Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Harrow

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,399 a month against $2,990 in Harrow, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
146

Cost of Living Index in Harrow
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Harrow Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Harrow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,990

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Harrow

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $2,990 in Harrow.

Barcelona $2,399
Harrow $2,990

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $4,436 in Harrow.

Barcelona $3,410
Harrow $4,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $5,883 in Harrow.

Barcelona $4,421
Harrow $5,883

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 20% less than in Harrow, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 78% above, Harrow 121% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$19.97 £14.99

-10.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$93.1 £69.8

-26.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$9.39 £7.04

41.43%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$4.54 £3.40

-28.41%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$2.88 £2.16

4.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.95 £1.46

-4.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$7.48 £5.61

-48.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$7.04 £5.28

-36.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.62 £1.21

-20.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.86 £1.40

9.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.70 £1.27

1.18%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$6.11 £4.58

-21.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$11.15 £8.37

50.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$8.28 £6.21

7.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$12.32 £9.25

61.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.06 £1.55

44.66%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.30 £0.98

56.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.74 £1.30

56.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$5.19 £3.90

-48.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.30 £0.98

61.54%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.58 £1.19

31.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.28 £0.96

13.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$1.30 £0.97

-31.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$22.63 £16.98

-69.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$9.46 £7.10

-17.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.03 £1.52

-28.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.30 £0.98

97.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$4.77 £3.58

-37.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$13.04 £9.78

-76.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$3.93 £2.95

-63.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.89 £1.42

-5.29%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$39.6K £29.7K

-12.64%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$43.6K £32.7K

-31.02%

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

$178 €158

$202 £151

-11.90%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$15.13 £11.35

-11.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$39.77 £29.84

-12.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$78.0 £58.5

-31.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$13.97 £10.48

-20.83%

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

$957 €851

$1,909 £1,432

-49.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$23.8K £17.9K

-30.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$77.8 £58.4

13.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$58.6 £43.93

-32.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$104 £78.3

-1.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$159 £119

-23.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$2,258 £1,694

-26.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$1,794 £1,346

-27.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$4,113 £3,086

-37.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$3,116 £2,338

-38.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$7,410 £5,559

-1.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$7,360 £5,522

-30.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$5,100 £3,826

-55.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.3

-38.11%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Harrow: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Harrow

$1.8K 60% 37.8% $492

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Harrow

$288 9.6% 9.9% $32

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Harrow

$313 10.5% 16% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Harrow

$257 8.6% 13.6% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Harrow

$180 6% 13.5% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Harrow

$106 3.5% 40.6% $31

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Harrow

$52 * 1.7% 9% $4.3

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 $1,653 in Barcelona and $2,258 in Harrow. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harrow pays 124% 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: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $93.0 in Harrow. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $288, with Harrow cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Harrow

🕒 Local time

17:21 5:21 PM

16:21 4:21 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

149,246

💱 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 Harrow 1,150 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Harrow

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 Harrow: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Harrow differ by about 25% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $2,990 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 124% lower in Harrow. 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $2,258 in Harrow. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $1,909 in Harrow. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $93.0 in Harrow. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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 Harrow 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 25% less than in Harrow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.