Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Somerset West

For one person, living is cheaper in Somerset West: $1,162 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $33,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Somerset West
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Somerset West Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Somerset West

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,162

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Somerset West

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

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $1,162 in Somerset West, rent included.

London $3,986
Somerset West $1,162

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $1,890 in Somerset West, rent included.

London $5,791
Somerset West $1,890

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $2,618 in Somerset West, rent included.

London $7,595
Somerset West $2,618

London costs about 243% more than Somerset West, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

London sits 195% above the global median, while Somerset West is 14% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$11.86 R 195

118.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$45.93 R 757

131.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$5.42 R 89.3

97.60%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.17 R 35.82

152.07%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$1.03 R 16.99

188.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.91 R 15.02

141.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.52 R 41.47

262.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$3.32 R 54.6

139.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$0.94 R 15.56

97.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.00 R 16.43

107.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$2.06 R 33.91

17.48%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$2.27 R 37.42

124.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$8.65 R 142

48.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$5.25 R 86.6

98.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$9.52 R 157

77.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$1.84 R 30.28

69.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.90 R 31.24

-26.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.69 R 27.83

82.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.74 R 28.62

87.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.54 R 25.30

2.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.54 R 25.30

12.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.29 R 21.21

8.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.09 R 17.92

65.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.28 R 54.0

609.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$5.98 R 98.5

117.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.34 R 22.13

136.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$1.76 R 28.95

151.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$1.12 R 18.52

263.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

$59.4 R 979

315.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.58 R 9.56

862.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$1.48 R 24.35

127.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$5.08 R 83.7

1017.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.43 R 23.49

48.95%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$28.8K R 474.1K

32.69%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$30.0K R 494.4K

36.28%

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

$372 £279

$85.2 R 1,404

336.86%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$28.77 R 474

-38.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$40.92 R 674

-1.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$45.25 R 745

32.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$10.76 R 177

97.86%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$7.19 R 118

146.73%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$261 R 4,308

995.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$3,633 R 59.9K

872.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$30.84 R 508

269.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$31.76 R 523

70.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$70.5 R 1,161

76.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$56.5 R 930

188.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$637 R 10.5K

350.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$425 R 6,997

425.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$1,358 R 22.4K

287.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$935 R 15.4K

304.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$1,227 R 20.2K

1393.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

$907 R 14.9K

785.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

$1,427 R 23.5K

252.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

10.12

-53.16%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Somerset West: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Somerset West

$425 36.5% 81% $1.8K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Somerset West

$155 13.3% 64% $275

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Somerset West

$164 14.1% 57.6% $223

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Somerset West

$202 17.4% 42.3% $148

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Somerset West

$72 6.2% 74.8% $214

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Somerset West

$85 7.3% 58.4% $120

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Somerset West

$60 5.1% 37.5% $36

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,869 in London versus $637 in Somerset West. 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 253% 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 $46.00 in Somerset West. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $202 – making Somerset West the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 Somerset West

🕒 Local time

09:45 9:45 AM

10:45 10:45 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

55,166

💱 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

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Between locations

London Somerset West 9,700 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Somerset West

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 Somerset West: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $1,162 in Somerset West – roughly 243% 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 $1,743 in Somerset West. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Groceries cost about 73% 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 $107 in London and $46.00 in Somerset West. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Somerset West, where all-in costs run around $1,162, than in London at $3,986. In Somerset West 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 $1,162 in Somerset West to $3,986 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Somerset West. 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.