Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Sharjah

For one person, living is cheaper in Sharjah: $1,840 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $26,500 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
89

Cost of Living Index in Sharjah
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Sharjah Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Sharjah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,840

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Sharjah

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

A single person spends $4,048 per month in London vs $1,840 in Sharjah, rent included.

London $4,048
Sharjah $1,840

A couple spends around $5,903 per month in London vs $2,638 in Sharjah, rent included.

London $5,903
Sharjah $2,638

A family of three spends $7,758 per month in London vs $3,436 in Sharjah, rent included.

London $7,758
Sharjah $3,436

London costs about 120% more than Sharjah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both London and Sharjah sit above the global median – London by 199%, Sharjah by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.68

$6.06 AED 22.25

334.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £81.1

$32.27 AED 119

236.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.00

$8.08 AED 29.66

32.55%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.29 AED 34.11

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.61 AED 35.29

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.17

$3.05 AED 11.21

83.28%

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

$3.00 £2.24

$0.79 AED 2.91

279.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.66

$0.29 AED 1.05

665.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.20

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.16

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.47

$1.58 AED 5.82

24.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.56

$1.19 AED 4.37

75.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.94

$1.75 AED 6.44

48.00%

Eggs

$5.37 £4.01

$3.21 AED 11.80

67.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.79

$8.64 AED 31.72

51.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.23

$6.64 AED 24.38

66.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.23

$11.13 AED 40.89

59.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.37

$2.24 AED 8.24

41.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.72 AED 6.32

-19.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.11

$1.37 AED 5.05

105.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.51

$1.30 AED 4.76

158.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$1.03 AED 3.78

65.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.11 AED 4.06

60.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.43 AED 5.26

4.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.36

$0.60 AED 2.22

203.33%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$15.63 AED 57.4

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.51 AED 9.20

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 AED 9.61

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.80

$6.51 AED 23.89

266.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £10.03

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.32

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.35

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.08

$2.15 AED 7.90

92.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £199

$26.93 AED 98.9

887.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.46

$3.58 AED 13.14

67.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.53

$0.52 AED 1.89

551.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.21

$12.02 AED 44.14

370.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.65

$0.99 AED 3.63

123.23%

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

$38.3K £28.6K

$44.3K AED 162.8K

-13.66%

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

$41.0K £30.6K

$21.4K AED 78.5K

91.93%

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

$372 £278

$210 AED 773

76.98%

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

$18.66 £13.93

$49.49 AED 182

-62.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.26

$96.2 AED 353

-57.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.82

$53.6 AED 197

4.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.76

$21.74 AED 79.8

-21.34%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.40

$13.59 AED 49.92

32.08%

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

$2,946 £2,199

$334 AED 1,225

783.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.5K

$8,389 AED 30.8K

467.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.8

$58.0 AED 213

100.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.47

$77.8 AED 286

-26.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.5

$110 AED 404

16.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £115

$94.3 AED 346

63.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,191

$820 AED 3,013

257.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,686

$902 AED 3,314

150.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,919

$1,847 AED 6,782

184.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,881

$1,558 AED 5,723

147.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$7,317 AED 26.9K

134.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,179

$2,550 AED 9,364

224.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,196

$2,220 AED 8,153

153.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

4.5

6.22%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sharjah: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Sharjah

$902 49.1% 60% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Sharjah

$356 19.4% 17.5% $76

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Sharjah

$114 6.2% 71.3% $282

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Sharjah

$192 10.4% 46.7% $168

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Sharjah

$42 2.3% 86.4% $264

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Sharjah

$153 8.3% 25.3% $52

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Sharjah

$81 4.4% 12.1% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,935 in London versus $820 in Sharjah. 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 2.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London versus $32 in Sharjah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $192 – making Sharjah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇦🇪 Sharjah

🕒 Local time

01:59 1:59 AM

05:59 5:59 AM

4 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

1,400,000

💱 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 7, 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 7, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Sharjah 5,470 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Sharjah

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 Sharjah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,048 in London, $1,840 in Sharjah – Sharjah comes out roughly 55% 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 $2,759 in Sharjah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sharjah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $820 there versus $2,935 in London.

Groceries cost about 88% more in London, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London and $32 in Sharjah. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Sharjah, where all-in costs run around $1,840, than in London at $4,048. In Sharjah it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Sharjah costs $1,840 versus $4,048 in London. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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