Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Newbury

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $2,862 in Newbury, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Newbury
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Newbury Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Newbury

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,862

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Newbury

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,862 in Newbury.

Barcelona $2,381
Newbury $2,862

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $3,879 in Newbury.

Barcelona $3,406
Newbury $3,879

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $4,897 in Newbury.

Barcelona $4,431
Newbury $4,897

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 17% less than in Newbury, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Newbury 111% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$26.76 £20.08

-33.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$94.0 £70.5

-29.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$11.51 £8.63

18.94%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.91 £3.68

-37.68%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.92 £2.19

5.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$2.20 £1.65

-11.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$7.82 £5.86

-50.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$6.56 £4.92

-29.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.90 £1.42

-31.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.75 £1.31

20.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.85 £2.14

-35.79%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$3.98 £2.99

16.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$9.73 £7.30

78.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$9.56 £7.17

-2.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$12.80 £9.61

54.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.84 £2.13

5.99%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.46 £1.10

39.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.78 £2.09

-4.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.52 £2.64

-18.47%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.79 £1.35

20.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.56 £1.17

37.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.21 £0.91

21.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.77 £1.33

-50.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$21.83 £16.38

-68.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$13.14 £9.86

-40.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.60 £1.95

-46.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$3.35 £2.51

-21.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$3.36 £2.52

-13.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$72.2 £54.2

-64.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$4.24 £3.18

-29.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.73 £2.05

-47.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$13.23 £9.93

150.94%

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

$38.8K £29.1K

-16.74%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$41.1K £30.9K

-22.95%

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

$183 €163

$328 £246

-44.28%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$20.76 £15.57

-34.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$46.52 £34.90

-29.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$71.4 £53.5

-23.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$27.00 £20.26

-38.81%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$15.91 £11.93

-29.42%

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

$954 €849

$1,796 £1,347

-46.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$17.8K £13.3K

-6.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$75.3 £56.5

14.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$51.1 £38.34

-23.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$104 £78.1

-0.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$131 £98.2

-9.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$1,707 £1,281

-0.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$1,406 £1,054

-9.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$2,048 £1,536

25.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,717 £1,288

11.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$5,781 £4,337

25.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$4,286 £3,215

16.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$3,538 £2,654

-37.06%

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 Newbury: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Newbury

$1.4K 49.1% 10.1% $129

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Newbury

$312 10.9% 4.1% $13

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Newbury

$380 13.3% 41% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Newbury

$395 13.8% 72.4% $166

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Newbury

$163 5.7% 4% $6.2

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Newbury

$103 3.6% 33.7% $26

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Newbury

$104 3.6% 119% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,707 in Newbury. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Newbury pays 59% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $94.0 in Newbury. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $312, with Newbury cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Newbury

🕒 Local time

05:39 5:39 AM

04:39 4:39 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

33,841

💱 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 Newbury 1,150 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Newbury

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 Newbury: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Newbury differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $2,862 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 59% lower in Newbury. 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 $1,707 in Newbury. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $1,796 in Newbury. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Newbury pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Newbury 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Newbury. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.