Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Macclessfield

For one person, living is cheaper in Macclessfield: $2,126 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
102

Cost of Living Index in Macclessfield
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Macclessfield Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Macclessfield

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,126

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Macclessfield

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,126 in Macclessfield.

Barcelona $2,381
Macclessfield $2,126

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $3,070 in Macclessfield.

Barcelona $3,406
Macclessfield $3,070

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $4,014 in Macclessfield.

Barcelona $4,431
Macclessfield $4,014

Living in Barcelona is roughly 12% more expensive than in Macclessfield, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Macclessfield 57% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$20.83 £15.63

-14.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$87.8 £65.9

-24.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$10.59 £7.94

29.27%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$5.00 £3.75

-38.80%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.65 £1.99

15.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.98 £1.48

-2.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$6.54 £4.91

-40.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$6.52 £4.89

-29.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.51 £1.13

-13.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.49 £1.12

40.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.37 £1.78

-22.78%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$3.75 £2.81

23.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$9.46 £7.09

83.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$8.33 £6.25

11.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$15.47 £11.61

28.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$3.52 £2.64

-14.49%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.68 £2.01

-24.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$3.07 £2.30

-13.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.51 £2.63

-18.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.52 £1.14

42.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.54 £1.16

39.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.23 £0.92

19.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.41 £1.06

-37.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$23.57 £17.68

-70.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$10.67 £8.01

-26.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.48 £1.86

-43.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$3.62 £2.71

-27.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$2.35 £1.76

23.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$4.44 £3.33

-32.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.12 £1.59

-32.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$30.06 £22.55

10.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.07 £1.55

-10.14%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$38.5K £28.9K

-15.95%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$40.6K £30.5K

-21.98%

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

$183 €163

$270 £203

-32.39%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$20.19 £15.14

-32.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$40.37 £30.28

-18.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$47.42 £35.58

15.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$6.48 £4.86

154.94%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$13.09 £9.82

-14.21%

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

$954 €849

$1,255 £941

-23.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$20.2K £15.1K

-17.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$84.0 £63.0

2.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$41.92 £31.45

-6.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$88.1 £66.1

17.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$99.4 £74.6

19.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$965 £724

75.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$929 £697

37.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,269 £952

102.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,343 £1,007

43.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$1,343 £1,007

442.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,320 £990

279.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$2,289 £1,717

-2.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.82

-31.95%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Macclessfield: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Macclessfield

$929 43.7% 27.2% $348

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Macclessfield

$305 14.3% 6.2% $20

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Macclessfield

$323 15.2% 19.7% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Macclessfield

$331 15.6% 44.3% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Macclessfield

$141 6.6% 9.8% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Macclessfield

$74 3.5% 4.6% $3.5

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Macclessfield

$24 * 1.2% 48.3% $23

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 $1,695 in Barcelona and $965 in Macclessfield. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Macclessfield pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $88.0 in Macclessfield. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $305, with Macclessfield cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Macclessfield

🕒 Local time

08:47 8:47 AM

07:47 7:47 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

54,345

💱 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 Macclessfield 1,360 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Macclessfield

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 Macclessfield: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Macclessfield differ by about 12% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $2,126 including rent). Macclessfield is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 3% lower in Macclessfield. 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 $965 in Macclessfield. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $1,255 in Macclessfield. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Macclessfield – a meal for two runs $88.0 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,126 in Macclessfield versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Macclessfield but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Macclessfield 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 Macclessfield 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 Macclessfield gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.