Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Harare

For one person, living is cheaper in Harare: $1,025 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $36,700 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Harare
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Harare Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Harare

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$1,025

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Harare

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $1,025 in Harare.

London $4,086
Harare $1,025

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $1,682 in Harare.

London $5,816
Harare $1,682

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $2,339 in Harare.

London $7,546
Harare $2,339

Living in London is roughly 299% more expensive than in Harare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 205% above, Harare is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$10.12 ZWL 270

163.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$45.29 ZWL 1,210

137.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$5.60 ZWL 150

85.54%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$3.01 ZWL 80.4

92.36%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$0.97 ZWL 26.04

210.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.45 ZWL 12.07

377.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$1.22 ZWL 32.56

666.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$1.95 ZWL 52.2

302.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.47 ZWL 39.29

21.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$1.02 ZWL 27.29

101.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.71 ZWL 45.80

35.09%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$1.98 ZWL 52.8

155.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$11.40 ZWL 304

10.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$5.53 ZWL 148

92.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$6.42 ZWL 171

166.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$3.07 ZWL 82.1

-1.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.70 ZWL 45.29

-17.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$2.08 ZWL 55.4

46.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.51 ZWL 40.45

123.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.75 ZWL 46.67

-4.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.78 ZWL 47.51

-2.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.22 ZWL 32.72

15.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.94 ZWL 25.02

90.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$1.95 ZWL 52.1

1090.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$8.37 ZWL 224

55.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.38 ZWL 36.81

130.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$1.98 ZWL 52.8

122.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$1.01 ZWL 27.10

283.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$59.1 ZWL 1,578

323.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$4.12 ZWL 110

38.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$2.05 ZWL 54.8

62.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$5.06 ZWL 135

1044.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.84 ZWL 49.04

10.87%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$21.6K ZWL 576.3K

74.03%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$27.6K ZWL 736.2K

48.38%

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

$376 £284

$52.2 ZWL 1,394

620.76%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$21.85 ZWL 583

-18.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$68.0 ZWL 1,817

-41.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$48.13 ZWL 1,286

27.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$22.78 ZWL 609

-7.51%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$9.88 ZWL 264

81.68%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$428 ZWL 11.4K

569.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$8,427 ZWL 225.1K

319.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$23.65 ZWL 632

390.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$21.26 ZWL 568

154.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$38.85 ZWL 1,038

225.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$39.60 ZWL 1,058

302.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$389 ZWL 10.4K

634.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$316 ZWL 8,435

628.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$838 ZWL 22.4K

520.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$755 ZWL 20.2K

393.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$913 ZWL 24.4K

1981.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$388 ZWL 10.4K

1933.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$421 ZWL 11.3K

1043.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

13.69

-66.03%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Harare: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Harare

$316 30.9% 86.3% $2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Harare

$142 13.9% 67.3% $292

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Harare

$150 14.6% 62.3% $247

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Harare

$215 21% 38.5% $135

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Harare

$78 7.6% 73.1% $210

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Harare

$56 5.4% 72.9% $150

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Harare

$68 6.6% 30.1% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $389 in Harare. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 1044% 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 $45.00 in Harare for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $215 per month, with Harare cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇼 Harare

🕒 Local time

09:25 9:25 AM

10:25 10:25 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

1,606,000 Capital

💱 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 = 0.848 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 = 29.96 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Harare 8,280 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Harare

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 Harare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Harare is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 299% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1044% 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 $389 in Harare. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,865 in London versus $428 in Harare. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

At $1,025 in Harare versus $4,086 in London, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Harare but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Harare the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Harare 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.

Expats usually find Harare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 299% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.