Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Umea

For one person, living is cheaper in Umea: $1,608 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $29,700 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
80

Cost of Living Index in Umea
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Umea Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Umea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Umea

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

A single person spends $4,086 per month in London vs $1,608 in Umea, rent included.

London $4,086
Umea $1,608

A couple spends around $5,816 per month in London vs $2,579 in Umea, rent included.

London $5,816
Umea $2,579

A family of three spends $7,546 per month in London vs $3,550 in Umea, rent included.

London $7,546
Umea $3,550

London costs about 154% more than Umea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both London and Umea sit above the global median – London by 205%, Umea by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$15.02 SEK 150

77.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$79.3 SEK 793

35.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$12.00 SEK 120

-13.42%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$3.99 SEK 39.90

45.11%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$3.20 SEK 31.99

-5.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$2.36 SEK 23.59

-8.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$8.30 SEK 83.0

12.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$7.40 SEK 74.0

5.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.63 SEK 16.29

9.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$3.44 SEK 34.42

-40.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$4.07 SEK 40.68

-43.24%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$3.90 SEK 38.95

29.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$11.24 SEK 112

11.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$10.73 SEK 107

-0.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$17.23 SEK 172

-0.58%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$2.46 SEK 24.57

23.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.26 SEK 22.63

-37.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$2.82 SEK 28.16

8.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$4.30 SEK 43.00

-21.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.64 SEK 16.35

1.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.66 SEK 16.60

4.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.49 SEK 24.90

-43.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.28 SEK 12.83

39.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$6.89 SEK 68.9

237.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$9.89 SEK 98.9

31.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$2.27 SEK 22.66

40.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$2.44 SEK 24.40

80.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$2.92 SEK 29.16

32.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$56.9 SEK 568

339.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$6.80 SEK 68.0

-16.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$5.02 SEK 50.2

-33.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.74 SEK 17.37

17.24%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$33.0K SEK 330.0K

13.70%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$33.6K SEK 336.3K

21.55%

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

$376 £284

$86.0 SEK 860

337.11%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$32.39 SEK 324

-44.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$27.15 SEK 271

47.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$48.96 SEK 489

24.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$35.34 SEK 353

-40.38%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$16.17 SEK 162

11.01%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$137 SEK 1,368

1993.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$99.5 SEK 995

16.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$36.44 SEK 364

48.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$117 SEK 1,166

8.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$141 SEK 1,405

13.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$736 SEK 7,357

287.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$504 SEK 5,040

356.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$1,105 SEK 11.0K

370.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$823 SEK 8,227

352.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$4,542 SEK 45.4K

318.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$3,043 SEK 30.4K

158.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$2,674 SEK 26.7K

80.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

3.65

27.40%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Umea: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Umea

$504 30.7% 78.1% $1.8K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Umea

$146 8.9% 66.5% $288

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Umea

$283 17.2% 28.8% $114

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Umea

$350 21.3% 0.2% $0.6

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Umea

$100 6.1% 65.1% $187

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Umea

$177 10.8% 13.8% $28

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Umea

$81 5% 16.2% $16

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,853 in London versus $736 in Umea. 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 80% 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 $79.0 in Umea. Groceries tell a different story – $349 in London vs $350 in Umea – so London wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇸🇪 Umea

🕒 Local time

08:53 8:53 AM

09:53 9:53 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

79,594

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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 = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

London Umea 1,810 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Umea

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 Umea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,086 in London, $1,608 in Umea – roughly 154% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,129 per month in London and $2,413 in Umea. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Interestingly, groceries are about 0% cheaper in London – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in London and $79.0 in Umea. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Umea, where all-in costs run around $1,608, than in London at $4,086. In Umea 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 $1,608 in Umea to $4,086 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 Umea. 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.