Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Secunda

For one person, living is cheaper in Secunda: $1,056 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $35,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Secunda
Learn more

Secunda Living Index

Jump to prices

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Secunda

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,056

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Secunda

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

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $1,056 in Secunda, rent included.

London $3,986
Secunda $1,056

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $1,618 in Secunda, rent included.

London $5,791
Secunda $1,618

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $2,180 in Secunda, rent included.

London $7,595
Secunda $2,180

London costs about 277% more than Secunda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

London sits 195% above the global median, while Secunda is 22% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$5.88 R 96.8

340.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$30.10 R 496

253.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$5.51 R 90.8

94.37%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.19 R 36.07

149.77%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$0.87 R 14.39

241.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.49 R 8.09

348.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$1.05 R 17.30

769.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$1.33 R 21.95

496.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.14 R 18.80

63.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$0.93 R 15.39

122.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$1.82 R 30.01

32.97%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$2.52 R 41.60

101.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$8.19 R 135

57.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$4.98 R 82.1

109.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$7.24 R 119

133.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$1.78 R 29.25

74.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.60 R 26.30

-12.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.78 R 29.33

73.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.54 R 25.43

112.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.07 R 17.70

47.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.22 R 20.12

42.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.21 R 19.98

15.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.32 R 21.82

36.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.27 R 53.8

611.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$4.96 R 81.7

162.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.50 R 24.78

111.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$1.98 R 32.66

123.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$1.49 R 24.51

173.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.29 R 4.71

1824.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.80 R 13.12

320.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$14.38 R 237

294.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.55 R 25.49

37.42%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$35.4K R 582.9K

7.94%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$33.5K R 551.6K

22.16%

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

$372 £279

$153 R 2,518

143.48%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$36.64 R 604

-51.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$37.15 R 612

8.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$32.57 R 537

84.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$10.79 R 178

97.31%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$7.09 R 117

150.21%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$89.3 R 1,472

3106.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$5,575 R 91.8K

533.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$52.1 R 858

119.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$31.44 R 518

72.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$91.5 R 1,507

35.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$82.6 R 1,360

97.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$394 R 6,486

628.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$363 R 5,984

514.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$743 R 12.2K

608.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$735 R 12.1K

413.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$861 R 14.2K

2030.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

$648 R 10.7K

1137.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

$1,418 R 23.4K

255.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

11.34

-58.20%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Secunda: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Secunda

$363 34.4% 83.7% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Secunda

$227 21.5% 47.3% $204

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Secunda

$103 9.8% 73.4% $284

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Secunda

$190 18% 45.5% $159

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Secunda

$10 * 1% 96.4% $275

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Secunda

$116 11% 43.5% $89

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Secunda

$47 4.4% 51% $49

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,869 in London versus $394 in Secunda. 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 255% 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 $107 in London versus $30.00 in Secunda. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $190 – making Secunda the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 Secunda

🕒 Local time

10:54 10:54 AM

11:54 11:54 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

40,198

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Secunda 9,140 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Secunda

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 Secunda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $1,056 in Secunda – roughly 277% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,979 per month in London and $1,585 in Secunda. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,986 in London and $1,056 in Secunda. That's a gap of about 277%.

Kindergarten costs $2,864 per month in London and $89.3 in Secunda. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Secunda, where all-in costs run around $1,056, than in London at $3,986. In Secunda 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 $1,056 in Secunda to $3,986 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Secunda. 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.