The Empire State Building and Midtown Manhattan at sunset, seen from Rockefeller Center
Tower Bridge, the Thames and the Shard lit up at dusk in London

New York City vs. London

Big-city week vs. big-city week: what does crossing the Atlantic actually add?

City🗓 7 nights👥 2 adults✈ Round trip from Los Angeles📅 Checked October 2026

Flying from

Photos: New York City: Dllu, CC BY-SA 4.0 · London: Ilya Grigorik, CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons · Photo credits

Heads up: every price on this page is a sample estimate, not live pricing or a quote. Ranges are based on published typical fares and rates plus our own assumptions (see sources below). Switch the departure airport above to recalculate. Use the buttons to check today's real prices.

. Flight fares and all totals are estimates, not live pricing.

New York City

≈ $5,250

$3,834–$6,662

New York City comes out about $700 cheaper for 2 adults at the midpoint.

Flying from Los Angeles (LAX)

Sample estimate, not live pricing

London

≈ $5,970

$4,313–$7,617

The Empire State Building and Midtown Manhattan at sunset, seen from Rockefeller Center
US trip

New York City

USA · JFK

All-in total, 7 nights for 2 adults, round trip from Los Angeles (LAX)

$3,834–$6,662

Midpoint ≈ $5,250 · ≈ $2,620 per person

Sample estimate, not live pricing
Cost breakdown (sample estimate, not live pricing)
ItemEstimate
Round-trip flights from LAX2 × $307–$531 per person$614–$1,062
Lodging7 nights × $250–$400 per night$1,750–$2,800
Food & drink7 days × $130–$220 per day$910–$1,540
Local transport7 days × $20–$40 per day$140–$280
Activities7 days × $60–$140 per day$420–$980
Total Sample estimate, not live pricing$3,834–$6,662
Flight time from Los Angeles
About 5.5 hr nonstop
Best time to go
April–June and September–early November. January–February is cheapest but cold.
Entry
No passport needed for US citizens.
Watch for
NYC hotel taxes plus 'facility' or 'destination' fees; Broadway tickets and observation decks add up fast.
Best for
Broadway, food, a short flight

Book flights, tours & more for New York City ↓ (affiliate links)

Tower Bridge, the Thames and the Shard lit up at dusk in London
Abroad

London

United Kingdom · LHR

All-in total, 7 nights for 2 adults, round trip from Los Angeles (LAX)

$4,313–$7,617

Midpoint ≈ $5,970 · ≈ $2,980 per person

Sample estimate, not live pricing
Cost breakdown (sample estimate, not live pricing)
ItemEstimate
Round-trip flights from LAX2 × $774–$1,306 per person$1,548–$2,612
Lodging7 nights × $200–$350 per night$1,400–$2,450
Food & drink7 days × $120–$200 per day$840–$1,400
Local transport7 days × $25–$45 per day$175–$315
Activities7 days × $50–$120 per day$350–$840
Total Sample estimate, not live pricing$4,313–$7,617
Flight time from Los Angeles
About 10.5 hr nonstop
Best time to go
May–September for weather; February usually has the cheapest fares, June the priciest.
Entry
Passport required, plus a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for US visitors.
Watch for
UK ETA fee per person; restaurant service charge (often 12.5%); many big museums are free, which helps the activities line.
Best for
Free museums, history, day trips

Book flights, tours & more for London ↓ (affiliate links)

All-in totals by departure city

7 nights for 2 adults, round-trip flights from each city included. Midpoint of our estimate range, with the full range below it. Sample estimate, not live pricing.

Flying fromNew York CityLondonResult
Los Angeles (LAX)≈ $5,250$3,834–$6,662≈ $5,970$4,313–$7,617New York City ~$700 cheaper
Las Vegas (LAS)≈ $5,130$3,770–$6,490≈ $6,060$4,425–$7,685New York City ~$950 cheaper
Phoenix (PHX)≈ $5,130$3,798–$6,468≈ $6,210$4,557–$7,857New York City ~$1,050 cheaper
Denver (DEN)≈ $5,020$3,740–$6,302≈ $5,820$4,229–$7,409New York City ~$800 cheaper
Dallas (DFW)≈ $4,950$3,630–$6,274≈ $6,320$4,605–$8,037New York City ~$1,350 cheaper
Seattle (SEA)≈ $5,280$3,926–$6,642≈ $5,770$4,237–$7,295New York City ~$500 cheaper
Chicago (CHI)≈ $4,900$3,512–$6,278≈ $5,450$4,013–$6,877New York City ~$550 cheaper
New York (NYC)≈ $4,410$3,220–$5,600 · no flight≈ $5,240$3,889–$6,591New York City ~$850 cheaper

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Flights search from Los Angeles (LAX) for a 7-night trip; switch the departure city above to update. Prices on partner sites are live and may differ from our estimates.

New York City

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London

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New York City vs London cost breakdown: where the money goes

Midpoint of each estimate range, 2 adults, 7 nights, flying from Los Angeles (LAX). Sample estimate, not live pricing.

Round-trip flights from Los Angeles

New York City ≈ $840
London ≈ $2,080

Lodging

New York City ≈ $2,280
London ≈ $1,930

Food & drink

New York City ≈ $1,230
London ≈ $1,120

Local transport

New York City ≈ $210
London ≈ $250

Activities

New York City ≈ $700
London ≈ $600

The verdict: is London cheaper than New York City?

New York City comes out about $700 cheaper for 2 adults at the midpoint. (from Los Angeles, sample estimate, not live pricing)

Day-to-day costs are similar in the two cities, so the gap is mostly the transatlantic airfare, and NYC is usually the cheaper week for a couple. London softens the blow with free world-class museums, and February fares can narrow the gap.

New York City vs London: common questions

Answers use flights from Los Angeles unless a city is named; see the table above for every departure city.

Is London cheaper than New York City?

No. Flying from Los Angeles, New York City comes out about $700 cheaper for 2 adults and 7 nights (≈ $5,250 vs ≈ $5,970 all-in, flights included). New York City is cheaper from all 8 cities, by $500–$1,350. These are midpoints of our sample estimates, not live prices.

Is London cheaper than New York City from Dallas?

No. Flying from Dallas, New York City comes out about $1,350 cheaper for 2 adults and 7 nights (≈ $4,950 vs ≈ $6,320 all-in, flights included).

How much does a week in London cost for two?

About $4,313–$7,617 all-in (midpoint ≈ $5,970, ≈ $2,980 per person) for 7 nights for 2 adults with round-trip flights from Los Angeles: flights $1,548–$2,612, lodging $1,400–$2,450, food & drink $840–$1,400, local transport $175–$315, activities $350–$840. The same week in New York City runs about $3,834–$6,662.

How long is the flight from Los Angeles to London?

About 10.5 hr nonstop. For comparison, New York City: About 5.5 hr nonstop.

When is the best time to visit New York City or London?

New York City: April–June and September–early November. January–February is cheapest but cold. London: May–September for weather; February usually has the cheapest fares, June the priciest.

Sources, notes & assumptions

Flight ranges come from typical round-trip economy fares that fare-search sites (KAYAK, Google Flights, Priceline, momondo, Expedia, airline fare pages) published for each route from each departure airport we cover (currently LAS and LAX), viewed October 2026. Lodging uses published hotel averages where we found them (Engine's August 2026 US city averages; Budget Your Trip traveler averages abroad), adjusted to a mid-range room; otherwise it is an editor estimate. Daily food, local transport and activity budgets are editor estimates for a mid-range couple; where a Budget Your Trip average exists we set the range around it, but the range bounds are our own judgment and have NOT been verified against a single published source. Ski lift tickets use published 2025/26 (or 2026/27) resort prices; euro and yen prices are converted at editor-assumed exchange rates. Taxes, resort fees, baggage fees and tips may not be fully included. Flight ranges marked "Travelpayouts (Aviasales) Data API" in the sources are refreshed automatically from cached round-trip economy fares that Aviasales users found recently for departures about 1–4 months out (low = cheapest fare found, high = roughly the 75th percentile); routes without enough fresh data keep their previous published-fare range.

New York City

Last checked: 2026-10-17

Lodging assumes a mid-range Manhattan hotel; Brooklyn/Queens or Jersey City can be cheaper. Some hotel-price aggregators put NYC averages around $250–$336/night.

London

Last checked: 2026-10-18

Lodging assumes a mid-range Zone 1–2 hotel.

Assumptions: economy fares, 1 mid-range room, 7 nights / 7 days of spending, 2 adults. Excludes passports, travel insurance, checked-bag fees and souvenirs unless noted. Found a better number? Tell us.

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