Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Hereford

For one person, living is cheaper in Hereford: $2,181 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
105

Cost of Living Index in Hereford
Learn more

Hereford Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Hereford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,181

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Hereford

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,181 in Hereford.

Barcelona $2,453
Hereford $2,181

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,178 in Hereford.

Barcelona $3,509
Hereford $3,178

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $4,175 in Hereford.

Barcelona $4,564
Hereford $4,175

Living in Barcelona is roughly 12% more expensive than in Hereford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Hereford 60% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$19.69 £14.82

-10.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$99.3 £74.8

-32.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$9.99 £7.51

35.44%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$4.50 £3.39

-29.11%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$2.31 £1.74

25.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.97 £1.48

-4.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$6.03 £4.54

-33.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$6.85 £5.16

-33.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.33 £1.00

-1.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.48 £1.12

36.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.57 £2.69

-48.18%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$3.98 £3.00

21.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$18.81 £14.16

-11.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$8.55 £6.43

6.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$14.28 £10.74

37.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.04 £1.53

46.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.22 £0.92

65.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.84 £1.39

46.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$4.78 £3.60

-41.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.96 £0.73

117.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.32 £0.99

56.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.03 £0.78

41.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.05 £0.79

-10.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$24.00 £18.06

-71.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$10.63 £8.00

-25.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.96 £2.98

-64.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$4.02 £3.02

-36.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$3.60 £2.71

-12.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$6.24 £4.69

-52.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.72 £2.05

-45.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$20.40 £15.36

63.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.98 £1.49

-9.09%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$38.5K £29.0K

-13.86%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$40.6K £30.5K

-21.84%

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

$180 €162

$337 £254

-46.45%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$27.61 £20.78

-49.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$39.12 £29.45

-13.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$57.3 £43.13

-10.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$18.86 £14.19

-41.73%

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

$917 €823

$1,622 £1,221

-43.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$23.7K £17.9K

-30.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$87.2 £65.6

-0.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$40.59 £30.55

-5.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$81.5 £61.3

29.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$83.6 £62.9

43.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$955 £719

77.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$894 £673

51.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,620 £1,220

60.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$1,348 £1,015

52.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$2,747 £2,067

-19.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.13

-46.49%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Hereford: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Hereford

$894 41% 34.1% $462

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Hereford

$320 14.7% 0.4% $1.4

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Hereford

$302 13.9% 12.9% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Hereford

$404 18.5% 77.1% $176

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Hereford

$132 6% 16.6% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Hereford

$95 4.4% 29.3% $22

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Hereford

$34 * 1.6% 29.4% $14

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $955 in Hereford. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hereford pays 24% 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 $99 in Hereford. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $320, with Hereford cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Hereford

🕒 Local time

19:40 7:40 PM

18:40 6:40 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

58,896

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Hereford 1,240 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Hereford

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 Hereford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Hereford differ by about 12% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $2,181 including rent). Hereford is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 20% 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 $955 in Hereford. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,622 in Hereford. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $2,453 per month in Barcelona versus $2,181 in Hereford – a 12% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Hereford 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 Hereford are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.