Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Middlesbrough

For one person, living is cheaper in Middlesbrough: $2,035 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 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
99

Cost of Living Index in Middlesbrough
Learn more

Middlesbrough Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Middlesbrough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,035

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Middlesbrough

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,035 in Middlesbrough.

Barcelona $2,453
Middlesbrough $2,035

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,987 in Middlesbrough.

Barcelona $3,509
Middlesbrough $2,987

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,940 in Middlesbrough.

Barcelona $4,564
Middlesbrough $3,940

Living in Barcelona is roughly 21% more expensive than in Middlesbrough, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Middlesbrough 50% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$23.90 £17.99

-26.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$72.3 £54.4

-6.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$10.48 £7.89

29.10%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$4.64 £3.50

-31.25%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$2.43 £1.83

19.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.82 £1.37

3.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$4.79 £3.60

-16.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$7.15 £5.38

-36.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.25 £0.94

4.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.36 £1.02

48.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.43 £1.83

-23.87%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$3.72 £2.80

29.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$7.62 £5.73

119.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$7.13 £5.36

27.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$14.20 £10.69

38.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.51 £1.89

18.73%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.49 £1.87

-18.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.65 £1.99

1.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$2.61 £1.97

7.28%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.74 £1.31

20.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.60 £1.20

29.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.21 £0.91

20.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$3.06 £2.30

-69.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$22.23 £16.73

-69.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$9.26 £6.97

-14.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$4.39 £3.30

-67.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$3.66 £2.76

-30.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$4.02 £3.03

-21.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$92.3 £69.5

-72.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$4.42 £3.32

-32.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$26.95 £20.28

23.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.94 £1.46

-7.22%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$39.3K £29.6K

-15.59%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$41.0K £30.9K

-22.72%

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

$180 €162

$346 £261

-47.89%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$16.75 £12.61

-17.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$41.43 £31.18

-18.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$48.63 £36.60

5.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$33.21 £25.00

-51.94%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$14.44 £10.87

-23.89%

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

$917 €823

$1,551 £1,167

-40.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$39.6K £29.8K

-58.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$108 £81.1

-19.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$52.5 £39.50

-26.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$113 £85.0

-6.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$107 £80.6

11.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$867 £653

95.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$635 £478

113.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,151 £866

126.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$995 £749

107.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$2,351 £1,769

194.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$1,647 £1,239

211.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$2,318 £1,745

-4.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.64

-41.84%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Middlesbrough: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Middlesbrough

$635 31.2% 53.2% $721

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Middlesbrough

$301 14.8% 6.5% $21

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Middlesbrough

$334 16.4% 24.5% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Middlesbrough

$404 19.9% 77.4% $176

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Middlesbrough

$171 8.4% 8.3% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Middlesbrough

$78 3.8% 5.5% $4

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Middlesbrough

$113 * 5.5% 133% $64

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 $867 in Middlesbrough. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Middlesbrough pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $72 in Middlesbrough. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $301, with Middlesbrough cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Middlesbrough

🕒 Local time

19:39 7:39 PM

18:39 6:39 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

139,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Middlesbrough 1,490 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Middlesbrough

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 Middlesbrough: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Middlesbrough differ by about 21% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $2,035 including rent). Middlesbrough is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 5% lower in Barcelona. 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $867 in Middlesbrough. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,551 in Middlesbrough. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 7% 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 Middlesbrough 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.