Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Shumen

For one person, living is cheaper in Shumen: $907 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $37,700 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 Shumen
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Shumen Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Shumen

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$907

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Shumen

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

A single person spends $4,048 per month in London vs $907 in Shumen, rent included.

London $4,048
Shumen $907

A couple spends around $5,903 per month in London vs $1,415 in Shumen, rent included.

London $5,903
Shumen $1,415

A family of three spends $7,758 per month in London vs $1,922 in Shumen, rent included.

London $7,758
Shumen $1,922

London costs about 346% more than Shumen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

London sits 199% above the global median, while Shumen is 33% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.59

$9.40 BGN 16.36

180.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £80.7

$33.87 BGN 58.9

220.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £7.96

$8.80 BGN 15.32

21.70%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.15

$1.76 BGN 3.07

217.61%

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

$3.00 £2.23

$1.44 BGN 2.51

108.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.65

$1.05 BGN 1.83

111.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.17

$2.81 BGN 4.89

243.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.14

$2.79 BGN 4.85

196.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$1.85 BGN 3.21

6.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.55

$1.07 BGN 1.86

95.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$2.55 BGN 4.44

1.57%

Eggs

$5.37 £3.99

$2.75 BGN 4.79

95.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.75

$9.05 BGN 15.74

44.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.20

$4.95 BGN 8.61

122.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.18

$9.04 BGN 15.74

96.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.36

$1.58 BGN 2.74

100.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$2.01 BGN 3.49

-31.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.10

$2.17 BGN 3.77

29.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.50

$2.22 BGN 3.86

51.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.26

$2.09 BGN 3.64

-18.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$1.25 BGN 2.18

42.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$0.86 BGN 1.49

73.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.35

$0.76 BGN 1.32

139.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.73

$3.63 BGN 6.32

557.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £9.99

$7.26 BGN 12.63

85.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.31

$0.99 BGN 1.73

214.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.34

$1.47 BGN 2.57

205.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$0.94 BGN 1.63

339.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £198

$25.72 BGN 44.75

934.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.45

$1.75 BGN 3.04

241.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.52

$0.54 BGN 0.94

527.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.03

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$1.58 BGN 2.74

39.87%

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

$38.3K £28.4K

$30.2K BGN 52.5K

26.80%

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

$41.0K £30.5K

$22.0K BGN 38.3K

86.25%

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

$372 £277

$130 BGN 227

185.66%

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

$18.66 £13.87

$17.30 BGN 30.10

7.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.13

$17.04 BGN 29.66

137.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.63

$38.35 BGN 66.7

46.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.71

$11.49 BGN 19.99

48.83%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.34

$6.69 BGN 11.64

168.31%

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

$2,946 £2,189

$567 BGN 986

419.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.4K

$10.1K BGN 17.6K

371.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.4

$47.88 BGN 83.3

142.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.29

$51.5 BGN 89.5

10.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.1

$93.8 BGN 163

36.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £114

$60.9 BGN 106

152.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,182

$269 BGN 468

990.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,678

$177 BGN 308

1174.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,902

$437 BGN 761

1100.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,868

$332 BGN 577

1063.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$1,261 BGN 2,195

1262.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,153

$1,001 BGN 1,741

727.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,177

$1,022 BGN 1,779

449.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

3.25

47.08%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Shumen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Shumen

$177 19.5% 92.2% $2.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Shumen

$165 18.2% 61.8% $267

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Shumen

$152 16.8% 61.5% $243

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Shumen

$213 23.5% 40.9% $147

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Shumen

$34 3.7% 88.9% $272

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Shumen

$114 12.6% 44.2% $90

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Shumen

$52 5.7% 43.7% $40

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,935 in London versus $269 in Shumen. 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 5.5 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 Shumen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $213 – making Shumen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇧🇬 Shumen

🕒 Local time

23:22 11:22 PM

01:22 1:22 AM

2 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

85,504

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

London Shumen 2,220 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Shumen

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 Shumen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,048 in London, $907 in Shumen – Shumen comes out roughly 78% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,072 per month in London and $1,361 in Shumen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Shumen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $269 there versus $2,935 in London.

Groceries cost about 69% more in London, though the gap depends on what you buy.

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

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Shumen, where all-in costs run around $907, than in London at $4,048. In Shumen it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Shumen – 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 Shumen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.