Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Varanasi

For one person, living is cheaper in Varanasi: $289 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $44,400 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
14

Cost of Living Index in Varanasi
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Varanasi Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Varanasi

🇮🇳 India

$289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Varanasi

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

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $289 in Varanasi, rent included.

London $3,986
Varanasi $289

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $476 in Varanasi, rent included.

London $5,791
Varanasi $476

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $663 in Varanasi, rent included.

London $7,595
Varanasi $663

London costs about 1281% more than Varanasi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

London sits 195% above the global median, while Varanasi is 79% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$1.82 ₹173

1324.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$7.99 ₹759

1232.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$3.10 ₹295

245.48%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$1.57 ₹149

248.41%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$0.41 ₹39.31

624.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.11 ₹10.47

1900.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$1.60 ₹152

470.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$2.04 ₹194

289.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$0.62 ₹58.5

200.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$0.31 ₹29.90

567.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$0.53 ₹50.5

356.60%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$0.81 ₹77.3

528.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$3.20 ₹304

302.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$2.19 ₹208

376.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$1.40 ₹133

122.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$0.60 ₹57.3

133.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$0.87 ₹82.7

254.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$0.32 ₹30.20

921.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$0.23 ₹21.68

586.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$0.25 ₹23.77

596.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$0.44 ₹42.08

218.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.28 ₹26.68

542.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.19 ₹303

629.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$5.83 ₹553

123.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.58 ₹150

100.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$1.87 ₹178

136.36%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$4.19 ₹398

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$0.53 ₹50.7

667.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

$9.63 ₹914

2462.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.26 ₹24.88

2046.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.10 ₹9.62

3260.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.57

$1.02 ₹96.9

5463.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.05 ₹100

102.86%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$12.5K ₹1.2M

205.03%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$21.8K ₹2.1M

87.68%

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

$372 £279

$12.47 ₹1,185

2884.44%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$3.66 ₹348

386.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$6.98 ₹663

478.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$12.63 ₹1,199

374.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$2.86 ₹271

520.28%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$38.92 ₹3,696

7259.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$1,003 ₹95.2K

3423.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$22.70 ₹2,156

402.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$25.30 ₹2,403

114.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$37.80 ₹3,589

228.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$25.24 ₹2,397

546.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$111 ₹10.5K

2488.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$47.37 ₹4,499

4614.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,950

$196 ₹18.6K

2590.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,834

$140 ₹13.3K

2591.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$569 ₹54.0K

3121.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,019

$333 ₹31.6K

2312.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,778

$578 ₹54.9K

771.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

8.53

-44.43%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Varanasi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Varanasi

$47 16.4% 97.9% $2.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Varanasi

$23 8% 94.6% $407

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Varanasi

$57 19.7% 85.3% $331

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Varanasi

$81 27.9% 76.9% $269

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Varanasi

$13 4.3% 95.6% $273

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Varanasi

$50 17.3% 75.6% $155

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Varanasi

$18 6.4% 80.8% $77

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,869 in London versus $111 in Varanasi. 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 771% 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 $8.00 in Varanasi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $81.0 – making Varanasi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇮🇳 Varanasi

🕒 Local time

03:31 3:31 AM

08:01 8:01 AM

4 h 30 min ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

3,100,000

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, 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).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

London Varanasi 7,370 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Varanasi

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 Varanasi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $289 in Varanasi – roughly 1281% 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 $433 in Varanasi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Groceries cost about 334% 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 $8.00 in Varanasi. 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 Varanasi, where all-in costs run around $289, than in London at $3,986. In Varanasi 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 $289 in Varanasi to $3,986 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Varanasi. 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.