Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Kingston upon Thames

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $3,212 in Kingston upon Thames, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
154

Cost of Living Index in Kingston upon Thames
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Kingston upon Thames Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Kingston upon Thames

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,212

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Kingston upon Thames

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 Kingston upon Thames actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,212 in Kingston upon Thames.

Barcelona $2,453
Kingston upon Thames $3,212

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $4,557 in Kingston upon Thames.

Barcelona $3,509
Kingston upon Thames $4,557

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $5,901 in Kingston upon Thames.

Barcelona $4,564
Kingston upon Thames $5,901

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 24% less than in Kingston upon Thames, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Kingston upon Thames 136% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$21.66 £16.17

-18.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$78.7 £58.7

-14.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$9.85 £7.35

37.36%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$5.33 £3.98

-40.15%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$3.33 £2.48

-12.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.78 £1.33

6.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$9.05 £6.76

-55.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$9.29 £6.94

-51.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.59 £1.19

-17.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.72 £1.28

17.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.36 £1.76

-21.61%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$4.61 £3.44

4.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$10.51 £7.85

59.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$8.20 £6.12

11.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$13.30 £9.93

47.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.00 £2.24

-0.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.28 £0.95

57.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.89 £2.16

-6.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.11 £1.58

32.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.16 £1.61

-3.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.83 £1.37

13.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.15 £0.86

26.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.73 £1.29

-45.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$24.09 £17.99

-71.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$11.14 £8.31

-29.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.03 £2.26

-53.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.18 £2.37

-20.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$2.39 £1.79

31.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$85.9 £64.1

-70.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$4.96 £3.71

-39.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.61 £1.95

-42.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$39.79 £29.71

-16.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.95 £1.45

-7.69%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$38.4K £28.7K

-13.67%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$39.9K £29.8K

-20.53%

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

$180 €162

$313 £234

-42.33%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$15.88 £11.86

-12.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$40.18 £30.00

-16.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$103 £77.2

-50.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$10.84 £8.10

47.23%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$17.85 £13.33

-38.43%

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

$917 €821

$2,089 £1,560

-56.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$23.7K £17.7K

-30.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$93.2 £69.6

-6.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$49.64 £37.06

-22.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$94.3 £70.4

12.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$108 £80.3

11.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$2,201 £1,644

-22.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$1,787 £1,334

-24.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$3,699 £2,762

-29.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$2,870 £2,143

-28.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$10.3K £7,658

-32.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$7,139 £5,331

-28.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$5,239 £3,912

-57.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.12

-35.94%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kingston upon Thames: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Kingston upon Thames

$1.8K 55.6% 31.8% $431

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Kingston upon Thames

$298 9.3% 7.5% $24

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Kingston upon Thames

$351 10.9% 31% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Kingston upon Thames

$369 11.5% 61.8% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Kingston upon Thames

$155 4.8% 1.8% $2.8

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Kingston upon Thames

$139 4.3% 89.3% $66

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Kingston upon Thames

$113 3.5% 134% $65

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $2,201 in Kingston upon Thames. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kingston upon Thames pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $79 in Kingston upon Thames. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $298, with Kingston upon Thames cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Kingston upon Thames

🕒 Local time

01:07 1:07 AM

00:07 12:07 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

43,013

💱 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

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Between locations

Barcelona Kingston upon Thames 1,130 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Kingston upon Thames

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 Kingston upon Thames: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $3,212 in Kingston upon Thames, so Barcelona is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 58% 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 $2,201 in Kingston upon Thames. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $2,089 in Kingston upon Thames. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Kingston upon Thames pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,212 in Kingston upon Thames, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Kingston upon Thames. 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 Kingston upon Thames are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Barcelona wins on affordability, Kingston upon Thames on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.