Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Chatham

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $2,947 in Chatham, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
144

Cost of Living Index in Chatham
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Chatham Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Chatham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,947

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Chatham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,947 in Chatham.

Barcelona $2,381
Chatham $2,947

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $4,017 in Chatham.

Barcelona $3,406
Chatham $4,017

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $5,088 in Chatham.

Barcelona $4,431
Chatham $5,088

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 19% less than in Chatham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Chatham 118% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$13.40 £10.05

33.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$94.9 £71.2

-30.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$9.85 £7.39

38.98%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.75 £2.82

-18.40%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.95 £2.21

4.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.68 £1.26

15.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$6.38 £4.78

-39.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$6.83 £5.12

-32.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.90 £1.43

-31.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.10 £1.57

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.10 £1.58

-12.86%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$4.09 £3.07

12.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$10.74 £8.06

61.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$9.29 £6.97

-0.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$15.54 £11.66

27.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$3.10 £2.33

-2.90%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.92 £1.44

5.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.71 £2.03

-2.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.67 £2.75

-21.80%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.01 £1.51

7.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.82 £1.37

18.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.15 £0.86

27.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.71 £1.28

-48.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$21.64 £16.24

-67.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$10.94 £8.21

-28.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$3.06 £2.29

-54.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.37 £1.78

10.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$4.04 £3.03

-27.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$114 £85.6

-77.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$5.10 £3.83

-41.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.58 £1.94

-44.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$20.18 £15.14

64.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.09 £1.56

-11.00%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$38.9K £29.2K

-16.87%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$37.1K £27.8K

-14.51%

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

$183 €163

$287 £215

-36.33%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$16.80 £12.61

-18.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$26.54 £19.91

24.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$114 £85.8

-52.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$9.37 £7.03

76.31%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$17.40 £13.05

-35.46%

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

$954 €849

$2,080 £1,561

-54.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$30.4K £22.8K

-45.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$91.6 £68.7

-6.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$45.69 £34.28

-14.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$105 £78.4

-0.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$91.5 £68.6

29.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$2,050 £1,538

-17.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$1,601 £1,201

-20.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$2,430 £1,823

6.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$2,090 £1,568

-8.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$7,877 £5,909

-7.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$7,449 £5,588

-32.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$2,972 £2,230

-25.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.12

-35.94%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Chatham: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Chatham

$1.6K 54.3% 25.4% $324

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Chatham

$323 11% 0.7% $2.1

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Chatham

$246 8.3% 8.8% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Chatham

$330 11.2% 44.1% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Chatham

$150 5.1% 4.1% $6.4

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Chatham

$149 5.1% 93.3% $72

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Chatham

$148 5% 213% $101

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $2,050 in Chatham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chatham pays 33% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $95.0 in Chatham. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $323, with Chatham cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Chatham

🕒 Local time

00:17 12:17 AM

23:17 11:17 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

76,792

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Chatham 1,120 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Chatham

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 Chatham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Chatham differ by about 24% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $2,947 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 33% lower in Chatham. 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $2,050 in Chatham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $2,080 in Chatham. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Chatham pay roughly 1% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona 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 Chatham are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Chatham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.