Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Roman

For one person, living is cheaper in Roman: $842 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $38,500 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Roman
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Roman Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Roman

🇷🇴 Romania

$842

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Roman

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

A single person spends $4,048 per month in London vs $842 in Roman, rent included.

London $4,048
Roman $842

A couple spends around $5,903 per month in London vs $1,393 in Roman, rent included.

London $5,903
Roman $1,393

A family of three spends $7,758 per month in London vs $1,944 in Roman, rent included.

London $7,758
Roman $1,944

London costs about 381% more than Roman, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

London sits 199% above the global median, while Roman is 38% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.59

$10.46 RON 49.76

152.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £80.7

$33.05 RON 157

228.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £7.96

$7.27 RON 34.57

47.32%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.15

$2.54 RON 12.07

120.08%

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

$3.00 £2.23

$1.35 RON 6.41

122.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.65

$1.04 RON 4.94

113.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.17

$2.14 RON 10.18

350.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.14

$2.18 RON 10.37

278.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$1.18 RON 5.63

66.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.55

$0.66 RON 3.15

216.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$1.43 RON 6.82

81.12%

Eggs

$5.37 £3.99

$2.91 RON 13.85

84.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.75

$7.85 RON 37.35

67.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.20

$5.76 RON 27.40

91.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.18

$8.25 RON 39.25

114.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.36

$1.07 RON 5.07

196.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.49 RON 7.11

-7.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.10

$1.39 RON 6.59

102.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.50

$1.83 RON 8.70

83.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.26

$0.68 RON 3.25

150.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$0.83 RON 3.95

114.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$0.81 RON 3.86

83.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.35

$0.73 RON 3.46

149.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.73

$5.32 RON 25.29

348.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £9.99

$5.38 RON 25.61

149.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.31

$0.96 RON 4.56

223.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.34

$1.17 RON 5.59

283.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$0.74 RON 3.53

458.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

$20.48 RON 97.4

1198.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.45

$0.65 RON 3.11

820.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.52

$0.65 RON 3.08

421.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

$7.36 RON 35.01

668.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$1.82 RON 8.66

21.43%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

$28.3K RON 134.7K

35.18%

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

$41.0K £30.5K

$24.7K RON 117.7K

65.76%

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

$372 £277

$147 RON 700

153.12%

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

$18.66 £13.87

$6.70 RON 31.88

178.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.13

$8.03 RON 38.21

404.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.63

$37.42 RON 178

49.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.71

$17.23 RON 82.0

-0.75%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.34

$6.26 RON 29.76

186.74%

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

$2,946 £2,189

$290 RON 1,378

916.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.4K

$6,433 RON 30.6K

640.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.4

$96.0 RON 456

21.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.29

$25.20 RON 120

125.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.1

$61.6 RON 293

107.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £114

$58.4 RON 278

163.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,182

$213 RON 1,015

1275.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,678

$159 RON 755

1322.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,902

$611 RON 2,908

758.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,868

$459 RON 2,183

740.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$1,818 RON 8,650

845.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,153

$1,519 RON 7,225

444.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,177

$828 RON 3,938

578.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

7.2

-33.61%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Roman: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Roman

$159 18.8% 93% $2.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Roman

$162 19.2% 62.5% $270

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Roman

$161 19.1% 59.4% $235

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Roman

$176 20.8% 51.3% $185

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Roman

$27 3.3% 91% $278

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Roman

$109 12.9% 47% $96

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Roman

$50 5.9% 45.7% $42

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,935 in London versus $213 in Roman. 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 6.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London versus $33 in Roman. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $176 – making Roman the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇷🇴 Roman

🕒 Local time

02:26 2:26 AM

04:26 4:26 AM

2 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

80,328

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.76 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

London Roman 2,020 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Roman

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 Roman: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,048 in London, $842 in Roman – Roman comes out roughly 79% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,072 per month in London and $1,264 in Roman. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Roman, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $213 there versus $2,935 in London.

Groceries cost about 105% more in London, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London and $33 in Roman. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Roman, where all-in costs run around $842, than in London at $4,048. In Roman it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Roman – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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