City comparison
Cost of living in London vs Amsterdam
One person needs about €3,468 a month in London and €2,767 in Amsterdam, rent included — Amsterdam is 20% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Amsterdam the way you live in London on €3,000, you need
€2,394/ month net
20% less than today (-€606)
- London today
- Basket €3,468 · left over -€468 (-16%)
- Amsterdam at the matched salary
- Basket €2,767 · left over -€373 (-16%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 181% over in Amsterdam (comfortable) vs 161% in London. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇬🇧 London
Salaries are high, everything else is higher — transport alone costs a Tbilisi flat.
Monthly budget: €3,468
Sources: ONS + VOA, CPIH & private rental market summary (2025) · 468 community reports
🇳🇱 Amsterdam
High pay and a 30% ruling for expats, wiped out by one of Europe's tightest housing markets.
Monthly budget: €2,767
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to London or Amsterdam?
On salary, London pays more for tech roles (€5,600 versus €5,000 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,233 in Amsterdam at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €2,400 in London against €1,900 in Amsterdam. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores London at 64 and Amsterdam at 70 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.