Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Recife

For one person, living is cheaper in Recife: $916 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $37,600 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Recife
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Recife Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Recife

🇧🇷 Brazil

$916

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Recife

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

A single person spends $4,048 per month in London vs $916 in Recife, rent included.

London $4,048
Recife $916

A couple spends around $5,903 per month in London vs $1,519 in Recife, rent included.

London $5,903
Recife $1,519

A family of three spends $7,758 per month in London vs $2,121 in Recife, rent included.

London $7,758
Recife $2,121

London costs about 342% more than Recife, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

London sits 199% above the global median, while Recife is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.59

$5.12 R$28.10

414.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £80.7

$34.34 R$188

216.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £7.96

$8.98 R$49.25

19.27%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.15

$2.33 R$12.77

139.91%

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

$3.00 £2.23

$1.03 R$5.65

191.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.65

$0.59 R$3.21

276.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.17

$1.45 R$7.93

565.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.14

$2.88 R$15.81

186.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$1.28 R$7.04

53.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.55

$1.51 R$8.28

38.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$1.48 R$8.10

75.00%

Eggs

$5.37 £3.99

$1.82 R$9.97

195.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.75

$6.55 R$35.92

100.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.20

$4.20 R$23.03

162.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.17

$7.31 R$40.13

142.54%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.36

$1.31 R$7.21

141.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.24 R$6.79

11.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.10

$0.69 R$3.76

308.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.50

$1.18 R$6.45

184.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.26

$1.30 R$7.14

30.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$1.04 R$5.70

71.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$0.48 R$2.64

210.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.35

$0.79 R$4.31

130.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.72

$1.68 R$9.22

1319.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £9.98

$7.21 R$39.58

86.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.31

$1.08 R$5.91

187.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.34

$1.46 R$8.03

207.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$0.76 R$4.15

443.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

$45.75 R$251

481.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.44

$0.97 R$5.32

516.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.52

$0.60 R$3.30

465.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

$4.78 R$26.23

1083.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$1.18 R$6.49

87.29%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

$21.4K R$117.3K

78.97%

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

$41.0K £30.5K

$31.0K R$170.3K

32.15%

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

$372 £277

$108 R$594

243.70%

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

$18.66 £13.87

$12.52 R$68.7

49.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.12

$15.99 R$87.7

153.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.63

$20.82 R$114

169.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.71

$32.19 R$177

-46.88%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.34

$8.32 R$45.63

115.75%

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

$2,946 £2,189

$257 R$1,407

1048.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.4K

$10.9K R$59.6K

338.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.4

$41.83 R$230

177.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.28

$45.43 R$249

25.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.1

$69.2 R$380

84.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £114

$76.5 R$420

101.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,182

$544 R$2,982

440.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,678

$303 R$1,662

645.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,901

$807 R$4,427

550.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,868

$747 R$4,097

416.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$1,862 R$10.2K

823.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,152

$1,066 R$5,852

676.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,177

$554 R$3,040

914.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

11.75

-59.32%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Recife: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Recife

$303 33.1% 86.6% $2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Recife

$137 14.9% 68.3% $295

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Recife

$115 12.6% 70.9% $280

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Recife

$166 18.2% 53.8% $194

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Recife

$53 5.8% 82.7% $253

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Recife

$105 11.4% 48.8% $100

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Recife

$37 4.1% 59.3% $54

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,935 in London versus $544 in Recife. 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 10 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London versus $34 in Recife. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $166 – making Recife the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇧🇷 Recife

🕒 Local time

02:01 2:01 AM

23:01 11:01 PM

3 h behind London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

1,488,920

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.16 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Recife 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Recife

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 Recife: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,048 in London, $916 in Recife – Recife comes out roughly 77% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,072 per month in London and $1,375 in Recife. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Recife, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $544 there versus $2,935 in London.

Groceries cost about 117% more in London, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London and $34 in Recife. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $4,048 in London and $916 in Recife. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. London has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $916 in Recife to $4,048 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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