Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Fort William

For one person, living costs are similar in Barcelona and in Fort William: $2,399 and $2,446 a month, rent and utilities included.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
118

Cost of Living Index in Fort William
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Fort William Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Fort William

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,446

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Fort William

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $2,446 in Fort William.

Barcelona $2,399
Fort William $2,446

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $3,571 in Fort William.

Barcelona $3,410
Fort William $3,571

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $4,696 in Fort William.

Barcelona $4,421
Fort William $4,696

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 2% less than in Fort William, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 78% above, Fort William 81% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$19.99 £15.00

-10.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$95.5 £71.7

-28.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$10.72 £8.04

23.88%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$4.57 £3.43

-28.88%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$2.82 £2.12

6.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$2.11 £1.58

-11.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$6.99 £5.25

-44.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$7.38 £5.53

-39.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.42 £1.07

-9.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.72 £1.29

18.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$2.01 £1.51

-14.43%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$3.54 £2.66

34.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$8.50 £6.37

97.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$10.74 £8.06

-16.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$15.78 £11.84

25.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.82 £2.11

5.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.29 £0.97

57.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.96 £1.47

39.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$3.81 £2.86

-29.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.09 £0.82

92.66%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.29 £0.97

61.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.20 £0.90

20.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$1.66 £1.25

-46.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$22.41 £16.81

-69.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$11.19 £8.39

-30.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.79 £2.09

-48.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$3.06 £2.30

-16.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$3.52 £2.64

-15.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$97.5 £73.1

-74.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$4.00 £3.00

-22.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.36 £1.77

-38.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$23.90 £17.93

40.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.99 £1.50

-10.05%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$39.0K £29.2K

-11.12%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$40.1K £30.1K

-25.01%

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

$178 €158

$386 £289

-53.90%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$27.12 £20.34

-50.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$42.28 £31.72

-17.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$45.49 £34.12

17.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$11.15 £8.37

-0.81%

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

$957 €851

$1,729 £1,297

-44.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$22.5K £16.9K

-26.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$94.6 £71.0

-6.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$48.49 £36.38

-18.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$103 £76.9

0.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$114 £85.8

6.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$1,213 £910

36.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$1,015 £762

28.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$2,093 £1,570

22.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$1,649 £1,237

16.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$5,043 £3,784

44.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$3,935 £2,952

29.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$2,003 £1,503

13.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.11

-35.81%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Fort William: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Fort William

$1K 41.5% 22% $287

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Fort William

$302 12.3% 5.7% $18

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Fort William

$316 12.9% 17.2% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Fort William

$455 18.6% 101% $229

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Fort William

$162 6.6% 2.3% $3.6

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Fort William

$68 2.8% 10.1% $7.6

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Fort William

$127 5.2% 168% $80

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $1,213 in Fort William. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 14% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $96.0 in Fort William. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $302, with Fort William cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Fort William

🕒 Local time

20:49 8:49 PM

19:49 7:49 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

10,000

💱 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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Between locations

Barcelona Fort William 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Fort William

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 Fort William: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Fort William differ by about 2% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $2,446 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 14% higher in Barcelona, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $1,213 in Fort William. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $1,729 in Fort William. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

At $2,399 in Barcelona versus $2,446 in Fort William, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Fort William. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelona 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 Fort William 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 2% less than in Fort William. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.