Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and San José, Uruguay

For one person, living is cheaper in San José: $918 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 San José
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San José Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

San José

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in San José

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

A single person spends $4,048 per month in London vs $918 in San José, rent included.

London $4,048
San José $918

A couple spends around $5,903 per month in London vs $1,456 in San José, rent included.

London $5,903
San José $1,456

A family of three spends $7,758 per month in London vs $1,995 in San José, rent included.

London $7,758
San José $1,995

London costs about 341% more than San José, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.68

$13.30 UYU 535

98.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £81.1

$44.40 UYU 1,786

144.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.00

$13.94 UYU 561

-23.17%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.17

$4.83 UYU 194

15.73%

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

$3.00 £2.24

$2.28 UYU 91.9

31.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.66

$2.27 UYU 91.3

-2.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.20

$2.96 UYU 119

226.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.16

$3.61 UYU 145

128.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.47

$1.00 UYU 40.19

97.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.56

$2.01 UYU 80.8

3.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.94

$1.46 UYU 58.6

77.40%

Eggs

$5.37 £4.01

$2.57 UYU 103

108.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.79

$11.91 UYU 479

10.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.23

$7.35 UYU 296

50.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.23

$11.68 UYU 470

51.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.37

$1.21 UYU 48.70

161.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.51 UYU 60.5

-8.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.11

$1.23 UYU 49.38

129.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.51

$1.53 UYU 61.4

119.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$0.97 UYU 39.14

75.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.23 UYU 49.35

44.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.56 UYU 62.9

-4.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.36

$1.97 UYU 79.2

-7.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.80

$10.18 UYU 409

134.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £10.03

$8.31 UYU 334

61.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.32

$3.03 UYU 122

2.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.35

$3.23 UYU 130

39.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.08

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £199

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.46

$3.54 UYU 142

68.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.53

$3.43 UYU 138

-1.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.21

$9.87 UYU 397

472.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.65

$2.22 UYU 89.4

-0.45%

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

$38.3K £28.6K

$35.4K UYU 1.4M

8.07%

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

$41.0K £30.6K

$39.7K UYU 1.6M

3.45%

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

$372 £278

$115 UYU 4,628

223.59%

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

$18.66 £13.93

$23.51 UYU 946

-20.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.26

$47.19 UYU 1,898

-14.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.82

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.76

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.40

$12.41 UYU 499

44.64%

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

$2,946 £2,199

$498 UYU 20.0K

492.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.5K

$6,594 UYU 265.2K

622.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.8

$89.3 UYU 3,591

30.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.47

$37.39 UYU 1,504

52.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.5

$165 UYU 6,631

-22.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £115

$120 UYU 4,821

28.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,191

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,686

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,919

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,881

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,179

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,196

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

-4.40%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for San José: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

San José

- * 0% 100%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

San José

$186 20.3% 57% $246

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

San José

$246 26.9% 37.8% $149

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

San José

$255 27.8% 29.3% $105

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

San José

$21 * 2.3% 93.2% $285

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

San José

$185 20.2% 9.6% $20

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

San José

$25 * 2.7% 73% $67

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London versus $44 in San José. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $255 – making San José the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇺🇾 San José

🕒 Local time

22:26 10:26 PM

19:26 7:26 PM

3 h behind London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

36,747

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, 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).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 40.22 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 44.95 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London San José 11,020 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

London
San José

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 San José: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,048 in London, $918 in San José – San José comes out roughly 77% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,072 per month in London and $1,376 in San José. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $4,048 in London and $918 in San José. That makes San José about 77% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $2,946 per month in London and $498 in San José. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $4,048 in London and $918 in San José. 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 $918 in San José to $4,048 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.