Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Buckingham

For one person, living is cheaper in Buckingham: $2,238 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 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
107

Cost of Living Index in Buckingham
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Buckingham Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Buckingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,238

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Buckingham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $2,238 in Buckingham.

Barcelona $2,443
Buckingham $2,238

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $3,291 in Buckingham.

Barcelona $3,519
Buckingham $3,291

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $4,344 in Buckingham.

Barcelona $4,595
Buckingham $4,344

Living in Barcelona is roughly 9% more expensive than in Buckingham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 81% above, Buckingham 66% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.71

$20.08 £14.90

-12.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.0

$79.1 £58.7

-14.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$10.64 £7.90

27.91%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$4.63 £3.44

-33.05%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$2.15 £1.60

39.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.71

$1.49 £1.11

29.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$5.83 £4.32

-34.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$4.80 £3.56

-9.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.53 £1.13

-18.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.86 £1.38

13.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$2.80 £2.08

-29.64%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$4.10 £3.04

16.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.19

$9.61 £7.13

77.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$7.69 £5.71

16.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.38

$17.06 £12.66

21.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$3.40 £2.52

-7.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.63 £1.21

20.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.84 £2.11

-6.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$3.12 £2.31

-7.69%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.19 £0.88

73.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.80 £1.34

21.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.29 £0.96

18.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$1.36 £1.01

-28.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$23.51 £17.44

-70.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

$10.01 £7.42

-21.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$3.18 £2.36

-55.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.43 £1.80

10.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.94

$4.06 £3.01

-18.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.79

$98.5 £73.1

-74.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.74

$4.10 £3.04

-24.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.50 £1.85

-40.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.25

$30.03 £22.28

9.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$2.07 £1.53

-9.66%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$38.1K £28.3K

-13.56%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$40.6K £30.1K

-21.23%

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

$183 €163

$207 £154

-11.71%

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

$14.24 €12.67

$17.90 £13.28

-20.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.76

$44.64 £33.12

-22.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.76

$43.76 £32.47

17.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.58

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$13.22 £9.81

-16.34%

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

$944 €840

$1,356 £1,006

-30.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$21.0K £15.6K

5.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.0

$88.2 £65.4

-0.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.51

$31.81 £23.60

21.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.0

$74.8 £55.5

39.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$99.8 £74.0

17.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,510

$1,462 £1,085

16.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

$1,030 £764

29.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,396

$2,083 £1,546

29.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,848

$1,642 £1,219

26.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,367

$5,049 £3,746

41.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,520

$3,902 £2,895

30.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,995

$4,522 £3,355

-50.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

5.06

-36.96%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Buckingham: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Buckingham

$1K 46% 22.9% $307

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Buckingham

$303 13.5% 7.5% $25

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Buckingham

$301 13.5% 12.9% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Buckingham

$270 12.1% 16.4% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Buckingham

$133 5.9% 15.5% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Buckingham

$70 3.1% 4.6% $3.4

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Buckingham

$131 5.9% 166% $82

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $1,462 in Buckingham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buckingham pays about 2 times 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 $79 in Buckingham. Groceries flip the comparison at $328 vs $303, with Buckingham cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Buckingham

🕒 Local time

12:28 12:28 PM

11:28 11:28 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

12,890

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Buckingham 1,200 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Buckingham

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 Buckingham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $2,238 in Buckingham, so Buckingham is about 8% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 50% 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 $1,462 in Buckingham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $1,356 in Buckingham. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% 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 Buckingham 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.