Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Cotonou

For one person, living is cheaper in Cotonou: $898 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $37,800 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Cotonou
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Cotonou Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Cotonou

🇧🇯 Benin

$898

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Cotonou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,048 in London versus $898 in Cotonou.

London $4,048
Cotonou $898

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,903 in London versus $1,424 in Cotonou.

London $5,903
Cotonou $1,424

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,758 in London versus $1,949 in Cotonou.

London $7,758
Cotonou $1,949

Living in London is roughly 351% more expensive than in Cotonou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 199% above, Cotonou is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.59

$5.06 F CFA 2,952

420.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £80.7

$35.89 F CFA 20.9K

202.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £7.96

$9.19 F CFA 5,366

16.54%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.15

$5.23 F CFA 3,054

6.88%

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

$3.00 £2.23

$1.03 F CFA 602

191.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.65

$0.93 F CFA 541

138.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.17

$0.88 F CFA 515

996.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.14

$2.49 F CFA 1,452

231.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$3.08 F CFA 1,796

-36.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.55

$1.19 F CFA 697

75.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$1.87 F CFA 1,094

38.50%

Eggs

$5.37 £3.99

$2.76 F CFA 1,611

94.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.75

$9.13 F CFA 5,331

43.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.20

$5.43 F CFA 3,172

103.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.17

$5.05 F CFA 2,949

251.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.36

$4.17 F CFA 2,436

-23.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.80 F CFA 1,049

-23.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.10

$1.29 F CFA 755

118.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.50

$2.59 F CFA 1,511

29.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.26

$1.31 F CFA 766

29.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$1.74 F CFA 1,014

2.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$0.47 F CFA 273

217.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.35

$1.10 F CFA 639

65.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.72

$3.50 F CFA 2,045

581.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £9.98

$4.22 F CFA 2,465

218.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.31

$1.17 F CFA 685

165.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.34

$1.86 F CFA 1,087

141.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$1.31 F CFA 764

215.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.44

$1.32 F CFA 771

353.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.52

$1.39 F CFA 813

143.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$1.25 F CFA 727

76.80%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

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

$41.0K £30.5K

$23.8K F CFA 13.9M

72.00%

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

$372 £277

$146 F CFA 85.4K

154.55%

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

$18.66 £13.87

$33.91 F CFA 19.8K

-44.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.12

$48.62 F CFA 28.4K

-16.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.63

$47.77 F CFA 27.9K

17.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.71

$3.37 F CFA 1,965

407.42%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.34

$8.59 F CFA 5,016

108.96%

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

$2,946 £2,189

$131 F CFA 76.5K

2147.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.4K

$5,560 F CFA 3.2M

756.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.4

$25.09 F CFA 14.6K

363.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.28

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.1

$33.52 F CFA 19.6K

281.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £114

$68.9 F CFA 40.2K

123.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,182

$176 F CFA 102.5K

1571.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,678

$164 F CFA 96.0K

1273.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,901

$590 F CFA 344.7K

789.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,868

$403 F CFA 235.2K

857.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,152

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,177

$254 F CFA 148.4K

2110.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

19.50%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Cotonou: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Cotonou

$164 18.3% 92.7% $2.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Cotonou

$229 25.5% 47% $203

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Cotonou

$148 16.5% 62.6% $248

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Cotonou

$221 24.6% 38.6% $139

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Cotonou

$14 * 1.5% 95.6% $292

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Cotonou

$57 * 6.4% 72% $147

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Cotonou

$65 7.2% 29.3% $27

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 $2,935 in London and $176 in Cotonou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays about 22 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $109 in London vs $36 in Cotonou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $221 per month, with Cotonou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇧🇯 Cotonou

🕒 Local time

03:31 3:31 AM

04:31 4:31 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

780,000

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XOF, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 584 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 655 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Cotonou 5,020 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Cotonou

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 Cotonou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cotonou is about 78% cheaper overall, especially in transport, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in London is about 22 times higher, 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: $2,935 in London versus $176 in Cotonou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 63% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $4,048 per month in London versus $898 in Cotonou – Cotonou is about 78% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $898 in Cotonou versus $4,048 in London, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cotonou but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Cotonou 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.

It comes down to priorities – Cotonou wins on affordability, London on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.