 including rent). Buchs is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 66% lower in Buchs. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,852 in London versus $1,828 in Buchs. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,905 in London versus $611 in Buchs. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Buchs – a meal for two runs $84.0 versus $104 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Buchs is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Buchs 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 Buchs gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.