Last update: Oct 2026
Cost of Living Comparison Between London and the Maldives
For one person, living is cheaper in the Maldives: $1,501 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $31,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.
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London Living Index196Cost of Living Index in LondonLearn more -
Maldives Living Index72Cost of Living Index in the MaldivesLearn more
😐 Solo nomad: London is 101.7% more expensive than the Maldives without rent, and 172.2% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: London is 105.2% more expensive than the Maldives without rent, and 130% more expensive with rent.
🍽 Eating Out
London
Maldives
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$26.62 £20.11
$6.54 MVR 101
307.03%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$108 £81.3
$49.62 MVR 765
116.83%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.39 £7.85
$10.00 MVR 154
3.90%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$4.97 MVR 76.6
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$9.82 MVR 151
-
Cappuccino
$5.79 £4.38
$3.27 MVR 50.4
77.06%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.01 £2.27
$1.51 MVR 23.32
99.34%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.15 £1.63
$0.31 MVR 4.81
593.55%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$9.35 £7.06
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Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$7.84 £5.93
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🛒 Groceries & Markets
London
Maldives
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.79 £1.35
$1.88 MVR 29.01
-4.79%
White Bread (500g)
$2.06 £1.56
$1.56 MVR 24.10
32.05%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.31 £1.74
$1.04 MVR 16.04
122.12%
Eggs
$5.05 £3.82
$1.75 MVR 27.04
188.57%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$12.57 £9.50
$6.18 MVR 95.4
103.40%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.66 £8.05
$6.75 MVR 104
57.93%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.13 £12.94
$10.03 MVR 155
70.79%
Apples (1kg)
$3.03 £2.29
$3.98 MVR 61.3
-23.87%
Banana (1kg)
$1.41 £1.07
$2.99 MVR 46.12
-52.84%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.05 £2.31
$3.88 MVR 59.8
-21.39%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.38 £2.56
$2.56 MVR 39.48
32.03%
Potato (1kg)
$1.67 £1.26
$1.75 MVR 26.93
-4.57%
Onion (1kg)
$1.73 £1.31
$1.75 MVR 26.99
-1.14%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.41 £1.07
$2.23 MVR 34.38
-36.77%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.79 £1.35
$0.60 MVR 9.25
198.33%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
-
$11.14 MVR 172
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$2.53 MVR 39.01
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$4.61 MVR 71.1
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.22 £17.55
$15.06 MVR 232
54.18%
Wine (Bottle)
$12.99 £9.82
-
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Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.18 £2.40
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.41 £3.33
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🚌 Getting Around
London
Maldives
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.87 £2.93
$0.68 MVR 10.51
469.12%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$250 £189
$28.89 MVR 446
765.52%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.71 £4.31
$1.89 MVR 29.15
202.12%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.33 £2.51
$1.95 MVR 30.12
70.77%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$57.9 £43.76
$8.02 MVR 124
622.07%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.04 £1.54
$0.99 MVR 15.19
106.06%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$37.5K £28.4K
$31.7K MVR 489.3K
18.32%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$40.9K £30.9K
$29.9K MVR 460.5K
36.94%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
London
Maldives
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$376 £284
$132 MVR 2,038
184.57%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$17.88 £13.51
$30.76 MVR 474
-41.87%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.01 £30.24
$68.3 MVR 1,052
-41.38%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
London
Maldives
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$61.2 £46.22
$63.4 MVR 978
-3.58%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$21.07 £15.93
$21.44 MVR 331
-1.73%
Cinema Ticket
$17.95 £13.57
$9.03 MVR 139
98.78%
🧸 Childcare & Education
London
Maldives
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$2,865 £2,165
$183 MVR 2,826
1463.68%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$35.3K £26.7K
$2,922 MVR 45.1K
1109.54%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
London
Maldives
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$116 £87.7
$37.67 MVR 581
207.94%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$54.1 £40.87
$50.1 MVR 772
7.97%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$127 £95.7
$86.1 MVR 1,327
47.11%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$159 £120
$51.9 MVR 800
207.07%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
London
Maldives
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,853 £2,156
$911 MVR 14.0K
213.34%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,301 £1,739
$672 MVR 10.4K
242.53%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$5,201 £3,931
$1,927 MVR 29.7K
169.91%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$3,723 £2,813
$1,467 MVR 22.6K
153.82%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$19.0K £14.4K
$2,641 MVR 40.7K
619.88%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$7,881 £5,955
$781 MVR 12.0K
908.80%
💵 Salaries & Financials
London
Maldives
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$4,818 £3,641
$783 MVR 12.1K
515.23%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.65
14
-66.79%
CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.
Last update for London: October 4, 2026
Last update for the Maldives: October 5, 2026
Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Share of the monthly basket for a family of three, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
London $2.3K 56.5%
Maldives $672 45.5% 70.8% $1.6K
Monthly Utilities & Internet
London $434 10.7%
Maldives $231 15.7% 46.7% $203
Eating Out
London $397 9.7%
Maldives $129 8.7% 67.5% $268
Groceries & Markets
London $349 8.6%
Maldives $219 14.8% 37.3% $130
Getting Around
London $288 7.1%
Maldives $43 2.9% 85% $245
Clothing & Footwear
London $205 5%
Maldives $102 6.9% 50.5% $104
Sport & Entertainment
London $97 2.4%
Maldives $81 5.5% 16.1% $16
Accommodation & Living
London $3.7K 49.1%
Maldives $1.5K 44.9% 60.6% $2.3K
Monthly Utilities & Internet
London $452 6%
Maldives $262 8% 42% $190
Eating Out
London $1.3K 17.8%
Maldives $505 15.5% 62.4% $840
Groceries & Markets
London $802 10.6%
Maldives $537 16.4% 33.1% $265
Getting Around
London $584 7.7%
Maldives $88 2.7% 84.9% $496
Clothing & Footwear
London $456 6%
Maldives $226 6.9% 50.5% $230
Sport & Entertainment
London $215 2.8%
Maldives $184 5.6% 14.3% $31
Good to know
🇬🇧 London
🇲🇻 Maldives
Weather
Population
8,908,083 Capital
436,330
Exchange rates and currency converter
On the map
Lowest
Highest
Between locations
- London Maldives 8,520 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
- London
- Maldives
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 other spots: cost of living compared
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$4,086
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$4,086
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