Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Lerwick

For one person, living costs are similar in Barcelona and in Lerwick: $2,381 and $2,368 a month, rent and utilities included.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
114

Cost of Living Index in Lerwick
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Lerwick Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Lerwick

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,368

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Lerwick

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,368 in Lerwick.

Barcelona $2,381
Lerwick $2,368

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $3,415 in Lerwick.

Barcelona $3,406
Lerwick $3,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $4,462 in Lerwick.

Barcelona $4,431
Lerwick $4,462

Living in Barcelona is roughly 1% more expensive than in Lerwick, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Lerwick 75% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$20.15 £15.11

-11.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$98.5 £73.9

-32.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$10.35 £7.76

32.27%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$5.40 £4.05

-43.33%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.25 £1.69

36.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.64 £1.23

18.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$6.45 £4.84

-40.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$5.86 £4.40

-21.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.55 £1.16

-16.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.69 £1.27

24.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.21 £1.66

-17.19%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$4.02 £3.02

14.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$9.37 £7.03

85.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$8.57 £6.43

8.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$14.44 £10.84

37.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$3.03 £2.27

-0.66%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.51 £1.13

34.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.76 £2.07

-3.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.28 £2.46

-12.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.83 £1.37

18.03%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.71 £1.28

25.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.26 £0.95

16.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.55 £1.16

-43.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$24.02 £18.02

-71.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$10.48 £7.86

-25.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$3.00 £2.25

-53.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$3.27 £2.46

-19.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$3.07 £2.30

-5.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$83.1 £62.3

-69.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$4.23 £3.18

-29.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.35 £1.76

-38.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$24.03 £18.03

38.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.34 £1.75

-20.51%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$38.9K £29.2K

-16.81%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$34.5K £25.9K

-8.02%

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

$183 €163

$309 £232

-40.94%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$19.33 £14.50

-29.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$45.26 £33.95

-27.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$52.8 £39.61

3.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$13.32 £9.99

-15.69%

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

$954 €849

$1,392 £1,045

-31.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$24.5K £18.4K

-32.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$88.7 £66.5

-2.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$50.6 £37.93

-22.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$89.1 £66.8

16.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$110 £82.8

7.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$1,112 £834

52.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$1,036 £777

23.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$2,395 £1,797

7.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,523 £1,143

26.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$4,646 £3,486

56.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$3,438 £2,579

45.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.09

-35.56%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Lerwick: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Lerwick

$1K 43.7% 18.8% $240

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Lerwick

$298 12.6% 8.2% $27

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Lerwick

$317 13.4% 17.5% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Lerwick

$374 15.8% 63.1% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Lerwick

$152 6.4% 2.5% $3.9

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Lerwick

$79 3.4% 3% $2.3

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Lerwick

$111 4.7% 135% $64

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,112 in Lerwick. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $99.0 in Lerwick. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $298, with Lerwick cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Lerwick

🕒 Local time

19:13 7:13 PM

18:13 6:13 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

7,000

💱 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 Lerwick 2,100 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Lerwick

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 Lerwick: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Lerwick differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $2,368 including rent). Lerwick is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,571 in Barcelona and $3,552 in Lerwick to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $1,112 in Lerwick. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $1,392 in Lerwick. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,368 in Lerwick versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Lerwick but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Lerwick 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 Lerwick 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 Lerwick gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.