Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Bujumbura

For one person, living is cheaper in Bujumbura: $659 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $41,100 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Bujumbura
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Bujumbura Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Bujumbura

🇧🇮 Burundi

$659

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Bujumbura

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $659 in Bujumbura.

London $4,086
Bujumbura $659

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $1,170 in Bujumbura.

London $5,816
Bujumbura $1,170

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $1,681 in Bujumbura.

London $7,546
Bujumbura $1,681

Living in London is roughly 520% more expensive than in Bujumbura, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 205% above, Bujumbura is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$3.90 BIF 11.6K

582.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$64.9 BIF 193.3K

65.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$3.76 BIF 11.2K

176.33%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$3.08 BIF 9,190

87.99%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$1.79 BIF 5,323

68.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$1.38 BIF 4,099

55.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$2.23 BIF 6,656

319.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$6.49 BIF 19.4K

20.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.04 BIF 3,094

72.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$2.06 BIF 6,146

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.95 BIF 5,813

18.46%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$3.56 BIF 10.6K

41.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$8.30 BIF 24.7K

51.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$11.40 BIF 34.0K

-6.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$11.50 BIF 34.3K

48.96%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$5.81 BIF 17.3K

-47.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$2.07 BIF 6,156

47.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.65 BIF 4,906

104.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$2.00 BIF 5,958

-10.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$11.13 BIF 33.2K

16.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$2.20 BIF 6,563

44.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$4.12 BIF 12.3K

7.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$1.05 BIF 3,131

268.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$30.29 BIF 90.3K

725.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$5.04 BIF 15.0K

13.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$3.41 BIF 10.2K

-2.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$29.83 BIF 88.9K

94.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.36 BIF 4,041

50.00%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

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

$40.9K £30.9K

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

$376 £284

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

$17.88 £13.51

$7.83 BIF 23.3K

128.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$68.3 BIF 203.4K

-41.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$26.83 BIF 80.0K

127.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$1.66 BIF 4,947

981.33%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$102 BIF 303.3K

2715.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$9,953 BIF 29.7M

255.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$427 BIF 1.3M

568.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$89.7 BIF 267.2K

2467.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$1,337 BIF 4.0M

288.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$264 BIF 785.6K

1312.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$2,055 BIF 6.1M

824.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$1,616 BIF 4.8M

387.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$374 BIF 1.1M

1189.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

14.17

-67.18%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Bujumbura: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Bujumbura

$90 13.8% 96.1% $2.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Bujumbura

$76 * 11.7% 82.5% $358

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Bujumbura

$116 17.9% 70.7% $280

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Bujumbura

$280 * 43.2% 19.7% $69

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Bujumbura

$57 8.7% 80.3% $231

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Bujumbura

- * 0% 100%

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Bujumbura

$30 4.6% 68.9% $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 $2,853 in London and $427 in Bujumbura. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 1190% 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 $65.0 in Bujumbura for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $280 per month, with Bujumbura cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇧🇮 Bujumbura

🕒 Local time

14:51 2:51 PM

15:51 3:51 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

658,859

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Burundian Franc BIF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

10,000 BIF = 3.36 USD

10,000 BIF = 2.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BIF, 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 = 0.847 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Burundian Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2,980 BIF (10,000 BIF = 3.36 USD). 1 EUR = 3,339 BIF (10,000 BIF = 2.99 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Bujumbura 6,710 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Bujumbura

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 Bujumbura: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bujumbura wins on cost – living expenses run 520% lower than in London. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bujumbura the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1190% 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 $427 in Bujumbura. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $4,086 per month in London versus $659 in Bujumbura – a 520% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bujumbura runs roughly 726% less than in London. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $659 in Bujumbura versus $4,086 in London, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bujumbura but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Bujumbura the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bujumbura delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $659 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bujumbura hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Bujumbura gentler on the wallet – expenses run 520% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.