Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Sun City

For one person, living is cheaper in Sun City: $1,255 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $32,800 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
61

Cost of Living Index in Sun City
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Sun City Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Sun City

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,255

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Sun City

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

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $1,255 in Sun City, rent included.

London $3,986
Sun City $1,255

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $1,930 in Sun City, rent included.

London $5,791
Sun City $1,930

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $2,606 in Sun City, rent included.

London $7,595
Sun City $2,606

London costs about 218% more than Sun City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

London sits 195% above the global median, while Sun City is 7% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$11.94 R 197

117.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$43.53 R 717

144.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$7.40 R 122

44.73%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.46 R 40.54

122.36%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$1.23 R 20.26

141.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.93 R 15.34

136.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.20 R 36.18

315.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$2.77 R 45.61

186.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.35 R 22.30

37.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.28 R 21.14

61.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$1.77 R 29.18

36.72%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$2.63 R 43.27

93.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$8.41 R 139

53.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$5.65 R 93.1

84.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$8.48 R 140

98.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$2.10 R 34.58

48.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.88 R 30.91

-25.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.77 R 29.21

74.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$2.12 R 34.93

54.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.67 R 27.45

-5.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.83 R 30.09

-4.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.49 R 24.55

-6.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.32 R 21.70

36.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.38 R 55.8

588.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$6.09 R 100

113.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.89 R 31.11

67.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$2.40 R 39.52

84.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$1.49 R 24.54

173.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.82 R 13.44

580.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.91 R 15.01

269.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$14.50 R 239

291.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.49 R 24.59

42.95%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$35.2K R 579.9K

8.49%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$31.5K R 519.7K

29.65%

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

$372 £279

$233 R 3,832

59.99%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$38.09 R 628

-53.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$36.25 R 597

11.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$32.16 R 530

86.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$10.57 R 174

101.42%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$7.69 R 127

130.69%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$246 R 4,052

1064.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$5,459 R 89.9K

547.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$58.1 R 957

96.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$46.31 R 763

17.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$107 R 1,766

15.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$107 R 1,757

52.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$395 R 6,502

627.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$354 R 5,834

530.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$737 R 12.1K

614.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$737 R 12.1K

412.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$890 R 14.7K

1959.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

$658 R 10.8K

1120.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

10.91

-56.55%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Sun City: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Sun City

$354 28.2% 84.1% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Sun City

$307 24.5% 28.7% $123

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Sun City

$172 13.7% 55.5% $215

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Sun City

$219 17.5% 37.3% $130

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Sun City

$11 * 0.9% 96% $274

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Sun City

$143 11.4% 30.1% $62

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Sun City

$48 3.8% 50.2% $48

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 $395 in Sun City. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in London versus $44.00 in Sun City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $219 – making Sun City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 Sun City

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

17:00 5:00 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

1,556

💱 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 Sun City 8,950 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Sun City

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 Sun City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $1,255 in Sun City – roughly 218% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,979 per month in London and $1,882 in Sun City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sun City, 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 $1,255 in Sun City. That's a gap of about 218%.

Kindergarten costs $2,864 per month in London and $246 in Sun City. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Sun City, where all-in costs run around $1,255, than in London at $3,986. In Sun City 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 $1,255 in Sun City 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 Sun City. 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.