London vs Dublin — Cost of Living
Rent, overall costs and the equivalent salary you'd need to keep your lifestyle.
| London | Dublin | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall cost index | 85 | 84 |
| Rent index | 88 | 92 |
| 1-bed city-centre rent | £2,200 | €2,300 |
A £35,000/year lifestyle in London needs about
€40,673 / year
in Dublin, converted at approximate 2026 exchange rates (cost-of-living parity, before tax)
London
Set against Dublin, London carries an overall index of 85 and a rent index of 88: by far the UK's most expensive city; rent dominates the gap to the rest of the country.
Dublin
Dublin scores 84 overall and 92 on rent against London’s 88: a multinational hub with some of Europe's highest rents.
Cost of living is only half of what decides a move between London and Dublin; tax is the other half, and the two are taxed under different systems — run the numbers in the United Kingdom calculator and the Ireland calculator before treating the index gap as the whole story.
What the gap actually costs
London is the more expensive of the two, about 1% ahead of Dublin on the combined index (85 against 84), while the gap on rent alone is 5%. Housing does almost all the work between London and Dublin: groceries and transport move by tens of percent between cities, rents by multiples.
A one-bedroom city-centre flat runs about £2,200 in London against €2,300 in Dublin; the currencies differ, so the rent indices — 88 for London, 92 for Dublin — are the comparable figures.
What is left after rent in London and Dublin
On the £35,000 national median behind London, in this comparison with Dublin, take-home is about £2,393 a month and a one-bedroom city-centre flat averages £2,200, leaving £193 for everything else. At 92% that is above what budgeting guidance calls sustainable, so on this London side of the comparison with Dublin a flatshare or a longer commute is a requirement at the median rather than a preference. On rent index that is the lighter of the two here: Dublin sits at 92 against 88 for London.
The pressure is not evenly spread across London, and that is what a headline index against Dublin hides: at £26,250 the same £2,200 rent takes 118% of take-home and leaves -£332, while at £70,000 it takes 52% and leaves £2,063.
On the €48,000 national median behind Dublin, in this comparison with London, take-home is about €3,218 a month and a one-bedroom city-centre flat averages €2,300, leaving €918 for everything else. At 71% that is above what budgeting guidance calls sustainable, so on this Dublin side of the comparison with London a flatshare or a longer commute is a requirement at the median rather than a preference. On rent index that is the heavier of the two here: London sits at 88 against 92 for Dublin.
The pressure is not evenly spread across Dublin, and that is what a headline index against London hides: at €36,000 the same €2,300 rent takes 90% of take-home and leaves €256, while at €96,000 it takes 44% and leaves €2,921.
| Salary level | London after rent | Dublin after rent | Rent share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below median | -£332 | €256 | 118% / 90% |
| National median | £193 | €918 | 92% / 71% |
| Well paid | £1,217 | €1,965 | 64% / 54% |
| Senior / specialist | £2,063 | €2,921 | 52% / 44% |
What common roles pay, and what survives the rent
National medians for five widely-held roles, taxed locally and set against the £2,200 rent in London and €2,300 in Dublin. Pay in London and Dublin differs from the national figure — capital and financial-centre salaries run above it — so read these as a baseline to adjust from.
| Role | Median gross | Take-home / month | After London rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | £55,000 | £3,538 | £1,338 |
| Accountant | £38,000 | £2,573 | £373 |
| Registered Nurse | £35,000 | £2,393 | £193 |
| Teacher | £38,000 | £2,573 | £373 |
| Marketing Manager | £47,000 | £3,113 | £913 |
| Role | Median gross | Take-home / month | After Dublin rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | €60,000 | €3,746 | €1,446 |
| Accountant | €50,000 | €3,306 | €1,006 |
| Registered Nurse | €45,000 | €3,086 | €786 |
| Teacher | €42,000 | €2,920 | €620 |
| Marketing Manager | €52,000 | €3,394 | €1,094 |
Frequently Asked Questions
+Is Dublin cheaper than London?
Dublin has an overall cost-of-living index of 84 versus London's 85, so it is cheaper by roughly 1%, driven largely by rent.
+What salary do I need in Dublin to match London?
To maintain a £35,000 lifestyle from London, you'd need roughly €40,673 in Dublin, based on cost-of-living parity (before tax differences).
+How much rent should I expect in London?
A one-bedroom city-centre flat in London averages about £2,200 a month. On the national median salary that is 92% of take-home, leaving roughly £193 a month for everything else.
+How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Dublin compared with London?
On Dublin's national median of €48,000, take-home is about €3,218 a month and rent takes 71% of it, against 92% in London. Comfort usually starts where rent drops below a third of take-home, which in Dublin needs about €138,000 gross against the £35,000 median behind London. Tax status and personal circumstances shift the figure either way.
+Would a higher Dublin salary cancel out its costs versus London?
Not reliably. Rent is a fixed monthly cost while tax is progressive, so moving from London to Dublin on a proportionally higher salary can still leave you with less: on each city's national median the after-rent figures are £193 and €918. Compare those columns rather than the gross salaries.
Estimate only — not tax advice. Figures are estimates based on publicly available tax rules and may not reflect your full circumstances. See our methodology & sources (last reviewed June 2026). Always confirm with an official tax authority or a licensed adviser before making decisions.