Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Ndola

For one person, living is cheaper in Ndola: $726 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $39,100 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Ndola
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Ndola Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Ndola

🇿🇲 Zambia

$726

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Ndola

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

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $726 in Ndola, rent included.

London $3,986
Ndola $726

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $1,738 in Ndola, rent included.

London $5,791
Ndola $1,738

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $2,750 in Ndola, rent included.

London $7,595
Ndola $2,750

London costs about 449% more than Ndola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

London sits 195% above the global median, while Ndola is 46% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$5.52 ZMW 110

369.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$30.75 ZMW 612

246.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$4.94 ZMW 98.2

116.80%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.75 ZMW 54.7

98.91%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$0.52 ZMW 10.38

471.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.26 ZMW 5.20

746.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$1.28 ZMW 25.38

613.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$2.22 ZMW 44.18

257.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.60 ZMW 31.86

16.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.13 ZMW 22.44

83.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$2.01 ZMW 40.08

20.40%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$1.62 ZMW 32.27

214.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$10.37 ZMW 206

24.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$6.48 ZMW 129

60.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$6.45 ZMW 128

161.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$1.55 ZMW 30.81

100.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$2.38 ZMW 47.28

-41.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$3.70 ZMW 73.6

-16.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.50 ZMW 29.93

118.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$2.59 ZMW 51.6

-39.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.88 ZMW 37.49

-7.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.12 ZMW 22.20

25.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.62 ZMW 12.35

190.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.08 ZMW 61.3

655.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$9.98 ZMW 198

30.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.42 ZMW 28.17

123.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$2.27 ZMW 45.20

94.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$0.73 ZMW 14.59

457.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$2.60 ZMW 51.6

114.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$1.47 ZMW 29.15

128.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$5.13 ZMW 102

1006.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.34 ZMW 26.57

58.96%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$7,515 ZMW 149.5K

408.14%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$27.1K ZMW 538.2K

51.14%

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

$372 £279

$81.5 ZMW 1,622

356.47%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$10.36 ZMW 206

72.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$55.4 ZMW 1,102

-27.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$6.10 ZMW 121

190.82%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$138 ZMW 2,743

1977.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$16.4K ZMW 326.7K

115.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$23.72 ZMW 472

380.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$15.32 ZMW 305

254.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$45.00 ZMW 895

176.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$72.1 ZMW 1,434

126.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$176 ZMW 3,508

1526.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$153 ZMW 3,050

1356.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$384 ZMW 7,630

1272.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$1,503 ZMW 29.9K

151.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

$602 ZMW 12.0K

737.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

-83.66%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Ndola: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Ndola

$153 21.1% 93.1% $2.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Ndola

$147 20.3% 65.8% $283

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Ndola

$106 14.6% 72.7% $282

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Ndola

$224 30.9% 35.9% $125

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Ndola

$13 * 1.8% 95.5% $273

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Ndola

$70 9.7% 65.7% $135

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Ndola

$12 * 1.7% 87.2% $83

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 $176 in Ndola. 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 737% 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 $31.00 in Ndola. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $224 – making Ndola the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇲 Ndola

🕒 Local time

08:36 8:36 AM

09:36 9:36 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

455,194

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZMW, 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).

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Ndola 7,690 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Ndola

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 Ndola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $726 in Ndola – roughly 449% 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 $1,089 in Ndola. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ndola, 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 $726 in Ndola. That's a gap of about 449%.

Kindergarten costs $2,864 per month in London and $138 in Ndola. 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 Ndola, where all-in costs run around $726, than in London at $3,986. In Ndola 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 $726 in Ndola to $3,986 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Ndola. 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.