Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Zalau

For one person, living is cheaper in Zalau: $871 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $38,100 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Zalau
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Zalau Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Zalau

🇷🇴 Romania

$871

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Zalau

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

A single person spends $4,048 per month in London vs $871 in Zalau, rent included.

London $4,048
Zalau $871

A couple spends around $5,903 per month in London vs $1,330 in Zalau, rent included.

London $5,903
Zalau $1,330

A family of three spends $7,758 per month in London vs $1,789 in Zalau, rent included.

London $7,758
Zalau $1,789

London costs about 365% more than Zalau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

London sits 199% above the global median, while Zalau is 36% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.68

$7.46 RON 35.65

253.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 £81.1

$33.98 RON 162

219.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.00

$5.33 RON 25.46

100.94%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.17

$2.12 RON 10.15

163.68%

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

$3.00 £2.24

$1.52 RON 7.25

97.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.66

$1.22 RON 5.85

81.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.65 £7.20

$1.65 RON 7.90

484.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 £6.16

$2.36 RON 11.28

250.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.47

$1.33 RON 6.36

48.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.56

$1.10 RON 5.27

90.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 £1.94

$1.23 RON 5.86

110.57%

Eggs

$5.37 £4.01

$1.97 RON 9.44

172.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 £9.79

$8.05 RON 38.47

62.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.03 £8.23

$5.58 RON 26.66

97.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 £13.23

$10.27 RON 49.07

72.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 £2.37

$0.87 RON 4.15

264.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.26 RON 6.04

9.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.11

$1.44 RON 6.90

95.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 £2.51

$1.81 RON 8.67

85.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$0.66 RON 3.14

157.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.33

$0.54 RON 2.60

229.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$0.61 RON 2.93

144.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.36

$0.71 RON 3.38

156.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.80

$5.07 RON 24.22

370.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.44 £10.03

$5.27 RON 25.21

155.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.32

$1.03 RON 4.90

201.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.35

$1.14 RON 5.44

293.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.08

$0.87 RON 4.14

374.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$266 £199

$22.03 RON 105

1107.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.46

$1.23 RON 5.88

386.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.53

$1.22 RON 5.85

177.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 £42.21

$12.42 RON 59.3

355.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.65

$1.52 RON 7.28

45.39%

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

$38.3K £28.6K

$28.5K RON 136.2K

34.33%

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

$41.0K £30.6K

$25.4K RON 121.6K

61.30%

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

$372 £278

$102 RON 488

264.99%

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

$18.66 £13.93

$4.14 RON 19.77

350.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.53 £30.26

$6.31 RON 30.14

542.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 £41.82

$32.74 RON 157

71.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.10 £12.76

$20.10 RON 96.1

-14.93%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.40

$5.35 RON 25.56

235.51%

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

$2,946 £2,199

$433 RON 2,067

581.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$47.6K £35.5K

$8,275 RON 39.6K

475.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £86.8

$51.6 RON 246

125.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 £42.47

$29.85 RON 143

90.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £95.5

$57.6 RON 275

122.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 £115

$63.2 RON 302

143.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,935 £2,191

$381 RON 1,819

671.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,686

$287 RON 1,372

686.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,250 £3,919

$614 RON 2,933

755.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,859 £2,881

$457 RON 2,185

744.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.2K £12.8K

$1,910 RON 9,128

799.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,278 £6,179

$1,369 RON 6,544

504.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,621 £4,196

$615 RON 2,938

814.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.78

6.85

-30.22%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Zalau: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 55.8%

Zalau

$287 33% 87.3% $2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$432 10.7%

Zalau

$112 12.9% 73.9% $319

Eating Out

London

$396 9.8%

Zalau

$125 14.4% 68.4% $271

Groceries & Markets

London

$360 8.9%

Zalau

$179 20.5% 50.4% $182

Getting Around

London

$305 7.6%

Zalau

$33 3.8% 89.2% $273

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Zalau

$91 10.5% 55.6% $114

Sport & Entertainment

London

$92 2.3%

Zalau

$43 5% 52.7% $48

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,935 in London versus $381 in Zalau. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in London are about 9.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London versus $34 in Zalau. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $179 – making Zalau the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇷🇴 Zalau

🕒 Local time

18:11 6:11 PM

20:11 8:11 PM

2 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

56,202

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.186 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.37 RON (1 RON = 0.186 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Zalau 1,740 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Zalau

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 Zalau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,048 in London, $871 in Zalau – Zalau comes out roughly 78% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,072 per month in London and $1,306 in Zalau. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zalau, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $381 there versus $2,935 in London.

Groceries cost about 102% more in London, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London and $34 in Zalau. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Zalau, where all-in costs run around $871, than in London at $4,048. In Zalau it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Zalau – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Zalau. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.