Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Portsmouth

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $2,765 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,765

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Portsmouth

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,765 in Portsmouth.

Barcelona $2,453
Portsmouth $2,765

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,781 in Portsmouth.

Barcelona $3,509
Portsmouth $3,781

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $4,798 in Portsmouth.

Barcelona $4,564
Portsmouth $4,798

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 11% less than in Portsmouth, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Portsmouth 103% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$20.08 £15.00

-12.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$66.5 £49.62

1.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$10.54 £7.87

28.37%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$4.78 £3.57

-33.26%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$2.74 £2.05

6.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$2.31 £1.73

-18.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$6.28 £4.69

-36.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$5.85 £4.37

-22.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.39 £1.04

-5.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.61 £1.20

25.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.67 £2.74

-49.59%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.46 £2.58

39.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$13.49 £10.07

24.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$8.16 £6.09

11.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$13.18 £9.84

49.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.89 £2.91

-23.39%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.93 £1.44

4.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.92 £2.18

-7.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.38 £2.52

-17.16%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.67 £1.25

25.15%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.67 £1.25

23.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.21 £0.90

20.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.47 £1.10

-36.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$22.69 £16.94

-69.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$11.13 £8.31

-29.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.13 £2.34

-54.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.16 £1.61

17.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$3.94 £2.94

-20.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$86.3 £64.4

-70.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$5.31 £3.96

-43.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.54 £1.15

-3.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$19.93 £14.88

67.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.09 £1.56

-13.88%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$38.5K £28.8K

-13.82%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$41.1K £30.7K

-22.84%

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

$180 €162

$661 £493

-72.70%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$15.19 £11.34

-8.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$43.05 £32.14

-21.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$34.53 £25.78

49.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$17.24 £12.87

-7.42%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$10.80 £8.06

1.76%

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

$917 €821

$1,602 £1,196

-42.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$20.0K £14.9K

-17.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$91.2 £68.1

-4.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$39.80 £29.72

-3.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$100 £75.0

5.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$119 £89.2

0.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$1,493 £1,115

13.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$1,092 £815

24.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$2,146 £1,602

21.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$1,669 £1,246

23.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$4,574 £3,415

51.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$3,680 £2,748

39.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$3,397 £2,536

-34.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.16

-36.43%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Portsmouth: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.5% 19.4% $264

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Portsmouth

$312 11.3% 3.1% $9.9

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Portsmouth

$313 11.3% 16.8% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Portsmouth

$719 26% 216% $491

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Portsmouth

$158 5.7% 0.1% $0.1

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Portsmouth

$56 2% 23.6% $17

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Portsmouth

$115 4.2% 137% $67

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,493 in Portsmouth. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portsmouth pays 54% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $66 in Portsmouth for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $312 per month, with Portsmouth cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🕒 Local time

04:57 4:57 AM

03:57 3:57 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

198,974

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Portsmouth 1,080 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Portsmouth

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 Portsmouth: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,765 in Portsmouth, so Barcelona is about 11% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 35% 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 $1,493 in Portsmouth. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,602 in Portsmouth. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Barcelona runs roughly 71% less than in Portsmouth. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your 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.

It comes down to priorities – Barcelona wins on affordability, Portsmouth on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.