Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Pretoria

For one person, living is cheaper in Pretoria: $1,337 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $33,000 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
64

Cost of Living Index in Pretoria
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Pretoria Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Pretoria

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,337

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Pretoria

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

A single person spends $4,086 per month in London vs $1,337 in Pretoria, rent included.

London $4,086
Pretoria $1,337

A couple spends around $5,816 per month in London vs $2,001 in Pretoria, rent included.

London $5,816
Pretoria $2,001

A family of three spends $7,546 per month in London vs $2,664 in Pretoria, rent included.

London $7,546
Pretoria $2,664

London costs about 205% more than Pretoria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both London and Pretoria sit above the global median – London by 205%, Pretoria by 0%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$9.12 R 150

191.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$36.06 R 595

198.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$5.28 R 87.1

96.78%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$2.19 R 36.11

164.38%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$1.09 R 17.97

176.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.89 R 14.64

141.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$2.59 R 42.67

261.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$3.22 R 53.1

143.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.16 R 19.14

54.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$1.08 R 17.78

90.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.81 R 29.83

27.62%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$2.45 R 40.35

106.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$8.20 R 135

53.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$4.97 R 82.0

114.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$7.08 R 117

141.95%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$1.73 R 28.59

75.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.65 R 27.23

-14.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$1.77 R 29.16

72.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.61 R 26.62

109.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.10 R 18.16

51.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.16 R 19.15

49.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.22 R 20.05

15.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.28 R 21.11

39.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$3.21 R 52.9

623.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$5.17 R 85.4

151.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.53 R 25.17

107.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$1.97 R 32.54

123.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$4.72 R 77.8

-18.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$180 R 2,961

39.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$0.31 R 5.16

1741.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.77 R 12.66

332.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$14.46 R 239

300.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.49 R 24.62

36.91%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$35.7K R 588.2K

5.33%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$33.2K R 547.3K

23.28%

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

$376 £284

$152 R 2,515

146.70%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$36.42 R 601

-50.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$36.56 R 603

9.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$31.39 R 518

94.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$10.30 R 170

104.56%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$7.03 R 116

155.33%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$256 R 4,219

1020.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$7,665 R 126.5K

361.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$53.4 R 880

117.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$31.55 R 521

71.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$91.6 R 1,511

38.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$83.1 R 1,370

91.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$453 R 7,475

529.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$410 R 6,772

460.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$950 R 15.7K

447.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$756 R 12.5K

392.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$868 R 14.3K

2088.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$692 R 11.4K

1039.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$1,385 R 22.9K

247.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

11.34

-58.99%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Pretoria: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Pretoria

$410 30.8% 82.2% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Pretoria

$225 16.9% 48.1% $209

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Pretoria

$142 10.7% 64.1% $254

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Pretoria

$192 14.4% 45.2% $158

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Pretoria

$203 15.2% 29.7% $85

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Pretoria

$117 8.8% 43.1% $88

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Pretoria

$45 3.4% 53.2% $52

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,853 in London versus $453 in Pretoria. 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 248% 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 $108 in London versus $36.00 in Pretoria. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $192 – making Pretoria the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 Pretoria

🕒 Local time

08:32 8:32 AM

09:32 9:32 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

741,651 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Pretoria 9,030 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Pretoria

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 Pretoria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,086 in London, $1,337 in Pretoria – roughly 205% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,129 per month in London and $2,006 in Pretoria. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Pretoria, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 82% more in London, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in London and $36.00 in Pretoria. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Pretoria, where all-in costs run around $1,337, than in London at $4,086. In Pretoria 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 $1,337 in Pretoria to $4,086 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Pretoria. 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.