Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Skopje

For one person, living is cheaper in Skopje: $1,131 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $35,500 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Skopje
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Skopje Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Skopje

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$1,131

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Skopje

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

A single person spends $4,086 per month in London vs $1,131 in Skopje, rent included.

London $4,086
Skopje $1,131

A couple spends around $5,816 per month in London vs $1,675 in Skopje, rent included.

London $5,816
Skopje $1,675

A family of three spends $7,546 per month in London vs $2,220 in Skopje, rent included.

London $7,546
Skopje $2,220

London costs about 261% more than Skopje, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

London sits 205% above the global median, while Skopje is 16% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$9.58 MKD 525

177.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$34.25 MKD 1,877

214.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$6.45 MKD 353

61.09%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$2.14 MKD 117

170.56%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$1.81 MKD 98.9

66.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$1.31 MKD 71.9

64.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$2.71 MKD 149

245.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$3.11 MKD 171

152.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.29 MKD 70.4

38.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$0.74 MKD 40.67

178.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.84 MKD 101

25.54%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$2.52 MKD 138

100.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$7.89 MKD 433

59.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$7.57 MKD 415

40.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$15.00 MKD 822

14.20%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$1.48 MKD 81.0

104.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.45 MKD 79.6

-2.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$1.34 MKD 73.4

127.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.95 MKD 107

73.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$0.90 MKD 49.33

85.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$0.85 MKD 46.40

103.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.64 MKD 34.81

120.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.55 MKD 30.01

225.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$3.52 MKD 193

559.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$7.06 MKD 387

83.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.06 MKD 58.1

200.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$1.44 MKD 79.2

206.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.75 MKD 41.26

416.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$27.74 MKD 1,520

801.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$1.11 MKD 60.8

414.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.62 MKD 33.87

437.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$7.71 MKD 422

651.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.62 MKD 88.5

25.93%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$34.9K MKD 1.9M

7.48%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$27.7K MKD 1.5M

47.61%

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

$376 £284

$153 MKD 8,410

145.07%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$18.75 MKD 1,027

-4.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$19.33 MKD 1,059

106.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$38.53 MKD 2,111

58.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$17.65 MKD 967

19.38%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$7.15 MKD 392

151.05%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$358 MKD 19.6K

701.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$5,690 MKD 311.8K

521.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$84.1 MKD 4,610

37.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$37.22 MKD 2,040

45.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$103 MKD 5,620

23.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$112 MKD 6,136

42.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$416 MKD 22.8K

586.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$327 MKD 17.9K

604.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$731 MKD 40.1K

611.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$497 MKD 27.2K

649.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$2,702 MKD 148.1K

603.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$1,807 MKD 99.0K

336.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$877 MKD 48.1K

449.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

4.23

9.93%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Skopje: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Skopje

$327 29.1% 85.8% $2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Skopje

$192 17.1% 55.9% $242

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Skopje

$154 13.7% 61.2% $243

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Skopje

$211 18.8% 39.5% $138

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Skopje

$35 3.1% 87.9% $253

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Skopje

$151 13.5% 26.3% $54

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Skopje

$53 4.7% 45.6% $44

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,853 in London versus $416 in Skopje. 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 449% 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 $108 in London versus $34.00 in Skopje. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $211 – making Skopje the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇲🇰 Skopje

🕒 Local time

11:41 11:41 AM

12:41 12:41 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

422,540 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.847 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 54.8 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.41 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Skopje 1,940 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Skopje

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 Skopje: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,086 in London, $1,131 in Skopje – roughly 261% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,129 per month in London and $1,696 in Skopje. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Groceries cost about 65% more in London, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in London and $34.00 in Skopje. 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 Skopje, where all-in costs run around $1,131, than in London at $4,086. In Skopje 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 $1,131 in Skopje to $4,086 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Skopje. 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.