Cost of Living in United Kingdom - Updated Prices & Insights

Name: United Kingdom
Address: GB

Solo nomad: Estimated monthly costs are $1,010 (excluding rent), and $2,511 including rent.

Family of 3: Estimated monthly costs are $2,588 (excluding rent), and $4,784 including rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.18 £15.12

$13.46 £10.08

$40.37 £30.23

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.4 £66.2

$68.0 £50.9

$136 £102

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.31 £7.72

$8.94 £6.69

$12.24 £9.16

Cappuccino

$4.61 £3.46

$2.83 £2.12

$6.68 £5.01

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

$2.40 £1.80

$1.55 £1.16

$4.05 £3.03

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 £1.26

$1.33 £1.00

$2.67 £2.00

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.85 £5.13

$4.11 £3.08

$8.91 £6.67

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.35 £4.76

$4.73 £3.55

$8.10 £6.07

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.03 £0.77

$2.43 £1.82

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.29

$1.04 £0.78

$3.08 £2.31

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.24 £1.68

$1.30 £0.97

$4.10 £3.07

Eggs

$3.99 £2.99

$2.17 £1.63

$5.91 £4.43

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.64 £7.22

$4.73 £3.54

$20.23 £15.16

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.73 £6.54

$4.31 £3.23

$13.25 £9.92

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.38 £10.77

$6.91 £5.18

$23.52 £17.61

Apples (1kg)

$3.07 £2.30

$1.40 £1.05

$5.58 £4.18

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$1.09 £0.82

$3.52 £2.63

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 £2.10

$1.33 £0.99

$5.84 £4.37

Tomato (1kg)

$3.56 £2.67

$1.38 £1.04

$6.21 £4.65

Potato (1kg)

$1.68 £1.26

$0.69 £0.52

$2.77 £2.07

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.05 £0.78

$2.79 £2.09

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 £0.88

$0.70 £0.52

$1.67 £1.25

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 £1.12

$0.74 £0.55

$2.64 £1.98

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.98 £14.96

$16.65 £12.47

$23.97 £17.95

Wine (Bottle)

$10.66 £7.98

$8.00 £5.99

$15.98 £11.97

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 £2.10

$1.47 £1.10

$4.06 £3.04

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 £2.57

$1.67 £1.25

$5.78 £4.33

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.27 £2.45

$2.73 £2.05

$5.45 £4.08

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.2 £70.6

$67.3 £50.4

$242 £181

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.33 £4.00

$4.01 £3.00

$7.34 £5.50

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 £1.20

$0.96 £0.72

$3.47 £2.60

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.11 £20.31

$16.27 £12.18

$47.45 £35.54

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.89 £1.41

$2.26 £1.70

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

$38.6K £28.9K

$36.1K £27.1K

$38.6K £28.9K

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

$40.2K £30.1K

$38.7K £29.0K

$40.9K £30.6K

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

$319 £239

$202 £151

$572 £428

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

$17.41 £13.04

$13.54 £10.14

$40.60 £30.41

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.06 £31.50

$33.60 £25.16

$60.5 £45.30

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.02 £34.47

$26.95 £20.19

$80.9 £60.6

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.18 £12.12

$8.28 £6.20

$24.84 £18.61

Cinema Ticket

$13.72 £10.27

$10.86 £8.13

$20.57 £15.41

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

$1,716 £1,285

$1,190 £891

$2,588 £1,938

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.2K £15.9K

$12.5K £9,397

$35.5K £26.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 £68.0

$33.77 £25.29

$135 £101

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.09 £33.02

$26.81 £20.08

$67.0 £50.2

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.2

$60.9 £45.64

$149 £112

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 £78.9

$55.3 £41.42

$173 £129

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,418 £1,062

$881 £660

$3,023 £2,264

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 £840

$802 £601

$2,214 £1,658

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,313 £1,732

$1,486 £1,113

$5,538 £4,148

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,807 £1,353

$1,201 £899

$3,606 £2,701

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,834 £4,370

$3,746 £2,805

$20.1K £15.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,528 £3,392

$2,595 £1,944

$10.6K £7,938

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,295 £2,468

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.75

4.5

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

Last update: March 3, 2026

By City in United Kingdom

Lowest

Highest

Rank	City	Population	Living Index	Solo costs (no rent) / month	Solo costs (with rent) / month	Family of 3 costs (no rent) / month	Family of 3 costs (with rent) / month	Mobile download speed (Mbps)	Internet download speed (Mbps)
101	Falkirk	35590	113	$1,050	$2,227	$2,689	$3,834	73.43	272.64
102	Falmouth	25223	114	$1,085	$2,303	$2,308	$4,523	237.71	103.3
103	Fareham	111266	126	$921	$2,469	$2,331	$4,813	148.31	285.54
104	Farnborough	-	126	$1,027	$2,494	$2,538	$4,988	183.23	301
105	Farnham	-	169	$968	$3,355	$2,636	$5,651	73.89	131.6
106	Folkestone	45273	111	$929	$2,185	$2,226	$4,598	273.56	164.64
107	Fort William	10000	121	$939	$2,421	$2,715	$4,542	18.43	81.12
108	Glasgow	606340	123	$1,092	$2,474	$2,786	$4,973	87.69	279.3
109	Glenrothes	39277	118	$1,045	$2,340	$2,338	$3,608	163.68	188.13
110	Gloucester	121700	108	$848	$2,160	$2,374	$4,266	229.18	263.75
111	Godalming	-	145	$988	$2,882	$2,615	$4,345	29.54	131.6
112	Goole	-	94	$809	$1,833	$2,420	$3,524	169.21	182.19
113	Gravesend	-	133	$1,077	$2,630	$2,062	$4,766	302.63	235.9
114	Grays	36601	115	$892	$2,256	$2,106	$4,474	300.29	284.12
115	Great Yarmouth	38693	142	$1,278	$2,878	$3,379	$5,508	220.25	163.23
116	Greenock	42800	105	$975	$2,134	$2,116	$3,238	27.41	226.89
117	Greenwich	285000	116	$879	$2,322	$2,644	$4,517	60.7	311.46
118	Guildford	66773	158	$1,126	$3,167	$2,816	$5,570	14.69	201.53
119	Halifax	-	122	$981	$2,468	$2,855	$3,683	331.25	252.21
120	Harlow	86191	135	$1,101	$2,719	$2,229	$5,242	361.78	255.35
121	Harrogate	-	122	$1,089	$2,391	$2,467	$4,517	87.71	213.48
122	Harrow	-	154	$1,144	$3,016	$2,779	$5,868	71.67	311.28
123	Hartlepool	92500	87	$1,019	$1,735	$2,149	$3,572	149.65	296.42
124	Hastings	92855	132	$1,123	$2,684	$2,905	$4,425	92.7	258.83
125	Haverhill	27041	115	$1,102	$2,291	$2,652	$4,425	142.62	146.41
126	Hereford	58896	117	$1,103	$2,349	$2,529	$4,422	69.98	127.94
127	Hertfordshire	-	127	$1,130	$2,516	$2,757	$5,134	262.19	216.71
128	High Wycombe	92000	129	$889	$2,523	$2,301	$4,645	47.51	201.27
129	Hitchin	34266	129	$903	$2,574	$2,891	$4,794	37.53	216.71
130	Horsham	-	140	$1,034	$2,799	$2,813	$5,120	22.68	147.74
131	Hounslow	66292	119	$1,068	$2,322	$2,462	$4,735	324.17	263.13
132	Huddersfield	146234	107	$874	$2,099	$2,866	$3,915	50.18	246.53
133	Hull	260700	115	$991	$2,296	$2,478	$4,467	210.42	282.61
134	Huntingdon	25428	125	$1,029	$2,456	$2,727	$3,767	178.24	227.84
135	Ilford	168168	153	$829	$3,030	$2,717	$5,052	88.42	373.63
136	Inverness	47060	124	$1,111	$2,484	$2,567	$4,517	34.89	162.79
137	Ipswich	120000	107	$811	$2,112	$2,252	$4,272	160.73	276.5
138	Isle of Islay	-	116	$948	$2,286	$2,720	$4,688	-	-
139	Isle of Wight	-	102	$1,118	$2,016	$2,800	$4,131	196.54	140.7
140	Kenilworth	-	114	$1,155	$2,319	$2,910	$4,556	173.6	203.08
141	Kettering	-	105	$1,063	$2,110	$2,570	$3,495	16.93	230.68
142	Killearn	1600	115	$940	$2,277	$2,694	$4,421	27.17	189.16
143	Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire	45000	109	$1,078	$2,134	$2,841	$4,022	43.28	221.97
144	King's Lynn	42800	121	$1,131	$2,388	$2,497	$4,560	45.2	117.07
145	Kingston upon Hull	260700	88	$858	$1,784	$2,323	$3,509	104.19	282.61
146	Kingston upon Thames	43013	165	$929	$3,349	$2,514	$6,358	147.76	305.2
147	Kirkcaldy	59784	111	$1,092	$2,203	$2,269	$4,401	2.28	188.13
148	Kirkwall	7500	116	$881	$2,305	$2,731	$4,530	21.68	59.33
149	Lambeth	-	115	$928	$2,276	$2,317	$4,577	45.94	293.9
150	Lancaster	46000	100	$907	$1,966	$2,455	$4,066	54.89	185.19

United Kingdom Median Internet Speeds (Updated January 2026)

Mobile

Mbps

Fixed Broadband

Mbps

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cost of Living in United Kingdom - Frequently Asked Questions

Overall affordability hinges on location and lifestyle. Cost of Living in United Kingdom tends to be higher in London and the Southeast, with more moderate costs in other regions. For travelers and expats, a mix of housing options – share houses, apartments outside city centers, or short-term rentals – can stretch a budget. Public transport is extensive but not cheap; buying transit passes or using bikes helps. Healthcare access adds value that can offset some costs, though private options exist. Seasonal shifts in tourism or business travel impact prices in hospitality and activities. Tip: build a flexible monthly plan and test several neighborhoods before committing.

Daily life comes down to housing, food, and transport choices. For housing, look at city outskirts, university neighborhoods, or smaller towns to balance rent and commute. Food options range from farmers markets and budget supermarkets to specialty grocers; cooking at home cuts costs, while occasional dining out highlights local flavors. Public transit is robust; buses and rail are convenient, with intercity connections via trains. If you work remotely, seek coworking spaces or cafes with reliable Wi-Fi. For errands, plan weekly routes to reduce trips and consider parcel pickup options. United Kingdom living cost varies by region, so align your base with your work and social needs. Tip: map a weekly groceries-and-ops route to save time and stress.

Quality of life in the UK combines versatility with practical budgeting. Start with a simple budgeting framework, allocating housing, essentials, and savings, then adapt by city. Seasonality affects leisure and transport; shoulder seasons can offer better deals on activities and accommodations in popular destinations. To find a neighborhood fit, assess commute times, local amenities, safety, and community vibe beyond price. Embrace seasonal markets, pub dine-outs, parks, and cultural events to maximize value. Compare patterns across regions by your priorities – historic cities for culture, coastlines for pace, or countryside for space. Tip: keep a flexible month in your plan to test neighborhoods and adjust your route.