Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Derby

For one person, living is cheaper in Derby: $2,255 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 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
108

Cost of Living Index in Derby
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Derby Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Derby

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,255

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Derby

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,255 in Derby.

Barcelona $2,453
Derby $2,255

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,377 in Derby.

Barcelona $3,509
Derby $3,377

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $4,499 in Derby.

Barcelona $4,564
Derby $4,499

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

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Derby 66% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$26.57 £19.84

-33.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$95.0 £70.9

-28.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$10.72 £8.00

26.21%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$4.97 £3.71

-35.81%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$2.52 £1.88

15.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.96 £1.46

-3.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$6.82 £5.09

-41.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$7.10 £5.30

-36.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.57 £1.17

-16.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.43 £1.07

41.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.34 £1.75

-20.94%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.96 £2.96

21.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$8.42 £6.29

98.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$8.58 £6.41

6.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$23.38 £17.46

-16.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$5.42 £4.05

-45.02%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.80 £2.09

-27.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.96 £2.21

-8.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.74 £2.79

-25.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.55 £1.15

34.84%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.54 £1.15

34.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.05 £0.78

39.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.37 £1.02

-31.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$23.73 £17.72

-71.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$10.62 £7.93

-25.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.28 £2.45

-57.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.61 £2.69

-29.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$4.01 £3.00

-21.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$115 £86.1

-77.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$4.34 £3.24

-31.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.62 £1.21

-8.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$31.95 £23.86

4.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.98 £1.48

-9.09%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$38.2K £28.6K

-13.22%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$39.9K £29.8K

-20.50%

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

$180 €162

$366 £273

-50.67%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$19.97 £14.91

-30.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$39.71 £29.65

-15.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$36.95 £27.59

39.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$25.60 £19.11

-37.66%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$15.22 £11.37

-27.79%

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

$917 €821

$1,912 £1,428

-52.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$20.3K £15.2K

-18.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$114 £85.4

-23.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$58.0 £43.28

-33.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$87.2 £65.1

21.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$98.1 £73.3

22.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$947 £707

79.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$746 £557

81.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,532 £1,144

69.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$1,206 £901

71.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$4,201 £3,137

64.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$3,055 £2,281

67.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$3,541 £2,644

-37.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.88

-32.79%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Derby: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Derby

$746 33.1% 44.9% $609

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Derby

$341 15.1% 6% $19

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Derby

$371 16.4% 38.3% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Derby

$425 18.9% 86.6% $197

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Derby

$161 7.1% 1.9% $2.9

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Derby

$67 3% 8.3% $6.1

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Derby

$144 6.4% 197% $95

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $947 in Derby. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Derby 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 $95 in Derby for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $341 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Derby

🕒 Local time

03:51 3:51 AM

02:51 2:51 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

233,700

💱 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 Derby 1,310 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Derby

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 Derby: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,255 in Derby, so Derby is about 8% 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 $947 in Derby. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,912 in Derby. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 6% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Derby 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.