Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Uppsala

For one person, living is cheaper in Uppsala: $1,978 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $24,100 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
96

Cost of Living Index in Uppsala
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Uppsala Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Uppsala

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,978

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Uppsala

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

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $1,978 in Uppsala, rent included.

London $3,986
Uppsala $1,978

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $3,051 in Uppsala, rent included.

London $5,791
Uppsala $3,051

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $4,124 in Uppsala, rent included.

London $7,595
Uppsala $4,124

London costs about 102% more than Uppsala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both London and Uppsala sit above the global median – London by 195%, Uppsala by 46%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$14.90 SEK 148

74.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$81.0 SEK 802

31.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$9.87 SEK 97.8

8.51%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$4.98 SEK 49.39

9.84%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$3.05 SEK 30.25

-2.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.40 SEK 23.74

-8.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$7.96 SEK 78.9

14.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$9.87 SEK 97.8

-19.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.81 SEK 17.91

2.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$2.78 SEK 27.57

-25.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$4.59 SEK 45.48

-47.28%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$5.05 SEK 50.1

0.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$10.12 SEK 100

27.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$14.77 SEK 146

-29.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$17.86 SEK 177

-5.54%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$4.18 SEK 41.42

-25.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$2.73 SEK 27.06

-48.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$3.49 SEK 34.63

-11.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$5.12 SEK 50.7

-36.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.94 SEK 19.20

-18.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.70 SEK 16.80

2.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$2.64 SEK 26.21

-46.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.28 SEK 12.68

40.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$7.96 SEK 78.9

192.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$9.91 SEK 98.2

31.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$2.47 SEK 24.51

28.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$2.52 SEK 24.94

75.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$3.92 SEK 38.80

3.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

$111 SEK 1,103

121.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$5.33 SEK 52.8

4.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$1.32 SEK 13.13

154.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$61.3 SEK 607

-7.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.77 SEK 17.54

20.34%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$33.2K SEK 329.1K

14.97%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$32.1K SEK 318.3K

27.30%

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

$372 £279

$109 SEK 1,077

242.28%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$15.95 SEK 158

11.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$47.42 SEK 470

-14.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$39.13 SEK 388

53.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$23.27 SEK 231

-8.51%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$18.61 SEK 184

-4.67%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$126 SEK 1,248

2174.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$105 SEK 1,037

8.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$48.48 SEK 480

11.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$94.4 SEK 935

31.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$200 SEK 1,982

-18.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$892 SEK 8,836

221.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$707 SEK 7,009

215.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$1,750 SEK 17.3K

200.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$1,138 SEK 11.3K

232.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$5,186 SEK 51.4K

253.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

$2,595 SEK 25.7K

209.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

$3,008 SEK 29.8K

67.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

3.8

24.74%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Uppsala: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Uppsala

$707 35.8% 68.3% $1.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Uppsala

$172 8.7% 60% $258

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Uppsala

$290 14.7% 25.2% $98

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Uppsala

$391 19.8% 12% $42

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Uppsala

$139 7% 51.3% $147

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Uppsala

$201 10.2% 1.8% $3.6

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Uppsala

$76 3.9% 20% $19

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,869 in London versus $892 in Uppsala. 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 67% 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 $81.0 in Uppsala. Groceries tell a different story – $349 in London vs $391 in Uppsala – so London wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇸🇪 Uppsala

🕒 Local time

02:43 2:43 AM

03:43 3:43 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

166,698

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Uppsala 1,440 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Uppsala

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 Uppsala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $1,978 in Uppsala – roughly 102% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,979 per month in London and $2,966 in Uppsala. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Interestingly, groceries are about 12% 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 $107 in London and $81.0 in Uppsala. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Uppsala, where all-in costs run around $1,978, than in London at $3,986. In Uppsala 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 $1,978 in Uppsala 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 Uppsala. 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.