Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Bradford

For one person, living is cheaper in Bradford: $2,137 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
103

Cost of Living Index in Bradford
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Bradford Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Bradford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,137

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Bradford

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,137 in Bradford.

Barcelona $2,453
Bradford $2,137

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,090 in Bradford.

Barcelona $3,509
Bradford $3,090

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $4,043 in Bradford.

Barcelona $4,564
Bradford $4,043

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

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Bradford 57% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$20.93 £15.64

-15.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$71.3 £53.3

-5.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$11.80 £8.82

14.66%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.44 £2.57

-7.27%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$2.40 £1.79

21.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$2.04 £1.53

-7.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$4.65 £3.47

-13.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$4.17 £3.11

8.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.25 £0.93

4.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.42 £1.06

42.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.74 £2.80

-50.53%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.71 £2.77

30.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$7.92 £5.92

111.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$7.06 £5.28

29.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$13.98 £10.45

40.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.15 £2.35

-5.40%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.85 £2.13

-29.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$3.52 £2.63

-23.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.82 £2.85

-26.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.73 £1.29

20.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.79 £1.34

15.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.15 £0.86

26.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.92 £1.43

-51.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$22.78 £17.02

-69.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$9.22 £6.89

-14.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$4.80 £3.59

-70.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.57 £2.67

-28.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$2.65 £1.98

18.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$115 £86.2

-77.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$4.36 £3.25

-31.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$33.15 £24.76

0.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.99 £1.49

-9.55%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$38.7K £28.9K

-14.22%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$39.8K £29.7K

-20.38%

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

$180 €162

$353 £263

-48.84%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$26.05 £19.46

-46.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$44.31 £33.11

-23.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$35.57 £26.58

44.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$19.79 £14.78

-19.35%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$17.40 £13.00

-36.84%

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

$917 €821

$1,596 £1,192

-42.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$108 £80.7

-19.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$57.0 £42.59

-32.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$114 £85.1

-7.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$112 £84.0

6.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$877 £655

93.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$734 £548

84.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$1,375 £1,027

89.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$1,123 £839

83.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$3,947 £2,948

75.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$2,746 £2,051

86.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$3,443 £2,572

-35.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.53

-40.69%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bradford: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Bradford

$734 34.3% 45.9% $621

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Bradford

$309 14.5% 3.8% $12

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Bradford

$293 13.7% 9.5% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Bradford

$423 19.8% 85.6% $195

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Bradford

$176 8.2% 11.5% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Bradford

$70 3.3% 4.2% $3.1

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Bradford

$130 * 6.1% 169% $82

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 $877 in Bradford. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bradford pays 56% 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 $71 in Bradford. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $309, with Bradford cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Bradford

🕒 Local time

11:07 11:07 AM

10:07 10:07 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

293,717

💱 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 Bradford 1,410 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Bradford

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 Bradford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,137 in Bradford, so Bradford is about 13% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 36% 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 $877 in Bradford. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,596 in Bradford. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 4% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Bradford gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Bradford are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.