Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Kabul

For one person, living is cheaper in Kabul: $488 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $42,700 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Kabul
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Kabul Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Kabul

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$488

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Kabul

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,048 in London versus $488 in Kabul.

London $4,048
Kabul $488

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,903 in London versus $664 in Kabul.

London $5,903
Kabul $664

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,758 in London versus $839 in Kabul.

London $7,758
Kabul $839

Living in London is roughly 729% more expensive than in Kabul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 199% above, Kabul is 64% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.59

$2.83 ؋184

831.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £80.7

$7.79 ؋506

1293.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £7.96

$4.59 ؋298

133.33%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 ؋148

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ؋123

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.15

$1.13 ؋73.3

394.69%

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

$3.00 £2.23

$0.46 ؋29.80

552.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.65

$0.15 ؋9.71

1380.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.17

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.14

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$0.81 ؋52.8

143.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.55

$0.25 ؋16.32

736.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$1.86 ؋121

39.25%

Eggs

$5.37 £3.99

$1.57 ؋102

242.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.75

$4.39 ؋286

198.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.20

$3.89 ؋253

183.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.17

$6.71 ؋436

164.23%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.36

$0.69 ؋44.72

359.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$0.85 ؋55.6

62.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.10

$0.96 ؋62.2

193.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.50

$0.55 ؋35.66

510.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.26

$0.65 ؋42.21

161.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$0.47 ؋30.75

278.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$0.30 ؋19.69

396.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.35

$0.39 ؋25.17

366.67%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.87 ؋121

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ؋49.09

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 ؋68.0

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.72

$2.42 ؋157

885.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £9.98

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.31

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.34

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$0.13 ؋8.66

3076.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

$8.09 ؋526

3187.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.44

$2.10 ؋136

184.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.52

$0.45 ؋29.24

653.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

$2.63 ؋171

2050.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$1.11 ؋71.9

99.10%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

$8,558 ؋556.4K

347.15%

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

$41.0K £30.5K

$34.0K ؋2.2M

20.81%

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

$372 £277

$42.10 ؋2,737

784.47%

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

$18.66 £13.87

$12.70 ؋826

46.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.12

$95.2 ؋6,191

-57.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.63

$11.29 ؋734

396.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.71

$4.11 ؋267

316.06%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.34

$2.33 ؋151

670.39%

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

$2,946 £2,189

$20.27 ؋1,318

14431.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.4K

$2,131 ؋138.6K

2134.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.4

$10.78 ؋701

978.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.28

$15.98 ؋1,039

256.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.1

$57.3 ؋3,728

123.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £114

$25.02 ؋1,627

515.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,182

$125 ؋8,139

2244.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,678

$107 ؋6,939

2016.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,901

$219 ؋14.2K

2297.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,868

$116 ؋7,519

3237.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$678 ؋44.1K

2434.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,152

$356 ؋23.1K

2225.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,177

$344 ؋22.4K

1532.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Kabul: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Kabul

$107 21.9% 95.3% $2.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Kabul

$150 30.7% 65.2% $282

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Kabul

$52 10.7% 86.8% $343

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Kabul

$101 20.7% 72% $259

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Kabul

$13 2.7% 95.8% $292

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Kabul

$49 10.1% 76% $156

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Kabul

$16 3.3% 82.6% $76

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,935 in London and $125 in Kabul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays about 16 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $109 in London vs $8 in Kabul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $101 per month, with Kabul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇦🇫 Kabul

🕒 Local time

03:37 3:37 AM

08:07 8:07 AM

4 h 30 min ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

3,289,000 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AFN, USD, EUR 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 = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 65.02 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 72.99 AFN (100 AFN = 1.37 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Kabul 5,710 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Kabul

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 Kabul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $4,048 in London and $488 in Kabul, so Kabul is about 88% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in London is about 16 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 $125 in Kabul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kabul runs roughly 97% less than in London. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $2,946 in London versus $20 in Kabul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $488 in Kabul versus $4,048 in London, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kabul but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Kabul 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 Kabul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 88% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.