Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Ras al-Khaimah

For one person, living is cheaper in Ras al-Khaimah: $1,827 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $26,700 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
87

Cost of Living Index in Ras al-Khaimah
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Ras al-Khaimah Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Ras al-Khaimah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,827

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Ras al-Khaimah

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 Ras al-Khaimah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $4,048 per month in London vs $1,827 in Ras al-Khaimah, rent included.

London $4,048
Ras al-Khaimah $1,827

A couple spends around $5,903 per month in London vs $2,809 in Ras al-Khaimah, rent included.

London $5,903
Ras al-Khaimah $2,809

A family of three spends $7,758 per month in London vs $3,791 in Ras al-Khaimah, rent included.

London $7,758
Ras al-Khaimah $3,791

London costs about 122% more than Ras al-Khaimah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both London and Ras al-Khaimah sit above the global median – London by 199%, Ras al-Khaimah by 35%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.68

$13.46 AED 49.45

95.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £81.1

$41.42 AED 152

162.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.00

$7.76 AED 28.50

38.02%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.17

$5.55 AED 20.38

0.72%

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

$3.00 £2.24

$1.15 AED 4.22

160.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.66

$0.44 AED 1.61

404.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.20

$10.10 AED 37.10

-4.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.16

$9.57 AED 35.16

-13.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.47

$1.70 AED 6.25

15.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.56

$2.05 AED 7.53

1.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.94

$1.93 AED 7.10

34.20%

Eggs

$5.37 £4.01

$2.33 AED 8.54

130.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.79

$12.49 AED 45.88

5.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.23

$9.52 AED 34.97

15.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.23

$15.31 AED 56.2

15.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.37

$2.00 AED 7.34

58.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.65 AED 6.07

-16.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.11

$1.50 AED 5.50

88.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.51

$1.31 AED 4.80

156.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$0.90 AED 3.32

88.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.33

$0.94 AED 3.46

89.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.79 AED 6.59

-16.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.36

$0.46 AED 1.70

295.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.80

$7.00 AED 25.71

240.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £10.03

$13.55 AED 49.75

-0.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.32

$2.65 AED 9.72

17.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.35

$2.96 AED 10.88

51.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.08

$2.23 AED 8.19

85.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £199

$129 AED 474

105.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.46

$1.62 AED 5.96

269.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.53

$0.49 AED 1.82

591.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.21

$8.02 AED 29.47

605.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.65

$0.86 AED 3.14

156.98%

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

$38.3K £28.6K

$26.1K AED 96.0K

46.44%

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

$41.0K £30.6K

$21.5K AED 78.8K

91.23%

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

$372 £278

$125 AED 461

196.89%

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

$18.66 £13.93

$38.85 AED 143

-51.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.26

$76.9 AED 282

-47.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.82

$56.0 AED 206

0.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.76

$41.52 AED 153

-58.82%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.40

$13.18 AED 48.42

36.19%

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

$2,946 £2,199

$335 AED 1,229

780.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.5K

$8,910 AED 32.7K

434.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.8

$81.5 AED 299

42.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.47

$53.1 AED 195

7.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.5

$118 AED 434

8.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £115

$115 AED 421

34.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,191

$695 AED 2,554

322.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,686

$640 AED 2,352

252.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,919

$1,520 AED 5,581

245.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,881

$1,258 AED 4,621

206.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$6,452 AED 23.7K

166.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,179

$3,170 AED 11.6K

161.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,196

$1,600 AED 5,878

251.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

4.92

-2.85%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Ras al-Khaimah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Ras al-Khaimah

$641 35.1% 71.6% $1.6K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Ras al-Khaimah

$241 13.2% 44.1% $190

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Ras al-Khaimah

$274 15% 30.9% $122

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Ras al-Khaimah

$282 15.4% 21.8% $79

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Ras al-Khaimah

$142 7.8% 53.4% $163

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Ras al-Khaimah

$165 9.1% 19.3% $39

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Ras al-Khaimah

$82 4.5% 10.4% $9.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,935 in London versus $695 in Ras al-Khaimah. 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 3.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London versus $41 in Ras al-Khaimah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $282 – making Ras al-Khaimah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇦🇪 Ras al-Khaimah

🕒 Local time

19:34 7:34 PM

23:34 11:34 PM

4 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

241,000

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.244 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.1 AED (1 AED = 0.244 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Ras al-Khaimah 5,470 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Ras al-Khaimah

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 Ras al-Khaimah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,048 in London, $1,827 in Ras al-Khaimah – Ras al-Khaimah comes out roughly 55% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,072 per month in London and $2,740 in Ras al-Khaimah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ras al-Khaimah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $695 there versus $2,935 in London.

Groceries cost about 28% more in London, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London and $41 in Ras al-Khaimah. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Ras al-Khaimah, where all-in costs run around $1,827, than in London at $4,048. In Ras al-Khaimah it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Ras al-Khaimah has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,827 in Ras al-Khaimah to $4,048 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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