Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Kos

For one person, living is cheaper in Kos: $1,525 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $30,300 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
73

Cost of Living Index in Kos
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Kos Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Kos

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,525

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Kos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,048 in London versus $1,525 in Kos.

London $4,048
Kos $1,525

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,903 in London versus $2,288 in Kos.

London $5,903
Kos $2,288

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,758 in London versus $3,052 in Kos.

London $7,758
Kos $3,052

Living in London is roughly 166% more expensive than in Kos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: London 199% above, Kos 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.59

$14.26 €12.70

84.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £80.7

$68.2 €60.7

59.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £7.96

$11.36 €10.11

-5.72%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.15

$4.29 €3.82

30.30%

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

$3.00 £2.23

$3.13 €2.79

-4.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.65

$1.10 €0.98

101.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.17

$4.36 €3.89

121.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.14

$6.55 €5.83

26.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$2.39 €2.13

-17.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.55

$1.57 €1.40

33.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$2.72 €2.42

-4.78%

Eggs

$5.37 £3.99

$4.47 €3.98

20.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.75

$13.27 €11.82

-1.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.20

$10.01 €8.91

10.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.17

$15.13 €13.47

17.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.36

$2.23 €1.98

42.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$2.09 €1.86

-33.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.10

$1.28 €1.14

120.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.50

$2.02 €1.80

66.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.26

$1.14 €1.02

49.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$1.15 €1.02

54.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.06 €0.95

40.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.35

$0.85 €0.76

114.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.72

$5.28 €4.70

351.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £9.98

$6.58 €5.86

104.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.31

$1.99 €1.77

56.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.34

$2.56 €2.28

75.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$1.74 €1.55

137.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

$49.95 €44.48

432.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.44

$4.54 €4.04

31.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.52

$1.00 €0.89

239.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

$16.59 €14.77

240.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$2.04 €1.82

8.33%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

$27.4K €24.4K

39.66%

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

$41.0K £30.5K

$25.5K €22.7K

61.03%

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

$372 £277

$205 €183

81.52%

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

$18.66 £13.87

$23.29 €20.74

-19.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.12

$34.79 €30.98

16.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.63

$53.2 €47.36

5.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.71

$20.90 €18.61

-18.18%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.34

$9.03 €8.04

98.78%

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

$2,946 £2,189

$417 €371

606.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.4K

$9,127 €8,127

421.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.4

$89.2 €79.4

30.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.28

$39.82 €35.45

42.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.1

$95.2 €84.7

34.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £114

$125 €112

22.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,182

$614 €547

378.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,678

$424 €377

432.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,901

$732 €652

616.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,868

$587 €523

557.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$2,468 €2,197

596.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,152

$2,413 €2,148

243.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,177

$904 €805

521.77%

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 Kos: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Kos

$424 27.8% 81.2% $1.8K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Kos

$263 17.3% 39% $168

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Kos

$251 16.5% 36.4% $144

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Kos

$291 19.1% 19.2% $69

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Kos

$66 4.4% 78.2% $239

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Kos

$157 10.3% 23.2% $48

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Kos

$71 4.7% 22.5% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,935 in London and $614 in Kos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays about 6.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $109 in London vs $68 in Kos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $291 per month, with Kos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇬🇷 Kos

🕒 Local time

06:18 6:18 AM

08:18 8:18 AM

2 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

30,947

💱 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 = 0.834 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

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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

London
Kos

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 Kos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kos wins on cost – living expenses run 62% lower than in London. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Kos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in London is about 6.2 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 $614 in Kos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kos – a meal for two runs $68 versus $109 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $4,048 per month in London versus $1,525 in Kos – Kos is about 62% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Kos is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Kos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.