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Cost of living: London vs Manchester

Choose where you live now and another city. You'll see what a normal month costs in each: rent, food, transport, bills and going out.

Household
Rent

Popular:London vs New YorkLisbon vs LondonHong Kong vs SingaporeNew York vs TokyoBerlin vs LondonDubai vs London

Manchester is 40% cheaper than London.

Monthly cost for one person, renting in the city centre. Includes rent, food, transport, bills and going out.

Where you live now

LondonUnited Kingdom

£3,098

per month

City to compare

ManchesterUnited Kingdom

£1,852

per month

Monthly costs by category

Show amounts in
CategoryLondonManchesterDifference
Rent2,2431,122−50%
Groceries274244−11%
Eating out227183−20%
Getting around9579−17%
Bills165144−13%
Going out7765−15%
Clothes1716−5%
Total per month3,0981,852−40%

Manchester is 40% cheaper than London for one person renting in the city centre. The biggest gap is rent (−50%); clothes is the closest (−5%). Someone spending £3,098 a month in London would need about £1,852 in Manchester for the same lifestyle. Rent takes 61% of the monthly budget in Manchester and 72% in London.

Manchester: no reports yet, so these numbers are starting estimates from the city's overall price level.How this is calculated

Prices

Everyday prices in Manchester

The typical price people paid recently, and how it compares with London. "Estimated" means we don't have many reports yet.

Show amounts in
ItemTypical priceWhat people paidvs LondonReports
Cappuccino, regularEstimated £2.53 −20% vs London 0 reports
Meal at an inexpensive restaurantEstimated £11.03 −21% vs London 0 reports
Monthly public transport passEstimated £65.80 −17% vs London 0 reports
1-bedroom flat, city centreEstimated £1,122 −50% vs London 0 reports
1-bedroom flat, outside the centreEstimated £807 −50% vs London 0 reports
Milk, 1 LEstimated £0.76 −10% vs London 0 reports
Eggs, 12Estimated £2.81 −12% vs London 0 reports
Chicken fillets, 1 kgEstimated £7.62 −10% vs London 0 reports
Electricity, water, heating and cooling for 85 m²Estimated £114 −14% vs London 0 reports
Home internet, 60 Mbps or fasterEstimated £36.59 −12% vs London 0 reports
Mobile plan with calls and 10 GB+ dataEstimated £33.78 −12% vs London 0 reports
Gym membership, monthlyEstimated £46.72 −15% vs London 0 reports
Cinema ticketEstimated £9.34 −15% vs London 0 reports
Jeans, Levi's 501 or similarEstimated £43.91 −4% vs London 0 reports
Most reports (10th–90th percentile) Middle half of reports Same item in London
All prices in Manchester

Method

Where the numbers come from

People who live in each city share what they paid. Every price is checked before it counts.

  1. People share prices

    Anyone can add what they paid, in their own currency. No account needed. A quick automatic check keeps bots out.

  2. We check every price

    Typos, wrong currencies and impossible amounts are caught. An unusual price only counts after someone else reports something similar.

  3. We work out the typical price

    We use the middle price of recent reports. When a city has only a few reports, we estimate the rest and label it "Estimated".

No reports in the last 30 days yet. When they arrive, you'll see here how many were counted, held for a second opinion or turned down.

Rankings

Most and least expensive cities

Monthly cost for one person renting in the city centre, in British pounds. Pick a city to compare it with London. See all 118 cities

Most expensive

  1. 1New YorkUnited States£4,255
  2. 2San FranciscoUnited States£3,626
  3. 3ZurichSwitzerland£3,483
  4. 4BostonUnited States£3,446
  5. 5GenevaSwitzerland£3,303
  6. 6SingaporeSingapore£3,186
  7. 7LondonUnited Kingdom£3,098
  8. 8Los AngelesUnited States£2,967

Least expensive

  1. 118KarachiPakistan£422
  2. 117KathmanduNepal£480
  3. 116CairoEgypt£511
  4. 115DhakaBangladesh£518
  5. 114New DelhiIndia£613
  6. 113TunisTunisia£617
  7. 112BengaluruIndia£651
  8. 111Chiang MaiThailand£671

Comparisons

Popular comparisons

Cities people often weigh up against each other. Monthly cost for one person, rent in the centre included.

Directory

Browse cities by region

Rent, groceries, eating out and monthly budgets for every city we cover.

Asia 33

Europe 37

Americas 25

Middle East & Africa 17

Oceania 6

FAQ

London vs Manchester: common questions

Is Manchester cheaper than London?

Yes. One person renting a 1-bedroom flat in the centre spends about £1,852 a month in Manchester, against £3,098 in London: 40% less.

How much is rent in Manchester compared with London?

A 1-bedroom flat in the centre of Manchester rents for about £1,122 a month, −50% compared with £2,243 in London. Outside the centre it's about £807 against £1,615.

How much money do I need to move from London to Manchester?

To keep the lifestyle that costs £3,098 a month in London, plan on about £1,852 in Manchester for one person. A family of four would need about £5,161, compared with £8,056 in London.

How much does eating out cost in Manchester vs London?

A meal at an inexpensive restaurant is about £11.03 in Manchester and £13.99 in London. A regular cappuccino is about £2.53 against £3.15.

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