Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aberdeen and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Aberdeen: $2,264 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

111

Cost of Living Index in Aberdeen
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Aberdeen Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Aberdeen

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,264

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aberdeen and in Barcelona

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Aberdeen and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,264 per month in Aberdeen vs $2,399 in Barcelona, rent included.

Aberdeen $2,264
Barcelona $2,399

A couple spends around $3,528 per month in Aberdeen vs $3,410 in Barcelona, rent included.

Aberdeen $3,528
Barcelona $3,410

A family of three spends $4,792 per month in Aberdeen vs $4,421 in Barcelona, rent included.

Aberdeen $4,792
Barcelona $4,421

Aberdeen is about 6% cheaper than Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Aberdeen and Barcelona sit above the global median – Aberdeen by 68%, Barcelona by 78%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.95 £14.96

$17.94 €15.96

11.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$94.0 £70.5

$68.1 €60.5

38.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.04

$13.28 €11.81

-19.35%

Cappuccino

$4.59 £3.44

$3.25 €2.89

41.23%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 £2.03

$3.01 €2.67

-9.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.87 €1.66

13.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.15 £5.37

$3.85 €3.42

85.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.79 £5.84

$4.48 €3.98

73.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 £1.12

$1.29 €1.15

15.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.28

$2.04 €1.81

-16.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.72 €1.53

13.95%

Eggs

$4.36 £3.27

$4.77 €4.24

-8.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.81 £6.61

$16.77 €14.92

-47.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.10 £9.08

$8.93 €7.94

35.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.59 £12.44

$19.88 €17.68

-16.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 £2.14

$2.98 €2.65

-4.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$2.03 €1.80

-32.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 £2.10

$2.73 €2.43

2.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.66 £2.75

$2.68 €2.38

36.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.28

$2.10 €1.87

-19.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 £1.13

$2.08 €1.85

-27.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.94

$1.45 €1.29

-13.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 £1.22

$0.89 €0.79

82.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.97 £16.48

$6.94 €6.17

216.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.20 £8.40

$7.78 €6.92

43.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 £1.98

$1.45 €1.29

82.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 £2.30

$2.57 €2.29

19.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.70 £2.02

$2.99 €2.66

-9.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$120 £90.1

$25.20 €22.41

376.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.88 £2.91

$3.12 €2.77

24.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.45 £1.84

$1.44 €1.28

70.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.17 £18.13

$33.50 €29.80

-27.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.79 €1.59

18.99%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$37.5K £28.1K

$34.6K €30.8K

8.16%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$40.2K £30.2K

$30.1K €26.7K

33.68%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$400 £300

$178 €158

125.01%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$28.11 £21.09

$13.32 €11.85

111.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.10 £31.58

$34.88 €31.03

20.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.5 £40.15

$53.3 €47.37

0.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.06 £16.55

$16.01 €14.24

37.79%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 £8.43

$11.06 €9.84

1.54%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,770 £1,328

$957 €851

84.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.2K £17.4K

$16.6K €14.7K

39.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.3 £72.3

$88.2 €78.4

9.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.95 £36.73

$39.49 €35.12

23.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.7

$103 €91.5

-0.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 £84.1

$121 €108

-7.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$833 £625

$1,653 €1,470

-49.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 £579

$1,302 €1,158

-40.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,573 £1,180

$2,557 €2,275

-38.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,611 £1,208

$1,915 €1,703

-15.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,281 £1,712

$7,286 €6,481

-68.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,390 £2,544

$5,080 €4,519

-33.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,625 £2,719

$2,281 €2,029

58.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

3.28

55.79%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Aberdeen: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Aberdeen

$771 34.1%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 68.8% $530

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aberdeen

$470 20.8%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 51.9% $244

Groceries & Markets

Aberdeen

$320 14.1%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 0% $0.1

Eating Out

Aberdeen

$317 14%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 14.9% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Aberdeen

$162 7.2%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 2.1% $3.4

Getting Around

Aberdeen

$147 6.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 67.7% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Aberdeen

$76 3.4%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 0.8% $0.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $833 in Aberdeen versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 59% higher in Aberdeen, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $94.0 in Aberdeen versus $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries tell a different story – $320 in Aberdeen vs $320 in Barcelona – so Aberdeen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Aberdeen

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

15:23 3:23 PM

16:23 4:23 PM

1 h ahead of Aberdeen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

229,060

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Aberdeen Barcelona 1,780 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Aberdeen
Barcelona

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Aberdeen vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona costs about 6% more than Aberdeen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,396 per month in Aberdeen and $3,599 in Barcelona. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Aberdeen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,264 in Aberdeen and $2,399 in Barcelona. That's a gap of about 6%.

Public transport costs about 377% less in Aberdeen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Aberdeen, where all-in costs run around $2,264, than in Barcelona at $2,399. In Aberdeen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Barcelona it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Aberdeen costs $2,264 versus $2,399 in Barcelona. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Aberdeen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Barcelona makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.