Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Plovdiv

For one person, living is cheaper in Plovdiv: $1,234 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $33,800 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Plovdiv
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Plovdiv Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Plovdiv

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,234

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Plovdiv

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

A single person spends $4,048 per month in London vs $1,234 in Plovdiv, rent included.

London $4,048
Plovdiv $1,234

A couple spends around $5,903 per month in London vs $1,888 in Plovdiv, rent included.

London $5,903
Plovdiv $1,888

A family of three spends $7,758 per month in London vs $2,542 in Plovdiv, rent included.

London $7,758
Plovdiv $2,542

London costs about 228% more than Plovdiv, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

London sits 199% above the global median, while Plovdiv is 9% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.59

$9.92 BGN 17.26

165.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £80.7

$46.76 BGN 81.4

132.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £7.96

$9.53 BGN 16.58

12.38%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.15

$2.88 BGN 5.02

94.10%

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

$3.00 £2.23

$1.91 BGN 3.32

57.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.65

$1.55 BGN 2.70

43.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.17

$2.64 BGN 4.59

265.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.14

$4.58 BGN 7.98

80.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$1.84 BGN 3.20

7.07%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.55

$1.17 BGN 2.04

78.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$2.26 BGN 3.93

14.60%

Eggs

$5.37 £3.99

$3.57 BGN 6.21

50.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.75

$11.62 BGN 20.22

12.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.20

$8.73 BGN 15.18

26.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.18

$14.34 BGN 24.95

23.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.36

$1.65 BGN 2.88

92.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.81 BGN 3.14

-23.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.10

$1.92 BGN 3.34

46.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.50

$2.70 BGN 4.69

24.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.26

$1.09 BGN 1.89

55.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$1.02 BGN 1.77

74.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.24 BGN 2.17

20.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.35

$0.78 BGN 1.36

133.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.73

$4.08 BGN 7.10

484.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £9.99

$6.17 BGN 10.74

117.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.31

$1.12 BGN 1.95

177.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.34

$1.94 BGN 3.37

131.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$0.55 BGN 0.95

650.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

$29.00 BGN 50.5

817.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.45

$1.59 BGN 2.76

276.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.52

$0.82 BGN 1.43

313.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

$10.87 BGN 18.91

420.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$1.75 BGN 3.05

26.29%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

$30.5K BGN 53.1K

25.37%

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

$41.0K £30.5K

$24.8K BGN 43.2K

65.33%

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

$372 £277

$111 BGN 194

234.56%

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

$18.66 £13.87

$18.88 BGN 32.85

-1.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.13

$15.50 BGN 26.96

161.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.63

$42.89 BGN 74.6

30.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.71

$20.20 BGN 35.15

-15.35%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.34

$8.91 BGN 15.50

101.46%

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

$2,946 £2,189

$590 BGN 1,026

399.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.4K

$11.0K BGN 19.2K

331.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.4

$67.4 BGN 117

72.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.29

$41.32 BGN 71.9

37.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.1

$97.2 BGN 169

31.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £114

$105 BGN 184

45.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,182

$550 BGN 957

433.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,678

$415 BGN 722

444.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,902

$862 BGN 1,501

508.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,868

$653 BGN 1,137

490.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$2,270 BGN 3,950

656.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,153

$1,562 BGN 2,718

429.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,177

$1,119 BGN 1,947

402.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

3.1

54.19%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Plovdiv: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Plovdiv

$415 33.6% 81.6% $1.8K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Plovdiv

$146 11.8% 66.2% $286

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Plovdiv

$179 14.5% 54.8% $217

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Plovdiv

$257 20.8% 28.7% $104

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Plovdiv

$37 3% 87.9% $269

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Plovdiv

$140 11.4% 31.6% $65

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Plovdiv

$61 4.9% 34% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,935 in London versus $550 in Plovdiv. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in London are about 5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London versus $47 in Plovdiv. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $257 – making Plovdiv the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇧🇬 Plovdiv

🕒 Local time

21:14 9:14 PM

23:14 11:14 PM

2 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

368,983

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Plovdiv 2,150 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Plovdiv

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 Plovdiv: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,048 in London, $1,234 in Plovdiv – Plovdiv comes out roughly 70% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,072 per month in London and $1,851 in Plovdiv. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Plovdiv, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $550 there versus $2,935 in London.

Groceries cost about 40% more in London, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London and $47 in Plovdiv. 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 Plovdiv, where all-in costs run around $1,234, than in London at $4,048. In Plovdiv it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Plovdiv costs $1,234 versus $4,048 in London. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Plovdiv. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.