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)
201	Portadown	22000	115	$1,016	$2,274	$2,178	$4,495	143.98	189.13
202	Portsmouth	198974	128	$1,034	$2,529	$2,625	$4,882	149.32	284.43
203	Preston	114300	106	$839	$2,111	$2,684	$4,401	223.01	241.73
204	Ramsgate	37967	109	$934	$2,159	$2,316	$4,324	137.47	206.23
205	Reading	162666	136	$1,068	$2,727	$2,760	$5,266	45.6	292.51
206	Redbridge	-	115	$878	$2,320	$2,755	$4,490	45.85	373.63
207	Redcar	36000	114	$941	$2,296	$2,625	$4,463	73.23	257.6
208	Redditch, Worcestershire	-	102	$1,118	$2,034	$2,476	$4,088	246.46	231.31
209	Retford	-	115	$1,008	$2,318	$2,383	$4,528	98.36	185.88
210	Rhyl, Denbighshire	25149	108	$1,039	$2,181	$2,425	$4,237	138.51	163.07
211	Rochdale	111261	108	$1,115	$2,161	$2,653	$4,467	190.62	280.84
212	Rochester	62982	108	$968	$2,134	$2,439	$4,377	105.49	253.23
213	Romford	95894	143	$1,420	$2,822	$2,835	$5,919	109.09	303.55
214	Rotherham	117262	116	$947	$2,281	$2,641	$4,553	48.68	275.54
215	Royal Leamington Spa	-	127	$889	$2,484	$2,434	$4,329	110.78	203.08
216	Rugby	70628	107	$1,045	$2,159	$2,751	$4,423	133.89	226.43
217	Salford	258834	126	$994	$2,471	$3,011	$4,925	70.89	286.48
218	Salisbury	45000	127	$1,049	$2,538	$2,664	$4,591	171.26	150.29
219	Scarborough	61749	101	$897	$2,043	$2,199	$3,642	31.86	213.48
220	Scunthorpe	-	85	$905	$1,679	$1,925	$3,589	61.36	175.24
221	Sevenoaks	-	124	$1,153	$2,490	$2,501	$5,555	7.13	190.63
222	Sheffield	547000	110	$949	$2,214	$2,402	$4,175	264.59	248.3
223	Shrewsbury, Shropshire	-	106	$871	$2,153	$2,599	$3,780	58.6	116.8
224	Sittingbourne	39974	125	$1,083	$2,482	$2,945	$4,936	63.67	172.82
225	Slough	164455	134	$963	$2,729	$2,897	$5,190	68.87	214.47
226	Solihull	206091	119	$982	$2,374	$2,936	$4,603	174.98	283.48
227	Southampton	228600	134	$1,145	$2,661	$2,836	$4,931	179.43	311.7
228	Southend-on-Sea	181808	102	$831	$2,024	$2,259	$4,945	188.22	228.18
229	Southwark	-	123	$1,029	$2,441	$2,582	$6,974	350.58	306.81
230	St Albans	57795	148	$933	$2,947	$2,398	$5,341	172.04	237.82
231	St Helens	-	100	$902	$2,012	$2,216	$4,072	354.86	287.6
232	St. Andrews	16460	107	$1,160	$2,114	$2,667	$5,753	11.52	188.13
233	Stafford	71673	109	$1,023	$2,211	$2,379	$4,329	38.59	167.93
234	Stevenage	89663	123	$951	$2,468	$2,425	$5,120	148.78	297.51
235	Stirling	37800	106	$826	$2,093	$2,202	$4,355	112.32	264.51
236	Stockport	136082	116	$1,029	$2,338	$2,846	$4,561	29.58	281.64
237	Stockton-on-Tees	82729	91	$1,049	$1,833	$2,848	$3,484	89.47	286.06
238	Stoke-on-Trent	249000	89	$904	$1,793	$2,342	$3,784	31.03	245.94
239	Stourbridge	-	117	$1,119	$2,334	$2,750	$4,486	41.02	331.74
240	Stratford upon Avon	-	125	$1,235	$2,473	$2,716	$4,825	336.2	176.11
241	Sunderland	275300	95	$847	$1,884	$2,658	$3,823	132.86	270.22
242	Surrey	-	166	$1,089	$3,272	$2,841	$4,619	35.71	185.64
243	Sutton	-	115	$944	$2,272	$2,383	$4,666	94.53	328.08
244	Sutton Coldfield	-	113	$896	$2,286	$2,563	$4,420	275.9	293.46
245	Swansea	239000	113	$1,007	$2,256	$2,530	$4,284	32.48	252.11
246	Swindon	183638	115	$936	$2,267	$2,387	$4,404	40.01	264.86
247	Tamworth	-	114	$857	$2,249	$2,760	$4,427	16.56	273.71
248	Taunton	60000	106	$1,070	$2,137	$2,606	$4,506	243.53	119.64
249	Telford	180000	99	$1,065	$1,963	$2,399	$3,750	120.02	189.76
250	Tenterden	-	115	$930	$2,316	$2,266	$4,426	63.31	121.93

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.