Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Lahore

For one person, living is cheaper in Lahore: $518 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $42,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Lahore
Learn more

Lahore Living Index

Jump to prices

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Lahore

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Lahore

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $518 in Lahore.

London $4,086
Lahore $518

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $789 in Lahore.

London $5,816
Lahore $789

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $1,060 in Lahore.

London $7,546
Lahore $1,060

Living in London is roughly 689% more expensive than in Lahore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 205% above, Lahore is 61% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.12

$2.50 PKR 691

964.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$14.70 PKR 4,068

631.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.86

$5.66 PKR 1,565

83.57%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 PKR 1,024

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.40 PKR 1,495

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$2.65 PKR 734

118.49%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$0.39 PKR 107

671.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.23 PKR 63.5

834.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.07

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.97 PKR 267

84.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$0.78 PKR 216

164.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.23 PKR 341

87.80%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$1.14 PKR 316

342.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$6.18 PKR 1,710

103.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$2.50 PKR 692

326.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.95

$4.84 PKR 1,339

253.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$1.19 PKR 330

154.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.66 PKR 182

113.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$0.91 PKR 251

235.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$0.69 PKR 190

389.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$0.32 PKR 89.5

421.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$0.36 PKR 101

380.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.50 PKR 139

182.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.37 PKR 103

383.78%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.05 PKR 291

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 PKR 180

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 PKR 460

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$2.20 PKR 608

955.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.41

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.34

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.20 PKR 55.5

1835.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$5.52 PKR 1,527

4429.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$0.87 PKR 241

556.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.74 PKR 205

350.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.77

$1.77 PKR 491

3171.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.41 PKR 390

44.68%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$18.4K PKR 5.1M

103.95%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$26.3K PKR 7.3M

55.77%

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

$376 £284

$126 PKR 35.0K

197.68%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$5.49 PKR 1,519

225.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.25

$16.31 PKR 4,514

145.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.23

$23.01 PKR 6,369

165.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$10.89 PKR 3,015

93.48%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$4.43 PKR 1,225

305.19%

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

$2,865 £2,166

$48.29 PKR 13.4K

5833.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$2,004 PKR 554.5K

1663.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$18.05 PKR 4,994

542.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.88

$27.57 PKR 7,629

96.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$73.0 PKR 20.2K

73.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$32.57 PKR 9,015

389.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,157

$165 PKR 45.7K

1628.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,740

$86.9 PKR 24.1K

2547.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,932

$354 PKR 98.0K

1369.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,814

$201 PKR 55.6K

1754.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$789 PKR 218.5K

2308.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,957

$609 PKR 168.5K

1193.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,642

$202 PKR 55.9K

2284.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

14.05

-66.90%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Lahore: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Lahore

$87 16.9% 96.2% $2.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Lahore

$148 28.8% 65.9% $286

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Lahore

$71 13.8% 82% $325

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Lahore

$98 19% 72.1% $252

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Lahore

$11 2.1% 96.2% $277

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Lahore

$68 13.2% 66.9% $137

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Lahore

$32 6.2% 67.2% $65

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $165 in Lahore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 2284% 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 $15.00 in Lahore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $98.0 per month, with Lahore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇵🇰 Lahore

🕒 Local time

08:21 8:21 AM

12:21 12:21 PM

4 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

11,126,285

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, 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 = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Lahore 6,280 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Lahore

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 Lahore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London and Lahore differ by about 689% in total monthly costs ($4,086 vs $518 including rent). Lahore is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 2284% 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 $165 in Lahore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 258% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Lahore – a meal for two runs $15.00 versus $108 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $518 in Lahore versus $4,086 in London, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lahore but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Lahore 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 Lahore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 689% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.