Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Grahamstown

For one person, living is cheaper in Grahamstown: $1,121 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $34,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Grahamstown
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Grahamstown Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Grahamstown

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,121

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Grahamstown

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,986 in London versus $1,121 in Grahamstown.

London $3,986
Grahamstown $1,121

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,791 in London versus $1,757 in Grahamstown.

London $5,791
Grahamstown $1,757

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,595 in London versus $2,392 in Grahamstown.

London $7,595
Grahamstown $2,392

Living in London is roughly 255% more expensive than in Grahamstown, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 195% above, Grahamstown is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$10.85 R 179

138.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$42.03 R 692

153.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$6.06 R 99.9

76.73%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.13 R 35.03

156.81%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$1.04 R 17.21

185.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.72 R 11.94

205.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.76 R 45.45

230.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$3.07 R 50.6

158.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.12 R 18.45

66.07%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.01 R 16.57

104.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$1.45 R 23.86

66.90%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$2.82 R 46.40

80.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$8.78 R 145

46.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$5.25 R 86.5

98.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$8.51 R 140

98.24%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$2.19 R 36.07

42.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.47 R 24.17

-4.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.69 R 27.91

82.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.72 R 28.34

90.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.67 R 27.50

-5.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.37 R 22.55

27.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.30 R 21.36

7.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.02 R 16.73

76.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.20 R 52.7

627.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$4.68 R 77.1

178.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.22 R 20.02

159.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$1.78 R 29.34

148.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$1.54 R 25.32

164.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.62 R 10.13

800.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.47 R 7.72

614.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$8.17 R 135

594.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.40 R 23.07

52.14%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$35.0K R 576.1K

9.21%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$32.8K R 540.0K

24.78%

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

$372 £279

$120 R 1,983

209.21%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$34.81 R 574

-48.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$44.20 R 728

-8.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$31.55 R 520

90.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$10.55 R 174

101.80%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$10.60 R 175

67.36%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$175 R 2,891

1532.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$4,834 R 79.6K

630.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$71.5 R 1,178

59.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$36.90 R 608

47.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$109 R 1,803

13.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$94.3 R 1,553

72.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$394 R 6,497

627.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$366 R 6,038

509.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$726 R 12.0K

625.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$719 R 11.9K

425.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$874 R 14.4K

1996.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

$646 R 10.6K

1142.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

$1,164 R 19.2K

332.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

11.94

-60.30%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Grahamstown: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Grahamstown

$366 32.7% 83.6% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Grahamstown

$199 17.8% 53.7% $231

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Grahamstown

$158 14.1% 59.4% $230

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Grahamstown

$196 17.5% 44% $154

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Grahamstown

$9.1 * 0.8% 96.8% $276

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Grahamstown

$140 12.5% 31.5% $65

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Grahamstown

$53 4.7% 44.7% $43

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 $2,869 in London and $394 in Grahamstown. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 333% 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: $107 in London vs $42.00 in Grahamstown for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $196 per month, with Grahamstown cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 Grahamstown

🕒 Local time

12:01 12:01 PM

13:01 1:01 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

67,264

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Grahamstown 9,780 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Grahamstown

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 Grahamstown: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Grahamstown wins on cost – living expenses run 255% lower than in London. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Grahamstown the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 333% 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: $2,869 in London versus $394 in Grahamstown. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 79% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $3,986 per month in London versus $1,121 in Grahamstown – a 255% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,121 in Grahamstown versus $3,986 in London, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Grahamstown but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Grahamstown the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Grahamstown delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,121 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Grahamstown hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, London and Grahamstown 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 Grahamstown gentler on the wallet – expenses run 255% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.