Kingston upon Hull has been named as the cheapest city in the UK to have a date night. A recent survey showed that couples in the Yorkshire city pay nearly half of the amount that it costs dating pairs in London.
Beauty experts Cosmetify analysed and compared the average cost of a date night for two in various cities, using data from Expatistan and Numbeo. The activities used in the survey included the price of a pair of tickets to the cinema, a meal for two, a taxi fare, a pint of beer and a cocktail.
Based on a cost analysis of the activities in the survey, couples in Hull can expect to pay a total average cost of £53.74 on a date night. This includes £20.00 for two meals in a restaurant, plus £3.37 for a pint of beer and £7.00 for a cocktail. A pair of cinema tickets can cost around £13.00 and a five-mile taxi fare comes to an average of £10.37.
The second cheapest place to have a date night is Cardiff, which overall costs an average of £55.43. A restaurant dinner for two can cost £21.50, which is the same price as three other cities in the survey – Stoke-on-Trent, Sheffield and Birmingham.
Cardiff has one of the highest average taxi fares out of the ten cities that made the ‘cheapest date night’ list, as a five-mile journey comes to an average of £11.96. Cocktails in the Welsh city also come to an average of £7.00, which is the same in four other cities. A pint of beer, on the other hand, costs an estimated £3.47.
Dates in Stoke-on-Trent, the third cheapest city, can set couples back £58.88. The average cost of two cinema tickets in the city come to £16.25, which makes it one of the more expensive places on the list to go out and watch a film. Two people travelling five miles in a taxi can cost an average of £10.62, whilst a pint of beer comes to an estimated £3.51.
These three cities are the only ones in the study that were found to cost under £60.00. However, the other seven cities to make the top ten list were all priced under £70.00 for an average date night.
Top ten cities to have a cheap date night
Based on the report, we have compiled a list of the ten cities in the UK that are proven to have the cheapest average cost for a date night. Of the ten cities that were found to be the cheapest places to have a date night in the UK, it was discovered that just two cities were located outside of England. Cardiff was the only Welsh city to make the list, whilst Belfast was the only Northern Irish city.
Below is a table showing the cities that were found to have the cheapest overall cost for a date night.
| City | Average cost of two cinema tickets | Average cost of one pint of beer | Average cost of one cocktail | Average cost for a taxi fare (5 miles) | Average cost of a restaurant dinner for two people | Total average cost |
| Kingston upon Hull | £13.00 | £3.37 | £7.00 | £10.37 | £20.00 | £53.74 |
| Cardiff | £11.50 | £3.47 | £7.00 | £11.96 | £21.50 | £55.43 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £16.25 | £3.51 | £7.00 | £10.62 | £21.50 | £58.88 |
| Belfast | £10.26 | £4.46 | £8.00 | £11.83 | £27.00 | £61.55 |
| Newcastle | £16.00 | £4.21 | £8.00 | £9.86 | £24.50 | £62.57 |
| Portsmouth | £14.00 | £3.92 | £7.00 | £10.18 | £27.50 | £62.60 |
| Leeds | £16.25 | £3.90 | £9.00 | £11.32 | £23.00 | £63.47 |
| Sheffield | £20.00 | £2.84 | £7.00 | £12.76 | £21.50 | £64.10 |
| Leicester | £17.00 | £3.52 | £10.00 | £11.46 | £23.00 | £64.98 |
| Birmingham | £20.00 | £3.87 | £8.00 | £12.08 | £21.50 | £65.45 |
It costs courting couples in Belfast an average of £61.55 to participate in the same date night activities, including a trip to the cinema and a meal out. However, despite the Northern Irish city only placing fourth on the list, two cinema tickets in Belfast were found to cost an average of £10.26, which is the cheapest of any city in the study.
Pints of beer were slightly more expensive in Belfast than elsewhere, as the average cost came to £4.46. Cocktails were also pricier, at an average cost of £8.00 each. The average cost for a five-mile taxi ride was found to be £11.83, which made Belfast taxi prices the third most expensive on this list.
Newcastle is the most northern city to make the list for the cheapest date nights in the UK. Couples in this city will only have to spend an average of £62.57 to enjoy a romantic dinner and a trip to the pictures. This includes an average bill of £24.50 for dinner at a restaurant, as well as an estimated cost of £4.21 for a pint of beer and an £8.00 cocktail. Geordie taxi drivers have the cheapest rates found in the survey, as a five-mile journey costs an estimated £9.86 in the city.
At the other end of the country, Portsmouth was found to be the sixth cheapest place to have a date night. Couples in the great waterfront city only pay three pence more than those in Newcastle to participate in the same type of date. However, although the overall average cost of the cities is very similar, the individual prices of the five components of the dates do vary. For example, a dinner for two in Portsmouth costs an average of £27.50, whilst it would cost around £24.50 further north in Newcastle. This price difference is almost balanced out by the higher cost of two cinema tickets in Newcastle (£16.00), compared to the price of two tickets in Portsmouth, which comes to around £14.00.
A similar trend can be seen in Leeds, as a meal out for two in the city has one of the cheapest price tags at £23.00, but the overall cost of a date night in Leeds is pushed up by other aspects. This includes higher average costs for things such as a cocktail, which is priced at around £9.00, as well as cinema tickets, which come to an estimated £16.25.
Sheffield and Birmingham were placed in seventh and tenth place as the most affordable cities for a date night. Both cities had an average charge of £20.00 for two cinema tickets, which was the highest amount of any of the ten cities on the list. A taxi fare in Sheffield also topped the list as the most expensive on average at £12.76. However, a pint of beer in Sheffield costs an average of £2.84, which was exceptionally low compared to the cost in other cities.
Leicester and Birmingham finished off the list of the top ten cities for a cheap date night. Leicester had a high average cost for a single cocktail at £10.00, which was £3.00 higher than the majority of other cities on the list. Birmingham couples can be set back an average of £12.08 for a taxi ride, which is also somewhat pricier than many of the other top ten cities.
Most expensive cities to have a date night
The study by Cosmetify also discovered the most expensive cities for couples on a date night. London proved to be the most costly place to spend a romantic evening as it has an average cost of £103.97. This is just over £20.00 higher than Oxford, which was the second most expensive city to have a date night.
Dinner for two in the capital can cost a staggering £34.00 on average, which is far higher than the £20.00 it can cost in Hull. Other expensive aspects of a London date include £12.00 for a single cocktail, £6.11 for a pint of beer and £24.86 for a five-mile ride in one of London’s iconic black taxi cabs. Cinema tickets are also pretty costly at £27.00 for a pair.
An average date night in Oxford came to £83.96, whilst Edinburgh can set couples back an estimated £82.73, according to the same survey. These prices include £30.50 for a restaurant dinner in Oxford and £33.50 for the same in Edinburgh.
| City | Average cost for two cinema tickets | Average cost for one pint beer | Average cost for one cocktail | Average cost for a taxi fare (5 miles) | Average cost for a restaurant dinner for two people | Total average cost |
| London | £27.00 | £6.11 | £12.00 | £24.86 | £34.00 | £103.97 |
| Oxford | £22.00 | £4.25 | £8.00 | £19.21 | £30.50 | £83.96 |
| Edinburgh | £20.00 | £4.55 | £9.00 | £15.68 | £33.50 | £82.73 |
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for Cosmetify said: “After spending so long being unable to enjoy a night out with a partner, people can finally have a date night again. Couples in Kingston upon Hull can enjoy the fact that they are getting good value for money compared to the rest of the UK. Meanwhile, Londoners might face more awkward questions about splitting the bill, given how high the cost of a date is in the capital.”
Cheap date night ideas
There are plenty of fun date ideas that are totally free, whilst still helping you to spend time with your significant other. You won’t even have to travel as there are plenty of cheap date ideas that you can do in your own city.
You can create fun memories with each other by taking part in a DIY spa night, going for an early evening bike ride or even going to a nearby pub for an open mic night.
Some of the best cheap date ideas are so versatile that they can be used for your next date, or even as a first date. You may be surprised by how much fun it is to stay in for a movie night or a game night to play board games.
The best date idea is based on the ability to spend quality time with your partner, which is why you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a fun date.
