Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Bulawayo

For one person, living is cheaper in Bulawayo: $763 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $39,900 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Bulawayo
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Bulawayo Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Bulawayo

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$763

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Bulawayo

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

A single person spends $4,086 per month in London vs $763 in Bulawayo, rent included.

London $4,086
Bulawayo $763

A couple spends around $5,816 per month in London vs $1,192 in Bulawayo, rent included.

London $5,816
Bulawayo $1,192

A family of three spends $7,546 per month in London vs $1,622 in Bulawayo, rent included.

London $7,546
Bulawayo $1,622

London costs about 436% more than Bulawayo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

London sits 205% above the global median, while Bulawayo is 43% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$4.58 ZWL 122

481.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$30.29 ZWL 809

255.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$4.89 ZWL 131

112.47%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$2.09 ZWL 55.9

177.03%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$0.52 ZWL 13.86

478.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.37 ZWL 9.85

481.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$1.47 ZWL 39.14

536.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$2.03 ZWL 54.2

286.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.66 ZWL 44.28

7.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$1.01 ZWL 27.05

103.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.55 ZWL 41.32

49.03%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$1.91 ZWL 50.9

164.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$9.59 ZWL 256

31.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$4.02 ZWL 107

165.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$4.46 ZWL 119

284.08%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$1.85 ZWL 49.29

63.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.60 ZWL 42.68

-11.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$2.42 ZWL 64.8

26.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.04 ZWL 27.89

225.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.28 ZWL 34.19

30.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.39 ZWL 37.02

24.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.10 ZWL 29.29

28.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.75 ZWL 19.93

138.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$1.54 ZWL 41.04

1407.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$5.10 ZWL 136

154.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.35 ZWL 36.15

135.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$1.85 ZWL 49.48

138.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.77 ZWL 20.65

402.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$30.55 ZWL 816

718.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$2.94 ZWL 78.6

94.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$1.95 ZWL 52.1

70.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$5.04 ZWL 135

1049.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.64 ZWL 43.75

24.39%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$24.6K ZWL 656.4K

52.80%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$24.6K ZWL 657.7K

66.09%

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

$376 £284

$95.3 ZWL 2,547

294.47%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$17.21 ZWL 460

3.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$105 ZWL 2,816

-62.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$31.62 ZWL 845

93.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$20.07 ZWL 536

4.98%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$9.86 ZWL 263

82.05%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$231 ZWL 6,175

1139.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$3,512 ZWL 93.8K

906.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$20.96 ZWL 560

453.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$11.58 ZWL 309

367.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$45.58 ZWL 1,217

177.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$58.0 ZWL 1,548

174.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$176 ZWL 4,695

1523.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$107 ZWL 2,863

2046.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$414 ZWL 11.1K

1155.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$325 ZWL 8,679

1045.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$2,053 ZWL 54.8K

825.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$2,046 ZWL 54.7K

285.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$306 ZWL 8,161

1476.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

-69.00%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Bulawayo: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Bulawayo

$107 14.2% 95.3% $2.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Bulawayo

$218 29% 49.8% $216

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Bulawayo

$91 12.1% 77% $305

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Bulawayo

$177 23.5% 49.3% $172

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Bulawayo

$46 6.2% 83.9% $242

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Bulawayo

$61 8.1% 70.2% $144

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Bulawayo

$51 6.8% 47.1% $46

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,853 in London versus $176 in Bulawayo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1477% higher in London, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in London versus $30.00 in Bulawayo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $177 – making Bulawayo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇼 Bulawayo

🕒 Local time

12:31 12:31 PM

13:31 1:31 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

653,337

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 ZWL = 3.74 USD

100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, 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).

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 26.71 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.74 USD). 1 EUR = 29.93 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

London Bulawayo 8,450 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Bulawayo

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 Bulawayo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – London is pricier by about 436%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,129 per month in London and $1,144 in Bulawayo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bulawayo, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $4,086 in London and $763 in Bulawayo. That's a gap of about 436%.

Public transport costs about 718% less in Bulawayo. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Bulawayo, where all-in costs run around $763, than in London at $4,086. In Bulawayo it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Bulawayo – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Bulawayo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.