Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Lyon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lyon: $1,999 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $25,000 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
99

Cost of Living Index in Lyon
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Lyon Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Lyon

🇫🇷 France

$1,999

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Lyon

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

A single person spends $4,086 per month in London vs $1,999 in Lyon, rent included.

London $4,086
Lyon $1,999

A couple spends around $5,816 per month in London vs $3,120 in Lyon, rent included.

London $5,816
Lyon $3,120

A family of three spends $7,546 per month in London vs $4,240 in Lyon, rent included.

London $7,546
Lyon $4,240

London costs about 104% more than Lyon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both London and Lyon sit above the global median – London by 205%, Lyon by 49%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$16.87 €15.06

57.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$68.4 €61.0

57.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$13.23 €11.80

-21.47%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$4.09 €3.65

41.56%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$2.79 €2.49

7.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$1.74 €1.56

23.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$7.81 €6.97

19.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$6.00 €5.35

30.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.56 €1.40

14.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$1.89 €1.69

8.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$2.53 €2.26

-8.70%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$4.98 €4.44

1.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$22.71 €20.26

-44.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$12.56 €11.21

-15.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$23.40 €20.88

-26.79%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$2.32 €2.07

30.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.49 €2.23

-43.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$3.50 €3.13

-12.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$3.34 €2.98

1.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$2.57 €2.29

-35.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$2.96 €2.64

-41.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.38 €1.23

2.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.11 €0.99

61.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$14.08 €12.56

64.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$8.09 €7.22

60.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$2.68 €2.39

18.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$3.36 €3.00

31.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$2.32 €2.07

66.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$83.5 €74.5

199.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$8.26 €7.37

-30.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$2.19 €1.95

52.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$42.44 €37.87

36.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$2.22 €1.98

-8.11%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$34.4K €30.7K

9.23%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$34.7K €30.9K

18.00%

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

$376 £284

$271 €242

38.96%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$14.32 €12.78

24.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$30.07 €26.83

33.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$39.48 €35.23

54.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$28.23 €25.19

-25.36%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$14.86 €13.26

20.79%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$636 €567

350.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$11.5K €10.2K

208.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$117 €105

-1.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$43.54 €38.86

24.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$123 €109

3.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$129 €115

23.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$879 €785

224.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$678 €605

239.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$1,778 €1,587

192.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$1,300 €1,160

186.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$6,332 €5,651

200.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$3,977 €3,549

98.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$3,091 €2,758

55.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

3.68

26.36%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Lyon: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Lyon

$678 33.2% 70.6% $1.6K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Lyon

$315 15.4% 27.4% $119

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Lyon

$293 14.3% 26.2% $104

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Lyon

$392 19.2% 12.1% $42

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Lyon

$112 5.5% 61.1% $176

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Lyon

$186 9.1% 9.6% $20

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Lyon

$69 3.4% 28.7% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,853 in London versus $879 in Lyon. 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 56% 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 $108 in London versus $68.0 in Lyon. Groceries tell a different story – $349 in London vs $392 in Lyon – so London wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇫🇷 Lyon

🕒 Local time

06:10 6:10 AM

07:10 7:10 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

522,250

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 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 October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Lyon 740 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Lyon

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 Lyon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,086 in London, $1,999 in Lyon – roughly 104% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,129 per month in London and $2,999 in Lyon. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Interestingly, groceries are about 12% 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 $108 in London and $68.0 in Lyon. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Lyon, where all-in costs run around $1,999, than in London at $4,086. In Lyon 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 $1,999 in Lyon to $4,086 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 Lyon. 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.