Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Merthyr Tydfil

For one person, living is cheaper in Merthyr Tydfil: $2,104 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
100

Cost of Living Index in Merthyr Tydfil
Learn more

Merthyr Tydfil Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Merthyr Tydfil

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,104

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Merthyr Tydfil

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,104 in Merthyr Tydfil.

Barcelona $2,453
Merthyr Tydfil $2,104

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,907 in Merthyr Tydfil.

Barcelona $3,509
Merthyr Tydfil $2,907

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,710 in Merthyr Tydfil.

Barcelona $4,564
Merthyr Tydfil $3,710

Living in Barcelona is roughly 17% more expensive than in Merthyr Tydfil, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Merthyr Tydfil 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$24.24 £18.10

-27.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$61.5 £45.91

9.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$10.48 £7.83

29.10%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$4.68 £3.49

-31.84%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$2.61 £1.95

11.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.65 £1.23

14.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$6.19 £4.62

-35.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$5.55 £4.14

-18.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.42 £1.06

-7.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.64 £0.48

215.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.66 £1.24

11.45%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$4.02 £3.00

20.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$8.55 £6.39

95.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$8.92 £6.66

2.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$13.33 £9.95

47.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.61 £1.95

14.18%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.80 £1.35

12.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.61 £1.95

3.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.10 £2.31

-9.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.23 £0.92

69.92%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.31 £0.98

58.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.20 £0.90

21.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.08 £0.81

-12.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$23.69 £17.69

-71.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$10.65 £7.96

-25.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.90 £2.17

-51.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.51 £2.62

-27.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$96.7 £72.2

-73.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$3.44 £2.57

-13.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.66 £1.24

-10.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$27.13 £20.26

23.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.18 £1.63

-17.43%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$38.7K £28.9K

-14.16%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$40.8K £30.4K

-22.22%

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

$180 €162

$326 £244

-44.69%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$13.16 £9.83

5.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$36.78 £27.46

-8.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$40.41 £30.17

27.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.94 £5.93

38.41%

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

$917 €821

$2,350 £1,755

-61.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$25.2K £18.8K

-34.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$100 £75.0

-13.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$48.24 £36.02

-20.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$108 £80.8

-2.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$99.4 £74.2

20.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$789 £589

115.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$792 £591

71.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,153 £861

125.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$1,007 £752

104.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$1,572 £1,174

40.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.87

-32.65%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Merthyr Tydfil: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Merthyr Tydfil

$792 37.6% 41.6% $564

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Merthyr Tydfil

$270 12.9% 16% $51

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Merthyr Tydfil

$341 16.2% 27.1% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Merthyr Tydfil

$376 17.9% 65% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Merthyr Tydfil

$160 7.6% 1.5% $2.3

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Merthyr Tydfil

$56 2.7% 23.4% $17

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Merthyr Tydfil

$108 * 5.2% 124% $60

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $789 in Merthyr Tydfil. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 41% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $61 in Merthyr Tydfil for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $270 per month, with Merthyr Tydfil cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Merthyr Tydfil

🕒 Local time

06:32 6:32 AM

05:32 5:32 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

43,820

💱 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

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Between locations

Barcelona Merthyr Tydfil 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

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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 Merthyr Tydfil: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,104 in Merthyr Tydfil, so Merthyr Tydfil is about 14% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 41% higher in Barcelona, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $789 in Merthyr Tydfil. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $2,350 in Merthyr Tydfil. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Merthyr Tydfil gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

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