Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Liverpool

For one person, living is cheaper in Liverpool: $2,205 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 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
106

Cost of Living Index in Liverpool
Learn more

Liverpool Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Liverpool

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,205

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Liverpool

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,405 in Barcelona versus $2,205 in Liverpool.

Barcelona $2,405
Liverpool $2,205

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,477 in Barcelona versus $3,262 in Liverpool.

Barcelona $3,477
Liverpool $3,262

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,550 in Barcelona versus $4,319 in Liverpool.

Barcelona $4,550
Liverpool $4,319

Living in Barcelona is roughly 9% more expensive than in Liverpool, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 79% above, Liverpool 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.98 €16.05

$25.60 £19.34

-29.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.2

$104 £78.6

-35.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.37 €11.93

$10.20 £7.71

31.08%

Cappuccino

$3.34 €2.98

$4.98 £3.77

-32.93%

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

$2.95 €2.64

$2.48 £1.87

18.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.84 £1.39

3.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.88 €3.46

$6.52 £4.93

-40.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.08

$6.45 £4.87

-29.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$1.71 £1.29

-25.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 €1.75

$1.71 £1.29

14.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$2.19 £1.66

-20.09%

Eggs

$4.89 €4.36

$3.85 £2.91

27.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.47 €15.59

$8.07 £6.10

116.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.06 €8.09

$8.06 £6.09

12.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.18 €18.01

$13.89 £10.50

45.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 €2.75

$2.76 £2.09

11.59%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.60 £1.21

26.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 €2.32

$2.71 £2.05

-4.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$2.80 £2.12

-3.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$1.96 £1.48

9.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.53 £1.16

44.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.38

$1.21 £0.92

27.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$1.56 £1.18

-40.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.09 €6.32

$23.43 £17.70

-69.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 €6.81

$10.20 £7.71

-25.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

$2.85 £2.16

-47.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

$3.02 £2.28

-9.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 €2.63

$2.70 £2.04

9.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.91 €23.13

$103 £77.7

-74.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 €2.80

$4.93 £3.72

-36.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.65 £2.01

-45.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.17 €30.49

$22.39 £16.92

52.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$2.03 £1.54

-11.82%

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

$34.7K €31.0K

$38.9K £29.4K

-10.81%

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

$30.3K €27.0K

$40.4K £30.5K

-24.95%

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

$181 €161

$296 £224

-38.98%

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

$13.56 €12.10

$21.20 £16.02

-36.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.12 €31.34

$41.66 £31.48

-15.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.2 €47.44

$32.81 £24.80

62.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 €14.33

$17.15 £12.96

-6.41%

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 €10.14

$18.82 £14.22

-39.59%

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

$939 €838

$1,775 £1,341

-47.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$16.0K £12.1K

3.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.7

$90.8 £68.6

-2.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.77 €35.49

$42.22 £31.91

-5.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$102 £77.3

1.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €107

$102 £77.4

16.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$1,177 £890

44.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 €1,161

$827 £625

57.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$2,202 £1,664

16.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,941 €1,732

$1,250 £945

55.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,470 €6,666

$3,834 £2,897

94.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,195 €4,636

$2,633 £1,990

97.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,299 €2,052

$3,246 £2,453

-29.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.15

-36.31%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Last update for Liverpool: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54%

Liverpool

$827 37.9% 36.4% $474

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.5%

Liverpool

$286 13.1% 12% $39

Eating Out

Barcelona

$272 11.3%

Liverpool

$358 16.4% 31.6% $86

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.5%

Liverpool

$359 16.4% 56.5% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Liverpool

$152 7% 3.7% $5.9

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$76 3.2%

Liverpool

$70 3.2% 7.2% $5.5

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Liverpool

$132 6% 174% $84

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,177 in Liverpool. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Liverpool pays 41% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67.0 in Barcelona vs $104 in Liverpool. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $286, with Liverpool cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Liverpool

🕒 Local time

08:32 8:32 AM

07:32 7:32 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

434,900

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Liverpool 1,390 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Liverpool

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 Liverpool: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Liverpool differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($2,405 vs $2,205 including rent). Liverpool is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 41% lower in Liverpool. 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 $1,177 in Liverpool. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $939 in Barcelona versus $1,775 in Liverpool. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,205 in Liverpool versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Liverpool but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Liverpool 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 Liverpool 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 Liverpool gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.