Paris vs London — Cost of Living
Rent, overall costs and the equivalent salary you'd need to keep your lifestyle.
| Paris | London | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall cost index | 80 | 85 |
| Rent index | 78 | 88 |
| 1-bed city-centre rent | 1 500 € | £2,200 |
A 40 000 €/year lifestyle in Paris needs about
£36,142 / year
in London, converted at approximate 2026 exchange rates (cost-of-living parity, before tax)
Paris
Set against London, Paris carries an overall index of 80 and a rent index of 78: france's highest salaries and rents by a wide margin.
London
London scores 85 overall and 88 on rent against Paris’s 78: by far the UK's most expensive city; rent dominates the gap to the rest of the country.
Cost of living is only half of what decides a move between Paris and London; tax is the other half, and the two are taxed under different systems — run the numbers in the France calculator and the United Kingdom calculator before treating the index gap as the whole story.
What the gap actually costs
London is the more expensive of the two, about 6% ahead of Paris on the combined index (80 against 85), while the gap on rent alone is 13%. Housing does almost all the work between Paris and London: groceries and transport move by tens of percent between cities, rents by multiples.
A one-bedroom city-centre flat runs about 1 500 € in Paris against £2,200 in London; the currencies differ, so the rent indices — 78 for Paris, 88 for London — are the comparable figures.
What is left after rent in Paris and London
On the 40 000 € national median behind Paris, in this comparison with London, take-home is about 2 446 € a month and a one-bedroom city-centre flat averages 1 500 €, leaving 946 € for everything else. At 61% that is above what budgeting guidance calls sustainable, so on this Paris 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 lighter of the two here: London sits at 88 against 78 for Paris.
The pressure is not evenly spread across Paris, and that is what a headline index against London hides: at 30 000 € the same 1 500 € rent takes 81% of take-home and leaves 360 €, while at 80 000 € it takes 34% and leaves 2 855 €.
On the £35,000 national median behind London, in this comparison with Paris, 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 Paris 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: Paris sits at 78 against 88 for London.
The pressure is not evenly spread across London, and that is what a headline index against Paris 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.
| Salary level | Paris after rent | London after rent | Rent share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below median | 360 € | -£332 | 81% / 118% |
| National median | 946 € | £193 | 61% / 92% |
| Well paid | 1 906 € | £1,217 | 44% / 64% |
| Senior / specialist | 2 855 € | £2,063 | 34% / 52% |
What common roles pay, and what survives the rent
National medians for five widely-held roles, taxed locally and set against the 1 500 € rent in Paris and £2,200 in London. Pay in Paris and London 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 Paris rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | 48 000 € | 2 837 € | 1 337 € |
| Accountant | 40 000 € | 2 446 € | 946 € |
| Registered Nurse | 32 000 € | 1 978 € | 478 € |
| Teacher | 38 000 € | 2 329 € | 829 € |
| Marketing Manager | 46 000 € | 2 742 € | 1 242 € |
| 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 |
Frequently Asked Questions
+Is London cheaper than Paris?
London has an overall cost-of-living index of 85 versus Paris's 80, so it is more expensive by roughly 6%, driven largely by rent.
+What salary do I need in London to match Paris?
To maintain a 40 000 € lifestyle from Paris, you'd need roughly £36,142 in London, based on cost-of-living parity (before tax differences).
+How much rent should I expect in Paris?
A one-bedroom city-centre flat in Paris averages about 1 500 € a month. On the national median salary that is 61% of take-home, leaving roughly 946 € a month for everything else.
+How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in London compared with Paris?
On London's national median of £35,000, take-home is about £2,393 a month and rent takes 92% of it, against 61% in Paris. Comfort usually starts where rent drops below a third of take-home, which in London needs about £128,500 gross against the 40 000 € median behind Paris. Tax status and personal circumstances shift the figure either way.
+Would a higher London salary cancel out its costs versus Paris?
Not reliably. Rent is a fixed monthly cost while tax is progressive, so moving from Paris to London on a proportionally higher salary can still leave you with less: on each city's national median the after-rent figures are 946 € and £193. 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.