We all love a cup of coffee. In the UK alone, we get through 95 million cups of coffee a day, and our quench for caffeine doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Lately, the flat white has conquered the coffee scene. The 8-ounce cup is made with espresso, steamed milk and finished in the milk steamer, forming the flat white’s identity. After the Aussie coffee creation has become the millennial coffee of choice, flat whites have quickly risen in the ranks, despite only being introduced in many coffee chains in the last ten years.
Despite the fact that the size of a flat white is almost always the same across the world, you could be paying above the odds depending on where you live, (unless you’re willing to travel to Columbia).
That’s right, UK Debt Expert has gone global in search of the perfectly priced flat white. Using Uber Eats, we analysed popular coffee chains Starbucks, Pret and Dunkin Donuts in capital cities across the world, before converting the original cost to Great British Pounds, to create the Flat White Index of 2024.
Where is the cheapest flat white in the world?
Home to the Arabica coffee beans, Bogota in Colombia has been revealed to be the cheapest location for a flat white coffee, costing the equivalent of only 30p.
Colombia is one of the major coffee-producing countries in the world, just behind Brazil and Vietnam, and has been producing coffee since the 1700s. With the ideal temperatures for coffee plants to thrive, it is no surprise that Colombian coffee is one of the most popular beans to buy globally.
Vietnam, Lebanon, Cambodia and Egypt are also among the top ten cities offering the cheapest flat white. Tourists can find flat whites for less than £1 in popular travel destinations like Cambodia and Vietnam.
Famous for being the founder of the flat white, Australia ranks in the top 10 costing less than £3 for a cup.
Colombia’s neighbour Brazil, the largest coffee exporter in the world, also made the list with a flat white costing £2.06 in its capital Brasilia.
On the other side of the world, Lisbon in Portugal ranks 10th with the average price of a flat white being less than £3.
| Rank | Country | City | Price (GBP) |
| 1 | Colombia | Bogotá | 0.3 |
| 2 | Vietnam | Hanoi | 0.3 |
| 3 | Lebanon | Beirut | 0.51 |
| 4 | Cambodia | Phnom Penh | 0.73 |
| 5 | Egypt | Cairo | 1.03 |
| 6 | Morocco | Rabat | 1.97 |
| 7 | Brazil | Brasília | 2.06 |
| 8 | Australia | Canberra | 2.38 |
| 9 | Serbia | Belgrade | 2.73 |
| 10 | Portugal | Lisbon | 2.77 |
Where is the most expensive for a flat white?
Copenhagen in Denmark is deemed the most expensive city for a flat white at the equivalent of close to £6 – the same amount as 20 flat whites in Colombia.
The high price doesn’t seem to be slowing Danish residents down, as Denmark ranked in the top 10 countries for coffee consumption, at roughly 7 kilograms of coffee consumed per person a year.
Many European cities made the list, including Italy, Greece, Austria and Ireland all priced at an average of £5. The increase in inflation and shipping costs might have contributed to these price increases, making it more difficult to receive large quantities of goods like coffee for a reasonable price.
| Rank | Country | City | Price (GBP) |
| 1 | Denmark | Copenhagen | 5.86 |
| 2 | Uruguay | Montevideo | 5.21 |
| 3 | Italy | Rome | 5 |
| 4 | Greece | Athens | 5 |
| 5 | Austria | Vienna | 5 |
| 6 | Ireland | Dublin | 5 |
| 7 | Chile | Santiago | 4.75 |
| 8 | Costa Rica | San José | 4.68 |
| 9 | Singapore | Singapore | 4.66 |
| 10 | United States | Washington D.C. | 4.62 |
How expensive is a flat white across the top 20 cities?
England, known for its coffee-loving culture, comes in 17th place, with a flat white costing £3.65. This might sting a bit more now that Pret’s subscription, which used to give you ‘five free coffees a day,’ for £30, but is now no longer available.
| Rank | Country | City | Price (GBP) |
| 1 | Colombia | Bogotá | 0.3 |
| 2 | Vietnam | Hanoi | 0.3 |
| 3 | Lebanon | Beirut | 0.51 |
| 4 | Cambodia | Phnom Penh | 0.73 |
| 5 | Egypt | Cairo | 1.03 |
| 6 | Morocco | Rabat | 1.97 |
| 7 | Brazil | Brasília | 2.06 |
| 8 | Australia | Canberra | 2.38 |
| 9 | Serbia | Belgrade | 2.73 |
| 10 | Portugal | Lisbon | 2.77 |
| 11 | India | New Delhi | 2.80 |
| 12 | Sweden | Stockholm | 2.82 |
| 13 | Bulgaria | Sofia | 2.88 |
| 14 | Paraguay | Asunción | 3.07 |
| 15 | Japan | Tokyo | 3.09 |
| 16 | Peru | Lima | 3.1 |
| 17 | Taiwan | Taipei | 3.19 |
| 18 | United Kingdom | London | 3.25 |
| 19 | Germany | Berlin | 3.29 |
| 20 | Saudi Arabia | Riyadh | 3.31 |
It’s easy to pick up a coffee here and there and not feel as if you’re spending too much, but little purchases can add up quickly, and if you’re not conscious about how much you’re spending, it can be easy to spend over your means on daily coffees.
If you’re a fan of flat white and don’t want to sacrifice your espresso, try creating a coffee budget pot. This way you’ll know how much you have left to spend, without overspending and risking dipping into your overdraft.
If you’re worried that your spending habits are impacting your ability to cover essential costs, it’s important to find out the options available to you, whether that is speaking to a trusted friend, or to a debt support expert who can help you.”
Methodology
UK Debt Expert analysed the 50 most populated cities across the world to find out the cost of a flat white.
Using Uber Eats we looked at Starbucks, Pret and Dunkin Donuts and found the cost of the standardised size flat white and converted the price into GPB to reveal the most and least expensive cities for the drink.
Data correct as of July 2024.
