Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Peterborough

For one person, living is cheaper in Peterborough: $2,176 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
105

Cost of Living Index in Peterborough
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Peterborough Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Peterborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,176

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Peterborough

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $2,176 in Peterborough.

Barcelona $2,399
Peterborough $2,176

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $3,065 in Peterborough.

Barcelona $3,410
Peterborough $3,065

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $3,953 in Peterborough.

Barcelona $4,421
Peterborough $3,953

Living in Barcelona is roughly 10% more expensive than in Peterborough, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 78% above, Peterborough 61% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$20.14 £15.11

-10.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$92.9 £69.7

-26.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$10.39 £7.79

27.82%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$4.37 £3.28

-25.63%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$2.03 £1.52

48.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.16 £0.87

61.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$6.44 £4.83

-40.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$6.70 £5.03

-33.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.68 £1.26

-23.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.37 £1.03

48.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.53 £1.15

12.42%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$3.60 £2.70

32.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$9.20 £6.90

82.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$8.82 £6.62

1.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$10.74 £8.06

85.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$3.18 £2.38

-6.29%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.23 £0.92

65.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.66 £1.24

64.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$3.19 £2.39

-15.99%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.30 £0.98

61.54%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.25 £0.94

66.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.87 £0.66

66.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$1.33 £1.00

-33.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$23.68 £17.77

-70.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$10.50 £7.88

-25.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.62 £1.96

-44.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$3.67 £2.75

-29.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$2.60 £1.95

15.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$114 £85.6

-77.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$6.30 £4.72

-50.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.96 £1.47

-8.67%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$38.2K £28.7K

-9.37%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$40.8K £30.6K

-26.31%

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

$178 €158

$242 £182

-26.62%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$17.52 £13.14

-23.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$38.79 £29.10

-10.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$38.28 £28.72

39.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$23.99 £18.00

-33.26%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$15.92 £11.94

-30.53%

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

$957 €851

$929 £697

3.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$21.2K £15.9K

-21.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$24.10 £18.08

265.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$25.41 £19.06

55.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$96.4 £72.3

6.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$87.3 £65.5

39.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$1,095 £822

50.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$1,000 £751

30.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$1,761 £1,321

45.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$1,278 £959

49.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$3,875 £2,907

88.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$3,170 £2,378

60.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$2,795 £2,097

-18.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.88

-32.79%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Peterborough: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Peterborough

$1K 46% 23.1% $301

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Peterborough

$268 12.3% 16.2% $52

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Peterborough

$303 13.9% 12.2% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Peterborough

$299 13.7% 32.1% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Peterborough

$105 4.8% 33.7% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Peterborough

$70 3.2% 7% $5.3

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Peterborough

$131 * 6% 176% $83

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 $1,653 in Barcelona and $1,095 in Peterborough. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Peterborough pays 23% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $93.0 in Peterborough. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $268, with Peterborough cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Peterborough

🕒 Local time

06:26 6:26 AM

05:26 5:26 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

183,600

💱 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 Peterborough 1,260 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Peterborough

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 Peterborough: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Peterborough differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $2,176 including rent). Peterborough is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 23% lower in Peterborough. 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $1,095 in Peterborough. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $929 in Peterborough. 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.

At $2,176 in Peterborough versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Peterborough but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Peterborough 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 Peterborough 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 Peterborough gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.