Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pretoria and London

For one person, living is cheaper in Pretoria: $1,337 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $33,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

64

Cost of Living Index in Pretoria
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Pretoria Living Index
196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index

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Pretoria

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,337

/mo nomad

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Pretoria and in London

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Pretoria and in London actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,337 per month in Pretoria vs $4,086 in London, rent included.

Pretoria $1,337
London $4,086

A couple spends around $2,001 per month in Pretoria vs $5,816 in London, rent included.

Pretoria $2,001
London $5,816

A family of three spends $2,664 per month in Pretoria vs $7,546 in London, rent included.

Pretoria $2,664
London $7,546

Pretoria is about 67% cheaper than London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Pretoria and London sit above the global median – Pretoria by 0%, London by 205%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.12 R 151

$26.62 £20.12

-65.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.06 R 598

$108 £81.3

-66.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.28 R 87.5

$10.39 £7.86

-49.18%

Cappuccino

$2.19 R 36.30

$5.79 £4.38

-62.18%

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

$1.09 R 18.06

$3.01 £2.27

-63.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 R 14.71

$2.15 £1.63

-58.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 R 42.89

$9.35 £7.07

-72.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 R 53.4

$7.84 £5.93

-58.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 R 19.24

$1.79 £1.35

-35.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.08 R 17.88

$2.06 £1.56

-47.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.81 R 29.99

$2.31 £1.74

-21.65%

Eggs

$2.45 R 40.56

$5.05 £3.82

-51.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.20 R 136

$12.57 £9.50

-34.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.97 R 82.4

$10.66 £8.05

-53.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.08 R 117

$17.13 £12.95

-58.67%

Apples (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.74

$3.03 £2.29

-42.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 R 27.37

$1.41 £1.07

17.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.31

$3.05 £2.31

-41.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 R 26.76

$3.38 £2.56

-52.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 R 18.26

$1.67 £1.26

-34.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.16 R 19.25

$1.73 £1.31

-32.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 R 20.16

$1.41 £1.07

-13.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 R 21.22

$1.79 £1.35

-28.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.21 R 53.2

$23.22 £17.55

-86.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.17 R 85.8

$12.99 £9.82

-60.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 R 25.30

$3.18 £2.41

-51.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 R 32.71

$4.41 £3.34

-55.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.72 R 78.3

$3.87 £2.93

21.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$180 R 2,977

$250 £189

-28.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.31 R 5.19

$5.71 £4.31

-94.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.77 R 12.73

$3.33 £2.51

-76.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.46 R 240

$57.9 £43.77

-75.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 R 24.75

$2.04 £1.54

-26.96%

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

$35.7K R 591.3K

$37.5K £28.4K

-5.06%

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

$33.2K R 550.2K

$40.9K £30.9K

-18.88%

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

$152 R 2,528

$376 £284

-59.46%

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

$36.42 R 604

$17.88 £13.51

103.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.56 R 606

$40.01 £30.25

-8.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.39 R 521

$61.2 £46.23

-48.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.30 R 171

$21.07 £15.93

-51.12%

Cinema Ticket

$7.03 R 117

$17.95 £13.57

-60.84%

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

$256 R 4,242

$2,865 £2,166

-91.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,665 R 127.1K

$35.3K £26.7K

-78.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 R 885

$116 £87.7

-54.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.55 R 523

$54.1 £40.88

-41.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 R 1,519

$127 £95.7

-27.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.1 R 1,378

$159 £120

-47.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$453 R 7,514

$2,853 £2,157

-84.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$410 R 6,807

$2,301 £1,740

-82.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$950 R 15.8K

$5,201 £3,932

-81.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R 12.5K

$3,723 £2,814

-79.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$868 R 14.4K

$19.0K £14.4K

-95.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$692 R 11.5K

$7,881 £5,957

-91.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,385 R 23.0K

$4,818 £3,642

-71.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.34

4.65

143.87%

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

Last update for Pretoria: October 5, 2026

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Pretoria

$410 30.8%

London

$2.3K 56.5% 461% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pretoria

$225 16.9%

London

$434 10.7% 92.5% $209

Getting Around

Pretoria

$203 15.2%

London

$288 7.1% 42.1% $85

Groceries & Markets

Pretoria

$192 14.4%

London

$349 8.6% 82.4% $158

Eating Out

Pretoria

$142 10.7%

London

$397 9.7% 179% $254

Clothing & Footwear

Pretoria

$117 8.8%

London

$205 5% 75.7% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Pretoria

$45 3.4%

London

$97 2.4% 114% $52

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $453 in Pretoria versus $2,853 in London. 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 248% 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 $36.00 in Pretoria versus $108 in London. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $192 vs $349 – making Pretoria the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Pretoria

🇬🇧 London

🕒 Local time

03:58 3:58 AM

02:58 2:58 AM

1 h behind Pretoria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

741,651 Capital

8,908,083 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Pretoria London 9,030 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Pretoria
London

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

Pretoria vs London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,337 in Pretoria, $4,086 in London – roughly 205% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,006 per month in Pretoria and $6,129 in London. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Groceries cost about 82% 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 $36.00 in Pretoria and $108 in London. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Pretoria, where all-in costs run around $1,337, than in London at $4,086. In Pretoria 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 $1,337 in Pretoria to $4,086 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Pretoria. 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.