Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Kathmandu

For one person, living is cheaper in Kathmandu: $481 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $43,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Kathmandu
Learn more

Kathmandu Living Index

Jump to prices

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Kathmandu

🇳🇵 Nepal

$481

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Kathmandu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $481 in Kathmandu.

London $4,086
Kathmandu $481

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $767 in Kathmandu.

London $5,816
Kathmandu $767

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $1,052 in Kathmandu.

London $7,546
Kathmandu $1,052

Living in London is roughly 749% more expensive than in Kathmandu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 205% above, Kathmandu is 64% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.12

$1.94 NPR 300

1272.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$20.45 NPR 3,166

426.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.86

$7.71 NPR 1,194

34.76%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$1.51 NPR 233

283.44%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$0.49 NPR 76.5

514.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.16 NPR 24.27

1243.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.07

$3.04 NPR 471

207.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$3.27 NPR 507

139.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.76 NPR 118

135.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$0.62 NPR 96.4

232.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$0.85 NPR 131

171.76%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$1.65 NPR 255

206.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$7.15 NPR 1,107

75.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$3.18 NPR 492

235.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.95

$5.93 NPR 917

188.87%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$2.02 NPR 313

50.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.16 NPR 179

21.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$1.43 NPR 222

113.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$0.53 NPR 82.5

537.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$0.38 NPR 59.1

339.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$0.53 NPR 82.6

226.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.45 NPR 69.6

213.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.22 NPR 33.95

713.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$2.48 NPR 385

836.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$7.83 NPR 1,212

65.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.41

$2.29 NPR 355

38.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.34

$3.08 NPR 476

43.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.17 NPR 26.31

2176.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$9.64 NPR 1,493

2493.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$1.84 NPR 285

210.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$1.18 NPR 183

182.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.77

$3.18 NPR 492

1721.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.33 NPR 207

53.38%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$28.7K NPR 4.4M

30.95%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$36.0K NPR 5.6M

13.55%

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

$376 £284

$31.63 NPR 4,896

1089.03%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$3.48 NPR 538

413.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.25

$8.94 NPR 1,385

347.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.23

$21.47 NPR 3,324

184.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$6.71 NPR 1,039

214.01%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$3.00 NPR 465

498.33%

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

$2,865 £2,166

$66.8 NPR 10.3K

4188.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$5,541 NPR 857.7K

537.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$24.59 NPR 3,807

371.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.88

$26.39 NPR 4,085

104.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$63.1 NPR 9,764

100.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$28.31 NPR 4,382

462.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,157

$216 NPR 33.5K

1220.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,740

$101 NPR 15.6K

2182.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,932

$430 NPR 66.5K

1110.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,814

$198 NPR 30.6K

1782.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$2,248 NPR 348.0K

745.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,957

$1,338 NPR 207.2K

488.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,642

$264 NPR 40.9K

1721.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

9.72

-52.16%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Kathmandu: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Kathmandu

$101 21% 95.6% $2.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Kathmandu

$44 9.2% 89.8% $390

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Kathmandu

$81 16.9% 79.6% $316

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Kathmandu

$144 30.1% 58.7% $205

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Kathmandu

$18 3.8% 93.7% $270

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Kathmandu

$64 13.4% 68.8% $141

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Kathmandu

$27 5.7% 71.7% $70

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $216 in Kathmandu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 1722% 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 $20.00 in Kathmandu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $144 per month, with Kathmandu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇳🇵 Kathmandu

🕒 Local time

11:28 11:28 AM

16:13 4:13 PM

4 h 45 min ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

975,000 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Nepalese Rupee NPR रु

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1,000 NPR = 6.46 USD

1,000 NPR = 5.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NPR, 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 = 0.847 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Nepalese Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 155 NPR (1,000 NPR = 6.46 USD). 1 EUR = 173 NPR (1,000 NPR = 5.76 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Kathmandu 7,330 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Kathmandu

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 Kathmandu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kathmandu wins on cost – living expenses run 749% lower than in London. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kathmandu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1722% 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 $216 in Kathmandu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kathmandu – a meal for two runs $20.00 versus $108 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $4,086 per month in London versus $481 in Kathmandu – a 749% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $481 in Kathmandu versus $4,086 in London, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kathmandu but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Kathmandu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kathmandu delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $481 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kathmandu hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Kathmandu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 749% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.