Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Lewes

For one person, living costs are similar in Barcelona and in Lewes: $2,381 and $2,380 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 Lewes
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Lewes Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Lewes

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,380

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Lewes

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,380 in Lewes.

Barcelona $2,381
Lewes $2,380

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $3,503 in Lewes.

Barcelona $3,406
Lewes $3,503

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $4,625 in Lewes.

Barcelona $4,431
Lewes $4,625

Monthly costs are close between Barcelona and Lewes; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$25.36 £19.03

-29.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$92.9 £69.7

-28.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$9.92 £7.44

38.00%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.85 £3.64

-36.91%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.93 £2.20

4.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$2.66 £2.00

-27.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$8.77 £6.58

-55.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$6.67 £5.00

-30.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.41 £1.06

-7.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.68 £1.26

25.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.18 £1.64

-16.06%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$3.75 £2.81

23.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$11.14 £8.36

55.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$8.37 £6.28

10.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$12.44 £9.33

59.41%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.97 £2.23

1.35%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.46 £1.10

39.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.83 £2.13

-6.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.22 £2.41

-10.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.61 £1.21

34.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.39 £1.04

54.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.90 £0.68

63.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.52 £1.14

-42.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$23.69 £17.77

-70.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$11.18 £8.39

-29.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.28 £1.71

-39.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$3.09 £2.32

-14.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$3.27 £2.45

-11.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$96.7 £72.6

-73.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$5.10 £3.82

-41.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.69 £2.01

-46.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$23.06 £17.30

43.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.00 £1.50

-7.00%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$39.1K £29.4K

-17.39%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$40.9K £30.7K

-22.41%

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

$183 €163

$281 £211

-34.88%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$16.80 £12.60

-18.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$44.72 £33.55

-26.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$46.00 £34.51

18.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$13.08 £9.81

26.30%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$13.40 £10.05

-16.19%

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

$954 €849

$1,801 £1,351

-47.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$29.8K £22.4K

-44.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$76.2 £57.1

12.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$45.00 £33.76

-13.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$102 £76.4

1.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$88.3 £66.3

34.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$1,236 £927

37.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$1,039 £779

22.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$2,102 £1,577

22.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,656 £1,242

16.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$5,149 £3,863

41.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$3,947 £2,961

26.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$4,441 £3,332

-49.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-34.40%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Lewes: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Lewes

$1K 43.7% 18.6% $237

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Lewes

$288 12.1% 11.5% $37

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Lewes

$370 15.6% 37.4% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Lewes

$342 14.4% 49.2% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Lewes

$140 5.9% 10.4% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Lewes

$73 3.1% 5.7% $4.4

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Lewes

$128 5.4% 171% $81

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,236 in Lewes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lewes pays 99% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $93.0 in Lewes. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $288, with Lewes cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Lewes

🕒 Local time

22:09 10:09 PM

21:09 9:09 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

17,297

💱 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 Lewes 1,070 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Lewes

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 Lewes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

On paper, salaries run 99% lower in Lewes. 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $1,236 in Lewes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $1,801 in Lewes. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Lewes – a meal for two runs $93.0 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,380 in Lewes versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Lewes but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Lewes 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 Lewes are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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