Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Welkom

For one person, living is cheaper in Welkom: $1,057 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $35,100 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Welkom
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Welkom Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Welkom

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,057

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Welkom

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

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $1,057 in Welkom, rent included.

London $3,986
Welkom $1,057

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $1,595 in Welkom, rent included.

London $5,791
Welkom $1,595

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $2,132 in Welkom, rent included.

London $7,595
Welkom $2,132

London costs about 277% more than Welkom, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

London sits 195% above the global median, while Welkom is 22% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$9.03 R 149

187.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$20.75 R 342

413.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$5.50 R 90.6

94.73%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.30 R 37.92

137.83%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$0.50 R 8.20

494.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.63 R 10.32

249.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$1.19 R 19.67

667.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$1.52 R 25.05

422.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.05 R 17.35

77.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.06 R 17.42

95.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$1.42 R 23.35

70.42%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$1.80 R 29.60

182.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$6.71 R 111

91.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$4.52 R 74.4

130.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$4.82 R 79.5

250.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$1.52 R 25.12

104.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.68 R 27.69

-16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.72 R 28.42

79.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.20 R 19.72

172.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.13 R 18.54

39.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.22 R 20.09

42.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$0.95 R 15.69

47.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.34 R 22.12

34.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$2.48 R 40.92

838.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$2.44 R 40.23

434.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.53 R 25.18

107.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$1.83 R 30.12

141.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$1.44 R 23.72

182.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.31 R 5.11

1700.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.81 R 13.35

314.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$14.49 R 239

291.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.52 R 25.04

40.13%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$35.3K R 581.8K

8.15%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$34.5K R 568.2K

18.59%

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

$372 £279

$151 R 2,491

146.12%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$37.35 R 615

-52.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$36.39 R 600

10.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$32.34 R 533

85.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$9.53 R 157

123.40%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$7.32 R 121

142.35%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$265 R 4,368

980.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$5,448 R 89.8K

548.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$54.2 R 893

110.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$31.69 R 522

71.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$92.2 R 1,519

34.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$82.6 R 1,361

97.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$394 R 6,490

628.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$364 R 5,997

513.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$729 R 12.0K

622.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$736 R 12.1K

413.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$950 R 15.6K

1830.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

$754 R 12.4K

964.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

11.34

-58.20%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Welkom: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Welkom

$364 34.4% 83.7% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Welkom

$225 21.3% 47.7% $205

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Welkom

$130 12.3% 66.5% $258

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Welkom

$164 15.5% 53.2% $186

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Welkom

$10 * 1% 96.5% $275

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Welkom

$117 11.1% 42.8% $88

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Welkom

$47 4.5% 50.8% $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 $394 in Welkom. 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 $21.00 in Welkom. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $164 – making Welkom the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 Welkom

🕒 Local time

13:01 1:01 PM

14:01 2:01 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

64,130

💱 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 Welkom 9,220 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Welkom

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 Welkom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $1,057 in Welkom – roughly 277% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,979 per month in London and $1,585 in Welkom. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Welkom, 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 $1,057 in Welkom. That's a gap of about 277%.

Kindergarten costs $2,864 per month in London and $265 in Welkom. 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 Welkom, where all-in costs run around $1,057, than in London at $3,986. In Welkom 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 $1,057 in Welkom to $3,986 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Welkom. 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.