Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Basildon

For one person, living is cheaper in Basildon: $2,374 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $950 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Basildon
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Basildon Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Basildon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,374

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Basildon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,374 in Basildon.

Barcelona $2,453
Basildon $2,374

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,407 in Basildon.

Barcelona $3,509
Basildon $3,407

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $4,441 in Basildon.

Barcelona $4,564
Basildon $4,441

Living in Barcelona is roughly 3% more expensive than in Basildon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Basildon 74% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$20.45 £15.35

-13.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$59.5 £44.64

13.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$9.14 £6.86

48.03%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$4.76 £3.57

-32.98%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$3.21 £2.41

-9.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.57 £1.18

20.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$6.78 £5.08

-40.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.92 £2.94

15.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.32 £0.99

-0.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.10 £1.58

-3.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.52 £1.14

21.71%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$4.05 £3.04

19.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$8.53 £6.40

96.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$4.63 £3.47

96.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$11.84 £8.88

65.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.14 £2.36

-5.10%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.30 £0.98

55.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.99 £1.49

35.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.26 £2.44

-14.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.56 £1.17

33.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.85 £1.38

11.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.06 £0.79

37.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.18 £0.89

-20.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$20.22 £15.17

-66.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$10.71 £8.03

-26.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.34 £1.76

-39.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.63 £1.22

55.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$2.68 £2.01

17.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$67.6 £50.8

-62.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$5.30 £3.97

-43.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.93 £1.45

-6.74%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$38.2K £28.7K

-13.11%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$40.3K £30.3K

-21.37%

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

$180 €162

$284 £213

-36.44%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$13.36 £10.02

3.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$35.04 £26.29

-3.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$44.46 £33.36

15.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$27.04 £20.29

-40.98%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$14.08 £10.57

-21.95%

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

$917 €821

$2,229 £1,673

-58.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$29.2K £21.9K

-43.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$75.6 £56.8

15.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$52.4 £39.32

-26.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$54.3 £40.75

94.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$52.8 £39.61

126.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$1,677 £1,258

1.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$1,219 £915

11.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$2,358 £1,769

10.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$2,012 £1,509

2.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$5,273 £3,956

31.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$3,358 £2,520

52.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$2,893 £2,171

-23.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.4

-39.26%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Basildon: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Basildon

$1.2K 51.4% 10% $136

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Basildon

$252 10.6% 21.8% $70

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Basildon

$309 13% 15.3% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Basildon

$332 14% 45.8% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Basildon

$106 4.5% 33% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Basildon

$73 3.1% 1.2% $0.9

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Basildon

$84 * 3.5% 72.6% $35

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,677 in Basildon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Basildon pays 31% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $59 in Basildon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $252 per month, with Basildon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Basildon

🕒 Local time

04:07 4:07 AM

03:07 3:07 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

184,479

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Basildon 1,140 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Basildon

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

Barcelona vs Basildon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,374 in Basildon, so Basildon is about 3% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 24% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $1,677 in Basildon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $2,229 in Basildon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 28% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Basildon is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Basildon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.