Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ashford and Barcelona

For one person, living costs are similar in Ashford and in Barcelona: $2,427 and $2,399 a month, rent and utilities included.

117

Cost of Living Index in Ashford
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Ashford Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Ashford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,427

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ashford 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 Ashford and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,427 in Ashford versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Ashford $2,427
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,351 in Ashford versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Ashford $3,351
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,276 in Ashford versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Ashford $4,276
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Ashford is roughly 1% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ashford 80% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.96 £15.73

$17.94 €15.96

16.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.9 £60.0

$68.1 €60.5

17.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.49 £7.87

$13.28 €11.81

-21.01%

Cappuccino

$5.74 £4.30

$3.25 €2.89

76.62%

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

$2.74 £2.05

$3.01 €2.67

-8.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.37

$1.87 €1.66

-2.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.89 £2.92

$3.85 €3.42

1.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.09 £5.32

$4.48 €3.98

58.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.29 €1.15

14.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.32 £0.99

$2.04 €1.81

-35.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 £1.26

$1.72 €1.53

-1.74%

Eggs

$3.00 £2.25

$4.77 €4.24

-37.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.22 £3.92

$16.77 €14.92

-68.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.91 £5.18

$8.93 €7.94

-22.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.39 £10.79

$19.88 €17.68

-27.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$2.98 €2.65

10.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 £1.08

$2.03 €1.80

-29.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 £2.01

$2.73 €2.43

-2.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.17 £2.38

$2.68 €2.38

18.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.10 €1.87

-20.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.46 £1.09

$2.08 €1.85

-29.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.45 €1.29

-0.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 £1.07

$0.89 €0.79

59.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.83 £14.13

$6.94 €6.17

171.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.24 £6.93

$7.78 €6.92

18.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 £2.00

$1.45 €1.29

84.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 £2.73

$2.57 €2.29

41.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.89 £2.92

$2.99 €2.66

30.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$146 £110

$25.20 €22.41

480.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.11 £4.58

$3.12 €2.77

95.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.44 €1.28

16.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.44 £16.08

$33.50 €29.80

-36.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.79 €1.59

15.64%

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

$35.0K £26.2K

$34.6K €30.8K

0.96%

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

$41.1K £30.9K

$30.1K €26.7K

36.78%

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

$244 £183

$178 €158

37.05%

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

$24.30 £18.23

$13.32 €11.85

82.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.52 £28.90

$34.88 €31.03

10.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.3 £45.99

$53.3 €47.37

15.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.74 £14.06

$16.01 €14.24

17.05%

Cinema Ticket

$21.45 £16.10

$11.06 €9.84

93.94%

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

$1,076 £808

$957 €851

12.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.8K £14.9K

$16.6K €14.7K

19.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.5 £52.1

$88.2 €78.4

-21.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.50 £23.63

$39.49 €35.12

-20.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.7 £57.6

$103 €91.5

-25.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 £75.1

$121 €108

-17.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,115 £836

$1,653 €1,470

-32.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,133 £850

$1,302 €1,158

-12.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 £1,282

$2,557 €2,275

-33.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,425 £1,069

$1,915 €1,703

-25.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,328 £4,748

$7,286 €6,481

-13.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,671 £3,504

$5,080 €4,519

-8.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,452 £1,840

$2,281 €2,029

7.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.91

3.28

49.70%

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

Last update for Ashford: October 10, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ashford

$1.1K 46.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 14.9% $169

Eating Out

Ashford

$320 13.2%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 15.6% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ashford

$307 12.6%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 26.3% $81

Groceries & Markets

Ashford

$262 10.8%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 22.4% $59

Getting Around

Ashford

$176 7.3%

Barcelona

$47 2% 73.1% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Ashford

$125 5.2%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 26.7% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Ashford

$104 4.3%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 27.7% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,115 in Ashford and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashford pays 8% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $80.0 in Ashford vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $262 vs $320, with Ashford cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ashford

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

03:03 3:03 AM

04:03 4:03 AM

1 h ahead of Ashford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,936

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 20, 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ashford Barcelona 1,090 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ashford
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

Ashford vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and leisure. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 8% higher in Ashford, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,115 in Ashford versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $80.0 in Ashford. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,427 per month in Ashford versus $2,399 in Barcelona – a 1% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,399 in Barcelona versus $2,427 in Ashford, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Ashford. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelona the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Barcelona is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Ashford, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ashford and Barcelona are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Ashford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.