Cost of living · London · United Kingdom · 2023
🇬🇧 Cost of living in London
What it costs to live in London - rent, groceries, utilities and getting around, in local euros, plus how the city compares with United Kingdom and the rest of Europe.
- City price index
- 165
- Rent, 1-bed centre
- €2,150
- Monthly essentials
- €2,205
- Transit pass
- €195
London · United Kingdom · 2023
London's city price index is 165 (EU-27 = 100), 28% above United Kingdom's national average of 129, about €2,205/month for core essentials outside the centre.
- 165
- city price index
- €2,150
- 1-bed centre rent
- €2,205
- monthly essentials
- 129
- United Kingdom avg
City pages stay noindex while the cities class is DEAD; figures remain for country-linked readers.
Estimated monthly essentials
€2,205 / month
A single person renting a one-bedroom flat outside the centre: rent + groceries + utilities + a transit pass. This is a core-costs estimate and excludes discretionary spending such as eating out, leisure and travel.
Rent in London
Monthly rent bars plus the city price-index dial against United Kingdom's national average: two TYPES, same vintage.
London - average monthly rent (EUR)
🇬🇧 London vs United Kingdom avg
Gauge reads the same city price index (165); the tick marks United Kingdom avg (129).
Average advertised monthly rents in London. Living outside the centre typically saves €700 a month on a one-bedroom flat.
How London compares across every city we track
London's city price index of 165 is cheaper than 6% of the 17 European cities on this site, ranking 16th cheapest overall on the EU-27 = 100 scale - not just against United Kingdom, but the full tracked distribution.
London: city price index vs. every tracked European city
City price index, EU-27 = 100 - Eurostat urban audit
165 Top 12% higher than 88% of 17 tracked European cities
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more tracked European cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source Eurostat urban audit + national statistics offices · 2023
Living costs in London, in context
London carries one of the widest capital-versus-country premiums this site tracks. It is the clearest illustration of why a national figure alone can mislead: budgeting off the national number alone would leave you badly short in London itself.
Rent is the line that dominates a city budget, and in London the centre-versus-outskirts split is unusually steep: a one-bedroom flat runs €2,150 in the centre against €1,450 just outside it, a gap of €700 a month. Few other cities on this site reward moving a few stops out on the transit line as much as London does.
The steadier costs fill out the rest of the budget, and London's monthly transit pass at €195 runs relatively higher here than the groceries basket (€320) or utilities (€240) - still almost always cheaper than running a car once fuel, parking and insurance are counted, but less of a bargain than in most other cities on this site.
Cities with a similar cost of living
What to do with this London data
Zurich, Switzerland tracks closest to London's cost index -- a real-world benchmark if you are weighing this city against an alternative.
- See Zurich's full cost profile
- National cost of living for United Kingdom
- Browse every city we track
- Run your own numbers in the calculator
These are city-level averages for general information, not a personal budget. The monthly-essentials figure is a core-costs estimate only; real costs depend on your neighbourhood, flat and lifestyle.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to live in London?
For a single person renting a one-bedroom flat outside the centre, core monthly essentials in London - rent (€1,450), groceries (€320), utilities (€240) and a transit pass (€195) - come to about €2,205 a month, before any discretionary spending. On the EU-27 = 100 price scale, London sits at index 165.
How much is rent in London?
A one-bedroom flat in the city centre averages €2,150 a month, €1,450 outside the centre. A three-bedroom flat in the centre is around €4,200. Rent is the largest part of any city budget.
Is London expensive compared to the rest of United Kingdom?
London's city price index of 165 is about 28% above United Kingdom's national average of 129 (EU-27 = 100). Capitals and big cities almost always cost more than the national figure.
Where does this London data come from?
Figures are drawn from ONS urban audit (2023). The city price index is on the same EU-27 = 100 scale used across the site; rent, grocery, utility and transit figures are local monthly amounts in euros.
How does London compare to other cities we track?
London's city price index of 165 is cheaper than 6% of the 17 European cities on this site, ranking 16th cheapest overall. This places it against the full tracked distribution, not just its own country's cities.
PlainCostOfLiving is rendered directly from Eurostat comparative price levels and median equivalised net income, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026. Primary sources: Eurostat comparative price levels (prc_ppp_ind) and Eurostat median equivalised net income (ilc_di03).