Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Gaborone

For one person, living is cheaper in Gaborone: $866 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $38,600 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Gaborone
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Gaborone Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Gaborone

🇧🇼 Botswana

$866

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Gaborone

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $866 in Gaborone.

London $4,086
Gaborone $866

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $1,301 in Gaborone.

London $5,816
Gaborone $1,301

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $1,737 in Gaborone.

London $7,546
Gaborone $1,737

Living in London is roughly 372% more expensive than in Gaborone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 205% above, Gaborone is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$11.04 P 148

141.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$29.11 P 390

269.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$5.87 P 78.6

77.00%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$2.37 P 31.70

144.30%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$0.71 P 9.45

323.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.44 P 5.87

388.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$1.98 P 26.47

372.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$2.56 P 34.24

206.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.47 P 19.66

21.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$0.87 P 11.59

136.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.98 P 26.48

16.67%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$2.54 P 34.06

98.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$6.45 P 86.4

94.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$4.77 P 63.9

123.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$4.88 P 65.4

251.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$1.64 P 22.01

84.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.40 P 18.73

0.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$1.95 P 26.07

56.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.65 P 22.13

104.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.31 P 17.53

27.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.15 P 15.40

50.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.28 P 17.20

10.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.93 P 12.50

92.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$3.71 P 49.75

525.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$4.39 P 58.8

195.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.43 P 19.23

122.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$1.74 P 23.26

153.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.67 P 9.00

477.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$30.16 P 404

729.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$0.64 P 8.60

792.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$2.61 P 35.04

27.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$2.86 P 38.37

1924.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.32 P 17.74

54.55%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$19.6K P 263.0K

91.30%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$19.9K P 266.4K

105.72%

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

$376 £284

$60.2 P 807

524.84%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$19.85 P 266

-9.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$42.94 P 575

-6.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$34.16 P 458

79.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$16.03 P 215

31.44%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$5.98 P 80.1

200.17%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$130 P 1,740

2106.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$2,526 P 33.8K

1299.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$48.16 P 645

140.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$16.58 P 222

226.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$74.0 P 991

71.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$78.3 P 1,049

103.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$363 P 4,860

686.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$219 P 2,941

948.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$542 P 7,263

859.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$354 P 4,741

952.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$2,021 P 27.1K

840.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$1,252 P 16.8K

529.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$450 P 6,033

970.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

11.33

-58.96%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Gaborone: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Gaborone

$219 25.5% 90.5% $2.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Gaborone

$123 14.3% 71.7% $311

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Gaborone

$154 17.9% 61.2% $243

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Gaborone

$174 20.2% 50.2% $176

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Gaborone

$47 5.4% 83.8% $241

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Gaborone

$98 11.4% 52.4% $108

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Gaborone

$46 5.4% 52.5% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $363 in Gaborone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 970% 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 $29.00 in Gaborone for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $174 per month, with Gaborone cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇧🇼 Gaborone

🕒 Local time

08:19 8:19 AM

09:19 9:19 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

231,626 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Botswana Pula BWP P

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 BWP = 7.46 USD

100 BWP = 6.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 13.4 BWP (100 BWP = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 15.03 BWP (100 BWP = 6.65 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Gaborone 8,840 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Gaborone

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 Gaborone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gaborone is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 372% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 970% 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 $363 in Gaborone. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 101% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Gaborone – a meal for two runs $29.00 versus $108 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $866 in Gaborone versus $4,086 in London, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Gaborone but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Gaborone the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Gaborone is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in London, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, London and Gaborone 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 Gaborone gentler on the wallet – expenses run 372% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.