City comparison
Cost of living in London vs Málaga
One person needs about €3,468 a month in London and €1,380 in Málaga, rent included — Málaga is 60% 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 Málaga the way you live in London on €3,000, you need
€1,194/ month net
60% less than today (-€1,806)
- London today
- Basket €3,468 · left over -€468 (-16%)
- Málaga at the matched salary
- Basket €1,380 · left over -€186 (-16%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 152% over in Málaga (adequate) 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
🇪🇸 Málaga
The current favourite of remote workers: 300 sunny days, fast fibre, and Barcelona living for 40% less.
Monthly budget: €1,380
Sources: INE Spain + Eurostat, HICP & provincial rent index (2025) · 286 community reports
Should you move to London or Málaga?
On salary, London pays more for tech roles (€5,600 versus €2,100 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,132 in London at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €2,400 in London against €850 in Málaga. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores London at 64 and Málaga at 88 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.