Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Darlington

For one person, living is cheaper in Darlington: $1,669 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 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
80

Cost of Living Index in Darlington
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Darlington Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Darlington

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,669

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Darlington

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,669 in Darlington.

Barcelona $2,381
Darlington $1,669

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $2,624 in Darlington.

Barcelona $3,406
Darlington $2,624

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $3,580 in Darlington.

Barcelona $4,431
Darlington $3,580

Living in Barcelona is roughly 43% more expensive than in Darlington, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Darlington 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$14.91 £11.18

19.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$60.8 £45.63

8.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$9.29 £6.97

47.36%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.48 £2.61

-12.07%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.39 £1.79

28.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.95 £1.46

-0.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$4.59 £3.44

-15.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$4.33 £3.25

6.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.24 £0.93

4.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.37 £1.03

53.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.40 £1.80

-23.75%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$3.63 £2.72

27.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$7.64 £5.73

127.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$7.26 £5.44

27.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$9.19 £6.90

115.78%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$3.24 £2.43

-7.10%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.24 £0.93

63.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$3.59 £2.69

-26.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.83 £2.88

-25.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.63 £1.22

32.52%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.73 £1.30

24.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.17 £0.87

25.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.08 £0.81

-18.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$22.02 £16.52

-68.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$9.13 £6.85

-14.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.14 £1.60

-35.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$3.04 £2.28

-13.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$2.73 £2.05

6.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$84.5 £63.4

-69.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$4.09 £3.07

-26.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$16.19 £12.15

105.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.93 £1.45

-3.63%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$20.1K £15.1K

60.80%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$31.2K £23.4K

1.76%

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

$183 €163

$270 £203

-32.31%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$15.51 £11.64

-12.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$45.71 £34.29

-27.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$40.43 £30.33

35.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$6.79 £5.09

143.30%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$6.57 £4.93

70.93%

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

$954 €849

$814 £611

17.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$65.4 £49.05

31.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$56.4 £42.30

-30.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$112 £84.4

-7.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$113 £84.9

4.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$669 £502

153.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$536 £402

138.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,474 £1,106

74.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,198 £898

60.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$2,444 £1,833

197.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$2,747 £2,061

-18.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.61

-41.53%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Darlington: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Darlington

$536 32.1% 58% $741

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Darlington

$255 15.3% 21.5% $70

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Darlington

$238 14.3% 11.8% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Darlington

$331 19.8% 44.4% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Darlington

$156 9.4% 0% $0

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Darlington

$54 3.2% 30.6% $24

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Darlington

$99 * 6% 110% $52

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 $1,695 in Barcelona and $669 in Darlington. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Darlington pays 23% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $61.0 in Darlington for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $255 per month, with Darlington cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Darlington

🕒 Local time

09:23 9:23 AM

08:23 8:23 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

92,363

💱 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

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Darlington 1,490 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Darlington

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 Darlington: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Darlington differ by about 43% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,669 including rent). Darlington is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 23% lower in Darlington. 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 $669 in Darlington. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $814 in Darlington. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,669 in Darlington versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Darlington but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Darlington 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.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Darlington 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 Darlington gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.