London vs Edinburgh
Edinburgh wins on purchasing power. Edinburgh software engineers have £86/month more disposable income after rent than their London counterparts.
After paying rent, a software engineer in Edinburgh retains £86/month more than in London — that's £1,032/year extra in purchasing power.
London vs Edinburgh: what the £86/month gap means for a software engineer
On paper, London software engineer roles pay £17,000/year more than Edinburgh. But take-home after tax and National Insurance tells a different story — London workers keep £4,360/month versus £3,396/month in Edinburgh.
The bigger picture is after rent. Average London rent runs £2,150/month versus £1,100/month in Edinburgh. Once housing costs are factored in, Edinburgh workers have £2,296/month disposable income versus £2,210/month in London — that is £1,032/year in real spending power.
Edinburgh's rent-to-income ratio of 32% compares favourably to London's 49%.
Cost-of-living equivalence
Based on a cost-of-living index of 100 for London and 72 for Edinburgh, a salary of £72,000 in London delivers equivalent purchasing power to £51,850 in Edinburgh.
Income retention after all essentials
% of net monthly pay remaining after rent, transport, council tax and groceries
Everyday costs
Estimated typical prices · scaled from Numbeo 2025
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