Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Cologne

For one person, living is cheaper in Cologne: $2,189 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $22,800 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
108

Cost of Living Index in Cologne
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Cologne Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Cologne

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,189

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Cologne

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $2,189 in Cologne.

London $4,086
Cologne $2,189

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $3,383 in Cologne.

London $5,816
Cologne $3,383

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $4,578 in Cologne.

London $7,546
Cologne $4,578

Living in London is roughly 87% more expensive than in Cologne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: London 205% above, Cologne 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$16.79 €14.98

58.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$85.2 €76.0

26.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$11.56 €10.32

-10.12%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$4.15 €3.70

39.52%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$3.85 €3.43

-21.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$3.23 €2.89

-33.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$5.59 €4.98

67.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$5.66 €5.06

38.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.33 €1.19

34.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$2.53 €2.26

-18.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$3.08 €2.75

-25.00%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$3.58 €3.20

41.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$12.33 €11.00

1.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$12.16 €10.85

-12.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$22.82 €20.37

-24.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$2.94 €2.62

3.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.04 €1.82

-30.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$2.57 €2.29

18.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$3.97 €3.54

-14.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.46 €1.30

14.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.19 €1.06

45.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.57 €1.40

-10.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.13 €1.01

58.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$9.60 €8.57

141.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$6.79 €6.06

91.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.26 €1.13

152.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$1.77 €1.58

149.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$3.99 €3.56

-3.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$71.4 €63.7

250.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$5.62 €5.01

1.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$2.65 €2.37

25.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$33.41 €29.82

73.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$2.33 €2.08

-12.45%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$32.9K €29.3K

14.24%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$37.7K €33.7K

8.40%

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

$376 £284

$307 €274

22.66%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$12.77 €11.40

40.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$37.38 €33.35

7.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$44.67 €39.86

36.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$34.39 €30.69

-38.73%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$15.94 €14.23

12.61%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$1,077 €961

166.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$22.3K €19.9K

58.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$90.9 €81.1

27.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$40.55 €36.18

33.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$100 €89.3

26.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$133 €119

19.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$1,197 €1,068

138.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$888 €793

159.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$2,478 €2,212

109.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$1,629 €1,453

128.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$7,630 €6,809

149.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$5,172 €4,616

52.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$3,587 €3,201

34.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

3.83

21.41%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cologne: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Cologne

$888 40.1% 61.4% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Cologne

$357 16.1% 17.8% $77

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Cologne

$286 12.9% 27.8% $110

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Cologne

$339 15.3% 3.1% $11

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Cologne

$106 4.8% 63.1% $182

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Cologne

$164 7.4% 20.1% $41

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Cologne

$77 3.5% 21.1% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $1,197 in Cologne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 34% 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 $85.0 in Cologne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $339 per month, with Cologne cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇩🇪 Cologne

🕒 Local time

04:58 4:58 AM

05:58 5:58 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

1,095,520

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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 = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Cologne 500 km

From you

London
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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 Cologne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London and Cologne differ by about 87% in total monthly costs ($4,086 vs $2,189 including rent). Cologne is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 34% 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 $1,197 in Cologne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cologne runs roughly 250% less than in London. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $2,865 in London versus $1,077 in Cologne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $2,189 in Cologne versus $4,086 in London, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Cologne but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Cologne 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.

Safety-wise, London and Cologne 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 Cologne gentler on the wallet – expenses run 87% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.