Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Varkala

For one person, living is cheaper in Varkala: $385 a month against $4,049 in London, rent and utilities included – about $44,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

195

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in Varkala
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Varkala Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,049

/mo nomad

Varkala

🇮🇳 India

$385

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Varkala

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

A single person spends $4,049 per month in London vs $385 in Varkala, rent included.

London $4,049
Varkala $385

A couple spends around $5,827 per month in London vs $612 in Varkala, rent included.

London $5,827
Varkala $612

A family of three spends $7,605 per month in London vs $839 in Varkala, rent included.

London $7,605
Varkala $839

London costs about 951% more than Varkala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

London sits 199% above the global median, while Varkala is 72% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$27.09 £20.33

$2.37 ₹225

1043.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$104 £78.3

$10.35 ₹983

908.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.86 £8.15

$3.51 ₹333

209.40%

Cappuccino

$5.60 £4.20

$1.59 ₹151

252.20%

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

$3.05 £2.29

$0.37 ₹35.47

724.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 £1.71

$0.14 ₹13.74

1528.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.23 £6.92

$1.76 ₹167

424.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.95 £5.96

$3.05 ₹290

160.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 £1.37

$0.65 ₹61.9

181.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 £1.54

$0.49 ₹46.20

318.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.47 £1.86

$0.71 ₹67.1

247.89%

Eggs

$5.12 £3.84

$0.94 ₹89.0

444.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.89 £9.67

$5.13 ₹487

151.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.84 £8.14

$3.04 ₹289

256.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.03 £12.78

Apples (1kg)

$3.07 £2.30

$2.04 ₹194

50.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$0.70 ₹66.4

97.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 £2.24

$0.94 ₹89.0

218.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.54

$0.53 ₹50.4

539.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$0.36 ₹33.96

344.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.45 ₹42.91

300.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.06

$0.45 ₹42.97

213.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 £1.36

$0.31 ₹29.84

483.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.92 £17.94

$3.85 ₹366

521.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.54 £10.16

$7.50 ₹712

80.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.42

$1.79 ₹170

80.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.39 £3.29

$2.80 ₹266

56.79%

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

$5.36 ₹509

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.92 £2.94

$0.28 ₹26.45

1300.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$243 £182

$8.66 ₹823

2703.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.79 ₹75.2

606.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.27 £2.46

$0.25 ₹23.73

1208.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.4 £43.81

$1.47 ₹140

3872.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.23 ₹116

69.11%

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

$38.8K £29.1K

$14.1K ₹1.3M

174.84%

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

$40.6K £30.5K

$22.0K ₹2.1M

84.35%

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

$380 £285

$38.61 ₹3,666

884.23%

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

$18.62 £13.97

$3.52 ₹334

428.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.45 £30.35

$7.28 ₹691

455.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.3 £45.95

$16.16 ₹1,534

279.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.41 £16.07

$7.04 ₹668

204.12%

Cinema Ticket

$18.09 £13.57

$2.92 ₹277

519.52%

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

$2,905 £2,180

$51.7 ₹4,906

5523.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.5K £26.6K

$1,531 ₹145.4K

2218.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.3

$23.84 ₹2,264

388.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.5 £40.89

$25.34 ₹2,406

115.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.8

$42.87 ₹4,070

197.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$167 £125

$30.88 ₹2,932

440.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,852 £2,140

$126 ₹12.0K

2156.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,269 £1,702

$74.7 ₹7,094

2937.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,939

$269 ₹25.6K

1851.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,752 £2,815

$179 ₹17.0K

2001.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.5K £13.9K

$1,076 ₹102.2K

1620.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,100 £6,077

$607 ₹57.6K

1234.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,109 £3,833

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

8.67

-45.33%

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

Last update for London: October 19, 2026

Last update for Varkala: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56%

Varkala

$75 19.4% 96.7% $2.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$439 10.9%

Varkala

$49 12.8% 88.7% $390

Eating Out

London

$400 9.9%

Varkala

$66 17% 83.6% $334

Groceries & Markets

London

$353 8.7%

Varkala

$106 27.6% 69.9% $247

Getting Around

London

$280 6.9%

Varkala

$12 3.1% 95.8% $269

Clothing & Footwear

London

$209 5.2%

Varkala

$55 14.4% 73.6% $154

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Varkala

$22 5.7% 77.4% $75

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,852 in London versus $126 in Varkala. 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 $104 in London versus $10.00 in Varkala. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $353 vs $106 – making Varkala the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇮🇳 Varkala

🕒 Local time

19:30 7:30 PM

00:00 12:00 AM

4 h 30 min ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

50,000

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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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Between locations

London Varkala 8,340 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Varkala

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 Varkala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,049 in London, $385 in Varkala – roughly 951% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,073 per month in London and $578 in Varkala. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Groceries cost about 232% 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 $104 in London and $10.00 in Varkala. 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 Varkala, where all-in costs run around $385, than in London at $4,049. In Varkala 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 $385 in Varkala to $4,049 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 Varkala. 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.