Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Oban

For one person, living is cheaper in Oban: $2,142 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 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
103

Cost of Living Index in Oban
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Oban Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Oban

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,142

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Oban

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,142 in Oban.

Barcelona $2,381
Oban $2,142

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $3,149 in Oban.

Barcelona $3,406
Oban $3,149

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $4,156 in Oban.

Barcelona $4,431
Oban $4,156

Living in Barcelona is roughly 11% more expensive than in Oban, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Oban 58% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$15.86 £11.90

12.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$85.5 £64.1

-22.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$9.30 £6.98

47.20%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.85 £3.64

-36.91%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.24 £1.68

37.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$2.14 £1.60

-9.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$5.82 £4.37

-33.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$5.06 £3.80

-8.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.51 £1.13

-13.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.72 £1.29

22.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.00 £1.50

-8.50%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$4.56 £3.42

1.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$8.85 £6.64

96.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$11.90 £8.93

-22.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$16.69 £12.52

18.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.93 £2.20

2.73%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.33 £1.00

52.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.75 £2.06

-3.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.83 £2.87

-25.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.73 £1.30

24.86%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.45 £1.09

48.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.21 £0.91

21.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.60 £1.20

-45.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$21.80 £16.35

-68.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$11.15 £8.36

-29.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.80 £2.10

-50.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$3.02 £2.27

-12.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$3.57 £2.68

-18.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$98.0 £73.6

-74.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$3.88 £2.91

-22.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.38 £1.78

-39.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$23.74 £17.81

39.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.04 £1.53

-8.82%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$38.4K £28.8K

-15.85%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$40.4K £30.3K

-21.52%

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

$183 €163

$339 £254

-46.12%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$28.24 £21.19

-51.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$42.43 £31.83

-22.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$45.42 £34.08

20.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$6.49 £4.87

154.55%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$11.44 £8.58

-1.84%

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

$954 €849

$1,778 £1,334

-46.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$22.7K £17.0K

-26.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$97.8 £73.4

-12.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$48.68 £36.52

-19.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$106 £79.3

-1.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$116 £86.7

2.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$1,206 £905

40.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$778 £584

63.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$2,071 £1,553

24.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,231 £924

56.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$5,074 £3,806

43.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$3,866 £2,900

29.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$3,005 £2,254

-25.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.11

-35.81%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Oban: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Oban

$778 36.4% 39% $498

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Oban

$322 15% 1% $3.2

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Oban

$270 12.6% 0.1% $0.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Oban

$410 19.1% 78.8% $181

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Oban

$165 7.7% 5.8% $9.1

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Oban

$68 3.2% 11.5% $8.9

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Oban

$128 6% 171% $81

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,206 in Oban. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oban pays 35% 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 $85.0 in Oban. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $322, with Oban cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Oban

🕒 Local time

05:49 5:49 AM

04:49 4:49 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

8,500

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Oban 1,760 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Oban

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 Oban: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Oban differ by about 11% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $2,142 including rent). Oban is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 35% lower in Oban. 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 $1,206 in Oban. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $1,778 in Oban. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 1% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,142 in Oban versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Oban but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Oban 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 Oban 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 Oban gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.