Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Lubumbashi

For one person, living is cheaper in Lubumbashi: $1,228 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $33,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Lubumbashi
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Lubumbashi Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Lubumbashi

🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo

$1,228

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Lubumbashi

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

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $1,228 in Lubumbashi, rent included.

London $3,986
Lubumbashi $1,228

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $2,727 in Lubumbashi, rent included.

London $5,791
Lubumbashi $2,727

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $4,226 in Lubumbashi, rent included.

London $7,595
Lubumbashi $4,226

London costs about 225% more than Lubumbashi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

London sits 195% above the global median, while Lubumbashi is 9% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$9.91 CDF 22.5K

161.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$99.1 CDF 224.6K

7.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$9.92 CDF 22.5K

7.96%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$4.03 CDF 9,131

35.73%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$1.08 CDF 2,458

175.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$1.99 CDF 4,508

358.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$2.54 CDF 5,756

212.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.96 CDF 4,446

-5.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.22 CDF 2,764

69.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$3.18 CDF 7,204

-23.90%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$2.10 CDF 4,761

142.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$14.77 CDF 33.5K

-12.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$7.70 CDF 17.4K

35.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$15.52 CDF 35.2K

8.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$4.96 CDF 11.2K

-37.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$3.07 CDF 6,960

-54.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$4.88 CDF 11.1K

-36.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$2.98 CDF 6,745

9.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$2.56 CDF 5,810

-38.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$2.66 CDF 6,020

-34.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$0.98 CDF 2,220

42.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.22 CDF 2,774

47.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$4.07 CDF 9,227

471.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$12.73 CDF 28.8K

2.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.15 CDF 2,600

175.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$2.08 CDF 4,719

112.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$1.01 CDF 2,289

302.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$4.47 CDF 10.1K

24.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$9.87 CDF 22.4K

474.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.48 CDF 3,361

43.92%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$25.1K CDF 56.8M

52.42%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$30.6K CDF 69.3M

33.75%

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

$372 £279

$99.9 CDF 226.3K

272.61%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$20.13 CDF 45.6K

-11.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$60.3 CDF 136.6K

-33.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$73.6 CDF 166.8K

-18.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

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

$2,864 £2,149

$132 CDF 297.9K

2077.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$4,456 CDF 10.1M

692.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$22.35 CDF 50.6K

410.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$22.55 CDF 51.1K

140.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$59.1 CDF 133.9K

110.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$86.5 CDF 196.0K

88.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$862 CDF 2.0M

232.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$376 CDF 851.7K

493.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$2,522 CDF 5.7M

108.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$2,051 CDF 4.6M

84.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$1,012 CDF 2.3M

1711.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

$499 CDF 1.1M

1508.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

$1,064 CDF 2.4M

373.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lubumbashi: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Lubumbashi

$376 30.6% 83.2% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Lubumbashi

$180 14.7% 58.1% $250

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Lubumbashi

$177 * 14.4% 54.4% $211

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Lubumbashi

$327 26.6% 6.4% $23

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Lubumbashi

$8.5 * 0.7% 97% $277

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Lubumbashi

$86 7% 58.2% $119

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Lubumbashi

$74 * 6% 22.9% $22

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,869 in London versus $862 in Lubumbashi. 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 373% 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 $99.0 in Lubumbashi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $327 – making Lubumbashi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇨🇩 Lubumbashi

🕒 Local time

08:36 8:36 AM

09:36 9:36 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

1,139,064

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Congolese Franc CDF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

10,000 CDF = 4.41 USD

10,000 CDF = 3.93 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CDF, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Congolese Franc exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 2,265 CDF (10,000 CDF = 4.41 USD). 1 EUR = 2,547 CDF (10,000 CDF = 3.93 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Lubumbashi 7,510 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Lubumbashi

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 Lubumbashi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $1,228 in Lubumbashi – roughly 225% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,979 per month in London and $1,842 in Lubumbashi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,986 in London and $1,228 in Lubumbashi. That's a gap of about 225%.

Kindergarten costs $2,864 per month in London and $132 in Lubumbashi. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Lubumbashi, where all-in costs run around $1,228, than in London at $3,986. In Lubumbashi it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. London has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,228 in Lubumbashi to $3,986 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Lubumbashi. 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.