Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Longyearbyen

For one person, living is cheaper in Longyearbyen: $2,733 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in London outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
134

Cost of Living Index in Longyearbyen
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Longyearbyen Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Longyearbyen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,733

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Longyearbyen

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

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $2,733 in Longyearbyen, rent included.

London $3,986
Longyearbyen $2,733

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $4,180 in Longyearbyen, rent included.

London $5,791
Longyearbyen $4,180

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $5,627 in Longyearbyen, rent included.

London $7,595
Longyearbyen $5,627

London costs about 46% more than Longyearbyen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both London and Longyearbyen sit above the global median – London by 195%, Longyearbyen by 102%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$20.05 NOK 189

29.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$106 NOK 996

0.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$18.00 NOK 169

-40.50%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$6.85 NOK 64.5

-20.15%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$6.11 NOK 57.5

-51.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$5.58 NOK 52.5

-60.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$7.43 NOK 70.0

22.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$8.96 NOK 84.3

-11.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$2.40 NOK 22.57

-22.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$3.71 NOK 34.95

-44.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$4.33 NOK 40.78

-44.11%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$4.97 NOK 46.82

2.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$14.26 NOK 134

-9.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$20.30 NOK 191

-48.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$31.52 NOK 297

-46.48%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$6.42 NOK 60.5

-51.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$2.55 NOK 24.03

-45.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$6.85 NOK 64.5

-55.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$6.66 NOK 62.7

-50.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$5.49 NOK 51.7

-71.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$4.53 NOK 42.66

-61.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$4.51 NOK 42.50

-68.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$3.53 NOK 33.23

-49.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$17.34 NOK 163

34.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$14.45 NOK 136

-9.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$3.54 NOK 33.31

-10.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$4.24 NOK 39.93

4.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$5.27 NOK 49.65

-22.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

$86.2 NOK 811

186.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$9.06 NOK 85.3

-38.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$1.80 NOK 16.93

86.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.57

$73.7 NOK 694

-22.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$2.13 NOK 20.05

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$50.3K NOK 473.1K

-24.02%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$41.3K NOK 388.9K

-1.01%

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

$372 £279

$242 NOK 2,274

54.07%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$32.99 NOK 311

-45.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$54.1 NOK 509

-25.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$50.5 NOK 475

18.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$36.19 NOK 341

-41.17%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$14.85 NOK 140

19.46%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$200 NOK 1,887

1328.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$14.2K NOK 133.8K

148.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$104 NOK 981

9.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$56.3 NOK 530

-3.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$125 NOK 1,179

-0.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$154 NOK 1,447

6.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$1,104 NOK 10.4K

159.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$1,017 NOK 9,569

119.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,950

$1,983 NOK 18.7K

165.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,834

$1,698 NOK 16.0K

122.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$6,197 NOK 58.3K

195.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,019

$4,017 NOK 37.8K

99.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,778

$2,931 NOK 27.6K

71.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

4.94

-4.05%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Longyearbyen: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Longyearbyen

$1K 37.2% 54.5% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Longyearbyen

$329 12% 23.6% $102

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Longyearbyen

$398 14.6% 2.8% $11

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Longyearbyen

$586 21.5% 67.8% $237

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Longyearbyen

$125 4.6% 56.1% $160

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Longyearbyen

$198 7.2% 3.5% $7.3

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Longyearbyen

$80 2.9% 16% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,869 in London versus $1,104 in Longyearbyen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 72% higher in London, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in London versus $106 in Longyearbyen. Groceries tell a different story – $349 in London vs $586 in Longyearbyen – so London wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇳🇴 Longyearbyen

🕒 Local time

19:12 7:12 PM

20:12 8:12 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

2,400

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Longyearbyen 3,040 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Longyearbyen

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 Longyearbyen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $2,733 in Longyearbyen – roughly 46% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,979 per month in London and $4,100 in Longyearbyen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Longyearbyen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 68% cheaper in London – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in London and $106 in Longyearbyen. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$2,500 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $3,986 in London and $2,733 in Longyearbyen. You'll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. London has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $2,733 in Longyearbyen to $3,986 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Longyearbyen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.