Cologne vs London - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Cologne	London
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1968	$3851
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4619	$8597
🏠 One person rent	$1091	$2689
🏘️ Family rent	$1830	$4575
🍽️ Food expenses	$536	$592
🚐 Transport expenses	$196	$400
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3266	$4336
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	91	100
😀 Quality of life	96	99
🏙️ Population	1.09M	8.8M

The cost of living in Cologne is 49% less expensive than in London. Cities ranked 2104th and 8th ($1968 vs $3851) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 11th and 1st in Germany and the United Kingdom, respectively. Check Germany vs the United Kingdom comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Cologne compared to 1.1 months in London. Cologne ranked 1st best city to live in Germany vs London ranked 1st in the United Kingdom, while ranked 23rd and 5th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Cologne vs London infographic

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Prices in Cologne vs London

Prices for goods and services in Cologne and London are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Cologne	London
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$15.4	$22.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$71.5	$91.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$11.3	$10.2
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.26	$9.11
☕ Cappuccino	$4.06	$5.24
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.38	$3.08
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1103	$3237
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$870	$2291
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1997	$4710
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1478	$4163
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$133	$170
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$206	$264
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$41.8	$39.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.8%	4.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$6855	$21687
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5848	$11040
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3.93	$4.04
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$67.6	$101
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$24	$31.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$2.03	$1.85
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.38	$1.65
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.03	$2.11
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.87	$2.38
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.16	$5.16
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.7	$12
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.6	$9.17
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$23.3	$15.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.25	$3.05
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.05	$1.72
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.17	$3.18
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.63	$3.28
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.73	$1.43
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.22	$1.82
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.77	$1.2
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.45	$3.31
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.3	$13.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.14	$3.12
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.05	$22.4
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$8.07	$4.31
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.45	$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.93	$2.76
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.67	$2.97
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$40.3	$59
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.3	$18.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$54.3	$69.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$20.9	$16.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$98	$110
👟 Brand Sneakers	$109	$120
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$773	$2511
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$19386	$27583

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cologne

Distance	City	Cost of living
9.2 km or 5.7 mi	Hurth	$1759
10 km or 6.4 mi	Leverkusen	$2037
10 km or 6.4 mi	Frechen	$1745
13 km or 7.9 mi	Bruhl	$1744
13 km or 7.9 mi	Pulheim	$1741
14 km or 8.4 mi	Wesseling	$1740
14 km or 8.5 mi	Bergisch Gladbach	$1726
15 km or 9.3 mi	Niederkassel	$1750
16 km or 10 mi	Rosrath	$1699
18 km or 11 mi	Monheim am Rhein	$1740
19 km or 12 mi	Dormagen	$1711
19 km or 12 mi	Erftstadt	$1702
19 km or 12 mi	Langenfeld	$1727
20 km or 12 mi	Troisdorf	$1736
20 km or 12 mi	Leichlingen	$1708
20 km or 12 mi	Kerpen	$1695
21 km or 13 mi	Bornheim	$1770
21 km or 13 mi	Lohmar	$1694
22 km or 14 mi	Bergheim	$1678
23 km or 15 mi	Siegburg	$1716
24 km or 15 mi	Overath	$1642
25 km or 16 mi	Sankt Augustin	$1747
25 km or 16 mi	Bonn	$1957
26 km or 16 mi	Hilden	$1674
26 km or 16 mi	Solingen	$1691
27 km or 17 mi	Elsdorf	$1654
28 km or 17 mi	Wermelskirchen	$1630
28 km or 17 mi	Haan	$1645
28 km or 18 mi	Bedburg	$1650
29 km or 18 mi	Hennef	$1666
31 km or 19 mi	Grevenbroich	$1659
31 km or 19 mi	Remscheid	$1608
31 km or 20 mi	Erkrath	$1661
33 km or 20 mi	Konigswinter	$1611
34 km or 21 mi	Euskirchen	$1674
34 km or 21 mi	Neuss	$1650
34 km or 21 mi	Mettmann	$1613
35 km or 21 mi	Zulpich	$1662
35 km or 21 mi	Meckenheim	$1689
35 km or 22 mi	Dusseldorf	$1979

Cities near London

Distance	City	Cost of living
1.3 km or 0.8 mi	Westminster	$2960
11 km or 7 mi	Wimbledon	$2512
13 km or 8.3 mi	Richmond	$2449
15 km or 9.3 mi	Croydon	$2514
16 km or 10 mi	Greenford	$2435
19 km or 12 mi	Ewell	$2367
21 km or 13 mi	Coulsdon	$2352
23 km or 14 mi	Esher	$2337
24 km or 15 mi	Walton-on-Thames	$2326
25 km or 15 mi	Watford	$2633
27 km or 17 mi	Upminster	$2299
28 km or 17 mi	Rickmansworth	$2374
31 km or 19 mi	St Albans	$2456
32 km or 20 mi	Grays	$2200
32 km or 20 mi	Hertford	$2197
32 km or 20 mi	Slough	$2273
32 km or 20 mi	Brentwood	$2655
35 km or 22 mi	Harlow	$2091
35 km or 22 mi	Gravesend	$2176
35 km or 22 mi	Hemel Hempstead	$2274
37 km or 23 mi	Woking	$2515
38 km or 24 mi	Harpenden	$2224
40 km or 25 mi	Billericay	$2205
41 km or 25 mi	Maidenhead	$2785
43 km or 27 mi	East Grinstead	$2206
43 km or 27 mi	Basildon	$2164
43 km or 27 mi	Guildford	$2559
44 km or 27 mi	Crawley	$2275
44 km or 27 mi	Stevenage	$2223
44 km or 27 mi	Bracknell	$2469
44 km or 28 mi	Rochester	$1780
44 km or 28 mi	Tonbridge	$2118
45 km or 28 mi	High Wycombe	$2122
46 km or 28 mi	Bishop's Stortford	$2132
46 km or 28 mi	Luton	$2160
47 km or 29 mi	Chatham	$2419
49 km or 30 mi	Chelmsford	$2000
49 km or 30 mi	Gillingham	$2245
49 km or 30 mi	Godalming	$2416
49 km or 31 mi	Farnborough	$2165