Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Heraklion

For one person, living is cheaper in Heraklion: $1,629 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $29,000 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
78

Cost of Living Index in Heraklion
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Heraklion Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Heraklion

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,629

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Heraklion

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,048 in London versus $1,629 in Heraklion.

London $4,048
Heraklion $1,629

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,903 in London versus $2,534 in Heraklion.

London $5,903
Heraklion $2,534

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,758 in London versus $3,438 in Heraklion.

London $7,758
Heraklion $3,438

Living in London is roughly 148% more expensive than in Heraklion, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: London 199% above, Heraklion 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.59

$12.71 €11.32

107.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £80.7

$56.6 €50.4

91.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £7.96

$9.92 €8.83

7.96%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.15

$3.87 €3.45

44.44%

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

$3.00 £2.23

$2.46 €2.19

21.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.65

$0.78 €0.70

184.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.17

$5.64 €5.02

71.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.14

$5.42 €4.82

52.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$1.77 €1.58

11.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.55

$1.45 €1.29

44.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$2.71 €2.41

-4.43%

Eggs

$5.37 £3.99

$4.57 €4.07

17.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.75

$15.74 €14.01

-16.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.20

$10.71 €9.54

2.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.17

$15.41 €13.72

15.06%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.36

$2.15 €1.92

47.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$2.13 €1.90

-35.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.10

$1.36 €1.21

107.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.50

$1.69 €1.51

98.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.26

$1.18 €1.05

44.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$1.22 €1.09

45.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$0.96 €0.85

55.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.35

$0.71 €0.63

156.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.72

$4.99 €4.45

377.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £9.98

$7.60 €6.77

76.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.31

$2.26 €2.01

37.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.34

$2.96 €2.64

51.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$1.48 €1.32

179.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

$70.7 €62.9

276.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.44

$4.40 €3.92

35.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.52

$0.99 €0.88

242.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

$22.23 €19.79

154.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$2.17 €1.94

1.84%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

$27.8K €24.7K

37.73%

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

$41.0K £30.5K

$23.7K €21.1K

72.77%

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

$372 £277

$195 €173

91.16%

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

$18.66 £13.87

$30.56 €27.21

-38.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.12

$38.91 €34.65

4.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.63

$54.1 €48.19

3.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.71

$38.86 €34.60

-56.00%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.34

$8.94 €7.96

100.78%

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

$2,946 £2,189

$411 €366

615.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.4K

$1,367 €1,217

3383.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.4

$88.5 €78.8

31.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.28

$43.01 €38.30

32.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.1

$84.6 €75.4

51.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £114

$137 €122

12.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,182

$653 €582

349.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,678

$522 €465

332.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,901

$1,177 €1,048

346.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,868

$996 €887

287.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$3,589 €3,196

378.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,152

$2,458 €2,188

236.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,177

$1,111 €989

405.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

4.44

7.66%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Heraklion: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Heraklion

$522 32% 76.9% $1.7K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Heraklion

$264 16.2% 38.8% $167

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Heraklion

$230 14.1% 41.9% $166

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Heraklion

$296 18.2% 17.7% $64

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Heraklion

$86 5.3% 71.9% $219

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Heraklion

$159 9.8% 22.4% $46

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Heraklion

$72 4.4% 21.7% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,935 in London and $653 in Heraklion. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays about 5.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $109 in London vs $57 in Heraklion for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $296 per month, with Heraklion cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇬🇷 Heraklion

🕒 Local time

13:42 1:42 PM

15:42 3:42 PM

2 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

140,730

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.835 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Heraklion 2,690 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Heraklion

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 Heraklion: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Heraklion is about 60% cheaper overall, especially in transport, eating out, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in London is about 5.1 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 $653 in Heraklion. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,946 in London versus $411 in Heraklion. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,629 in Heraklion versus $4,048 in London, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Heraklion but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Heraklion 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.

Expats usually find Heraklion gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.