Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Nottingham

For one person, living costs are similar in Barcelona and in Nottingham: $2,381 and $2,333 a month, rent and utilities included.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
113

Cost of Living Index in Nottingham
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Nottingham Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Nottingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,333

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Nottingham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,333 in Nottingham.

Barcelona $2,381
Nottingham $2,333

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $3,341 in Nottingham.

Barcelona $3,406
Nottingham $3,341

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $4,349 in Nottingham.

Barcelona $4,431
Nottingham $4,349

Living in Barcelona is roughly 2% more expensive than in Nottingham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Nottingham 72% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$19.77 £14.83

-9.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$75.3 £56.5

-12.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$10.67 £8.00

28.30%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.47 £3.35

-31.54%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.45 £1.84

25.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.76 £1.32

10.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$6.80 £5.10

-43.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$6.75 £5.06

-31.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.85 £1.39

-29.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.54 £1.16

36.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.25 £1.69

-18.67%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$5.07 £3.81

-8.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$8.00 £6.00

117.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$9.15 £6.86

1.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$14.99 £11.25

32.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.88 £2.16

4.51%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.81 £1.36

12.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$3.72 £2.79

-28.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.56 £2.67

-19.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.03 £1.52

6.40%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$2.02 £1.51

6.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.35 £1.01

8.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.84 £1.38

-52.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$21.94 £16.46

-68.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$13.38 £10.04

-41.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$3.33 £2.50

-58.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$5.27 £3.95

-50.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$4.07 £3.05

-28.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$107 £80.1

-76.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$2.69 £2.02

11.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.45 £1.09

-0.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$25.19 £18.90

31.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.09 £1.57

-11.00%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$38.9K £29.2K

-16.84%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$40.8K £30.6K

-22.35%

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

$183 €163

$292 £219

-37.48%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$19.45 £14.59

-30.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$40.70 £30.54

-19.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$41.98 £31.49

30.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$20.75 £15.56

-20.39%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$16.19 £12.15

-30.64%

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

$954 €849

$1,809 £1,357

-47.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$27.6K £20.7K

-39.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$86.0 £64.5

0.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$60.2 £45.15

-35.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$110 £82.4

-5.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$103 £77.2

15.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$1,204 £903

40.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$976 £732

30.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,938 £1,454

32.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,427 £1,070

34.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$4,089 £3,067

78.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$4,888 £3,667

2.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$3,160 £2,371

-29.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.09

-35.56%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Nottingham: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Nottingham

$976 41.8% 23.5% $300

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Nottingham

$327 14% 0.7% $2.4

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Nottingham

$308 13.2% 14.3% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Nottingham

$352 15.1% 53.7% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Nottingham

$162 6.9% 3.3% $5.2

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Nottingham

$74 3.2% 3.6% $2.8

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Nottingham

$133 5.7% 181% $86

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,204 in Nottingham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nottingham pays 42% 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 $75.0 in Nottingham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $327 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Nottingham

🕒 Local time

15:18 3:18 PM

14:18 2:18 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

305,700

💱 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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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Nottingham 1,310 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Nottingham

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 Nottingham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Nottingham differ by about 2% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $2,333 including rent). Nottingham is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 42% lower in Nottingham. 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 $1,204 in Nottingham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $1,809 in Nottingham. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 1% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,333 in Nottingham versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nottingham but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Nottingham 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 Nottingham 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 Nottingham gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.