Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Caernarfon

For one person, living is cheaper in Caernarfon: $1,211 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Caernarfon
Learn more

Caernarfon Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Caernarfon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,211

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Caernarfon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,211 in Caernarfon.

Barcelona $2,453
Caernarfon $1,211

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,727 in Caernarfon.

Barcelona $3,509
Caernarfon $2,727

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $4,243 in Caernarfon.

Barcelona $4,564
Caernarfon $4,243

Living in Barcelona is roughly 103% more expensive than in Caernarfon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Caernarfon is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$13.08 £9.82

34.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$94.0 £70.5

-28.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$9.57 £7.18

41.38%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.98 £2.98

-19.85%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$2.73 £2.05

6.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.97 £1.48

-4.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$4.89 £3.67

-18.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$4.06 £3.05

11.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.86 £1.40

-29.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.76 £1.32

14.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.22 £1.67

-16.67%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.43 £1.83

98.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$9.11 £6.83

83.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$7.14 £5.35

27.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$15.44 £11.58

27.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.66 £2.00

12.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.31 £0.98

54.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.30 £0.97

107.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.37 £1.03

104.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.71 £1.29

22.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.81 £1.36

14.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.38 £1.03

5.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.66 £1.24

-43.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$22.58 £16.94

-69.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$9.08 £6.81

-13.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.80 £2.85

-62.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.54 £2.66

-28.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$5.44 £4.08

-42.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$67.0 £50.3

-62.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$4.97 £3.73

-39.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.37 £1.78

-37.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$23.60 £17.70

41.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.00 £1.50

-10.00%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$38.4K £28.8K

-13.64%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$40.9K £30.7K

-22.44%

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

$180 €162

$320 £240

-43.63%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$21.68 £16.27

-36.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$40.41 £30.32

-16.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$29.92 £22.45

72.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$16.22 £12.17

-32.24%

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

$917 €821

$1,608 £1,206

-42.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$24.1K £18.1K

-31.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$105 £78.7

-17.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$49.01 £36.77

-21.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$108 £80.7

-1.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$78.6 £59.0

52.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$673 £505

152.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$1,597 £1,198

29.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$3,538 £2,655

-37.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.09

-35.56%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Caernarfon: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Caernarfon

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Caernarfon

$276 22.8% 14.3% $46

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Caernarfon

$232 19.2% 13.2% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Caernarfon

$382 31.6% 67.7% $154

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Caernarfon

$153 12.6% 3.1% $5

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Caernarfon

$62 5.2% 15.2% $11

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Caernarfon

$106 8.7% 118% $57

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 $673 in Caernarfon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Caernarfon pays 60% 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 $94 in Caernarfon. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $276, with Caernarfon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Caernarfon

🕒 Local time

05:02 5:02 AM

04:02 4:02 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

9,500

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Caernarfon 1,390 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Caernarfon

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 Caernarfon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,211 in Caernarfon, so Caernarfon is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 38% 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 $673 in Caernarfon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,608 in Caernarfon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,211 in Caernarfon versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Caernarfon but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Caernarfon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.