Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Howick

For one person, living is cheaper in Howick: $1,060 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $35,100 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Howick
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Howick Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Howick

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,060

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Howick

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,986 in London versus $1,060 in Howick.

London $3,986
Howick $1,060

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,791 in London versus $1,654 in Howick.

London $5,791
Howick $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,595 in London versus $2,248 in Howick.

London $7,595
Howick $2,248

Living in London is roughly 276% more expensive than in Howick, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 195% above, Howick is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$7.59 R 125

241.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$39.02 R 643

172.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$5.36 R 88.3

99.81%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.70 R 44.48

102.59%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$1.11 R 18.34

167.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.83 R 13.71

165.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.36 R 38.83

286.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$2.61 R 42.93

204.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.23 R 20.28

51.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$0.97 R 16.06

113.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$1.48 R 24.32

63.51%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$2.32 R 38.24

119.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$8.08 R 133

59.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$5.04 R 83.1

106.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$7.25 R 119

132.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$1.94 R 32.00

60.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.85 R 30.55

-24.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.90 R 31.33

62.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.63 R 26.89

100.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.48 R 24.36

6.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.45 R 23.88

20.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.16 R 19.16

20.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.19 R 19.66

51.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.68 R 60.7

532.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$4.72 R 77.8

176.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.45 R 23.93

118.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$1.84 R 30.30

140.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$1.47 R 24.20

176.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.43 R 7.17

1197.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.69 R 11.43

386.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$7.48 R 123

658.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.41 R 23.18

51.06%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$35.0K R 576.3K

9.17%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$31.0K R 510.4K

32.03%

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

$372 £279

$148 R 2,434

151.88%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$14.79 R 244

20.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$39.50 R 651

2.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$32.28 R 532

85.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$10.64 R 175

100.09%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$7.20 R 119

146.39%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$307 R 5,053

833.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$7,495 R 123.5K

371.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$53.1 R 875

114.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$30.21 R 498

79.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$97.5 R 1,606

27.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$82.1 R 1,353

98.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$387 R 6,368

642.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$357 R 5,883

525.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$737 R 12.1K

614.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$734 R 12.1K

415.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$863 R 14.2K

2024.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

$664 R 10.9K

1109.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

11.78

-59.76%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Howick: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Howick

$357 33.7% 84% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Howick

$202 19.1% 53.1% $228

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Howick

$134 12.6% 65.4% $254

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Howick

$192 18.1% 45.1% $158

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Howick

$9.8 * 0.9% 96.6% $276

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Howick

$118 11.2% 42.3% $87

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Howick

$47 4.4% 51.1% $49

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 $387 in Howick. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $107 in London vs $39.00 in Howick for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $192 per month, with Howick cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 Howick

🕒 Local time

14:07 2:07 PM

15:07 3:07 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

32,453

💱 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 Howick 9,480 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Howick

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 Howick: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Howick is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 276% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $5,979 in London and $1,589 in Howick to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,869 in London versus $387 in Howick. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,864 in London versus $307 in Howick. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Howick – a meal for two runs $39.00 versus $107 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,060 in Howick versus $3,986 in London, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Howick but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Howick the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Howick 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 Howick 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 Howick gentler on the wallet – expenses run 276% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.