Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Bedford

For one person, living is cheaper in Bedford: $2,117 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
102

Cost of Living Index in Bedford
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Bedford Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Bedford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,117

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Bedford

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 Bedford actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $2,117 in Bedford.

Barcelona $2,443
Bedford $2,117

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $3,333 in Bedford.

Barcelona $3,519
Bedford $3,333

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $4,549 in Bedford.

Barcelona $4,595
Bedford $4,549

Living in Barcelona is roughly 15% more expensive than in Bedford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 81% above, Bedford 57% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.75

$19.85 £14.78

-11.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$88.8 £66.1

-24.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.14

$10.89 £8.11

24.98%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$4.54 £3.38

-31.72%

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

$3.00 €2.68

$2.00 £1.49

50.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$1.18 £0.88

63.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.43

$6.72 £5.00

-42.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.89

$5.98 £4.45

-27.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.73 £1.28

-27.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$1.49 £1.11

42.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.64 £1.22

20.12%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.25

$3.81 £2.84

24.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.22

$9.42 £7.01

81.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.99

$8.63 £6.42

3.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.42

$12.96 £9.65

59.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.82

$3.35 £2.50

-5.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.34 £1.00

47.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$2.54 £1.89

4.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$3.12 £2.32

-7.69%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$1.34 £1.00

53.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.36 £1.01

60.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.04 £0.78

47.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$1.35 £1.00

-28.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.21

$23.59 £17.56

-70.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$10.80 £8.04

-26.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$2.66 £1.98

-46.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$2.46 £1.83

9.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$2.61 £1.94

26.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.84

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$5.05 £3.76

-39.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.64 £1.22

-9.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.32

$20.36 £15.15

61.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.97 £1.46

-5.08%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$39.2K £29.2K

-15.83%

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

$31.9K €28.5K

$40.4K £30.1K

-20.91%

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

$183 €163

$316 £235

-42.14%

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

$14.24 €12.70

$17.74 £13.20

-19.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.83

$39.87 £29.68

-13.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.87

$38.18 £28.42

34.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.62

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.87

$16.11 £11.99

-31.35%

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

$944 €842

$1,366 £1,017

-30.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$23.7K £17.6K

-5.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.2

$23.98 £17.85

265.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.59

$25.73 £19.15

50.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$79.6 £59.3

31.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$88.8 £66.1

32.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,514

$1,126 £838

50.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,192

$965 £718

38.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,401

$2,461 £1,832

9.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,853

$2,037 £1,516

1.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,382

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,530

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,999

$3,303 £2,459

-32.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

4.67

-31.69%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Bedford: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Bedford

$965 45.6% 27.8% $372

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Bedford

$282 13.3% 14.1% $46

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Bedford

$304 14.4% 13.9% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Bedford

$374 17.7% 61.3% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Bedford

$98 4.6% 37.4% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Bedford

$70 3.3% 4.3% $3.1

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Bedford

$24 * 1.1% 52.1% $26

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 $1,697 in Barcelona and $1,126 in Bedford. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bedford pays 47% 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 $89 in Bedford. Groceries flip the comparison at $328 vs $282, with Bedford cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Bedford

🕒 Local time

13:16 1:16 PM

12:16 12:16 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

80,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Bedford 1,210 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Bedford

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 Bedford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $2,117 in Bedford, so Bedford is about 13% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 32% 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $1,126 in Bedford. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $1,366 in Bedford. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $67 versus $89 in Bedford. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Bedford 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 Bedford are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.