Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Midrand

For one person, living is cheaper in Midrand: $1,085 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $34,800 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Midrand
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Midrand Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Midrand

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,085

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Midrand

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

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $1,085 in Midrand, rent included.

London $3,986
Midrand $1,085

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $1,611 in Midrand, rent included.

London $5,791
Midrand $1,611

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $2,138 in Midrand, rent included.

London $7,595
Midrand $2,138

London costs about 268% more than Midrand, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

London sits 195% above the global median, while Midrand is 20% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$5.84 R 96.2

344.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$29.52 R 486

260.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$2.96 R 48.74

261.82%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$1.83 R 30.09

198.91%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$1.21 R 19.94

145.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.86 R 14.16

155.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.21 R 36.44

313.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$2.36 R 38.89

236.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.28 R 21.12

45.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.16 R 19.10

78.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$1.29 R 21.27

87.60%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$2.71 R 44.72

87.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$8.41 R 139

53.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$5.53 R 91.2

88.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$8.75 R 144

92.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$2.02 R 33.32

53.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.10 R 18.14

27.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.77 R 29.21

74.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.53 R 25.24

113.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.70 R 27.94

-7.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.79 R 29.52

-2.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.23 R 20.22

13.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.26 R 20.77

42.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.24 R 53.4

618.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$5.34 R 87.9

144.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$0.89 R 14.73

256.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$1.17 R 19.34

277.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$1.52 R 25.03

167.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.87 R 14.39

541.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.58 R 9.57

479.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$14.32 R 236

296.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.38 R 22.67

54.35%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$33.5K R 552.3K

13.91%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$30.0K R 493.5K

36.54%

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

$372 £279

$105 R 1,738

252.79%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$23.81 R 392

-25.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$36.03 R 594

12.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$31.53 R 519

90.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$10.92 R 180

94.96%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$7.63 R 126

132.50%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$179 R 2,955

1496.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$5,551 R 91.5K

536.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$56.5 R 931

101.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$46.37 R 764

17.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$85.1 R 1,402

45.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$82.8 R 1,364

96.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$472 R 7,775

507.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$442 R 7,282

405.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$834 R 13.7K

531.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$739 R 12.2K

411.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$886 R 14.6K

1968.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

$655 R 10.8K

1124.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

10.91

-56.55%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Midrand: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Midrand

$442 40.8% 80.2% $1.8K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Midrand

$165 15.2% 61.6% $265

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Midrand

$102 9.4% 73.8% $286

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Midrand

$197 18.2% 43.6% $152

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Midrand

$9.9 * 0.9% 96.5% $276

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Midrand

$122 11.2% 40.6% $83

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Midrand

$47 4.3% 51% $49

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 $472 in Midrand. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in London versus $30.00 in Midrand. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $197 – making Midrand the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 Midrand

🕒 Local time

10:06 10:06 AM

11:06 11:06 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

87,387

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Midrand 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Midrand

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 Midrand: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $1,085 in Midrand – roughly 268% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,979 per month in London and $1,627 in Midrand. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Midrand, 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 $1,085 in Midrand. That's a gap of about 268%.

Kindergarten costs $2,864 per month in London and $179 in Midrand. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Midrand, where all-in costs run around $1,085, than in London at $3,986. In Midrand 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 $1,085 in Midrand to $3,986 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Midrand. 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.