Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Motherwell

For one person, living is cheaper in Motherwell: $2,306 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $20,900 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
111

Cost of Living Index in Motherwell
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Motherwell Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Motherwell

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,306

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Motherwell

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

A single person spends $4,048 per month in London vs $2,306 in Motherwell, rent included.

London $4,048
Motherwell $2,306

A couple spends around $5,903 per month in London vs $3,342 in Motherwell, rent included.

London $5,903
Motherwell $3,342

A family of three spends $7,758 per month in London vs $4,377 in Motherwell, rent included.

London $7,758
Motherwell $4,377

London costs about 76% more than Motherwell, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both London and Motherwell sit above the global median – London by 199%, Motherwell by 71%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.68

$19.71 £14.71

33.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £81.1

$66.6 £49.73

62.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.00

$10.52 £7.85

1.81%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.17

$4.83 £3.61

15.73%

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

$3.00 £2.24

$2.36 £1.76

27.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.66

$1.89 £1.41

17.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.20

$5.46 £4.07

76.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.16

$6.81 £5.09

21.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.47

$1.47 £1.10

34.01%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.56

$1.63 £1.22

28.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.94

$2.23 £1.66

16.14%

Eggs

$5.37 £4.01

$4.06 £3.03

32.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.79

$9.25 £6.90

41.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.23

$9.29 £6.93

18.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.23

$17.02 £12.71

4.17%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.37

$2.96 £2.21

7.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.50 £1.12

-8.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.11

$2.80 £2.09

0.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.51

$3.16 £2.36

6.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$2.00 £1.49

-15.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.37 £1.02

29.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.14 £0.85

30.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.36

$1.66 £1.24

9.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.80

$22.09 £16.49

7.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £10.03

$10.53 £7.86

27.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.32

$3.27 £2.44

-4.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.35

$3.34 £2.49

34.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.08

$3.99 £2.98

3.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £199

$98.6 £73.6

169.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.46

$5.85 £4.37

2.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.53

$1.87 £1.40

81.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.21

$23.71 £17.70

138.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.65

$2.19 £1.63

0.91%

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

$38.3K £28.6K

$39.4K £29.4K

-2.90%

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

$41.0K £30.6K

$41.1K £30.6K

-0.08%

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

$372 £278

$236 £176

57.49%

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

$18.66 £13.93

$20.05 £14.96

-6.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.26

$43.38 £32.38

-6.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.82

$44.11 £32.93

27.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.76

$6.62 £4.94

158.31%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.40

$12.09 £9.03

48.47%

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

$2,946 £2,199

$1,128 £842

161.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.5K

$22.8K £17.0K

108.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.8

$120 £89.9

-3.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.47

$47.45 £35.42

19.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.5

$103 £77.2

23.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £115

$92.1 £68.7

67.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,191

$1,268 £947

131.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,686

$1,030 £769

119.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,919

$2,090 £1,560

151.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,881

$1,620 £1,209

138.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$5,310 £3,964

223.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,179

$3,380 £2,523

144.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,196

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

-4.40%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Motherwell: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Motherwell

$1K 44.7% 54.4% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Motherwell

$300 13% 30.5% $132

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Motherwell

$305 13.2% 22.9% $91

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Motherwell

$310 13.4% 14.1% $51

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Motherwell

$130 5.6% 57.5% $176

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Motherwell

$164 7.1% 20.1% $41

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Motherwell

$68 3% 25.7% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,935 in London versus $1,268 in Motherwell. 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 $109 in London versus $67 in Motherwell. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $310 – making Motherwell the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇬🇧 Motherwell

🕒 Local time

23:01 11:01 PM

Same time as London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

32,120

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Motherwell 540 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Motherwell

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 Motherwell: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,048 in London, $2,306 in Motherwell – Motherwell comes out roughly 43% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,072 per month in London and $3,459 in Motherwell. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Motherwell, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,268 there versus $2,935 in London.

Groceries cost about 16% more in London, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London and $67 in Motherwell. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Families tend to lean toward Motherwell – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Motherwell is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 43% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.