Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Preston

For one person, living is cheaper in Preston: $2,114 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 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
101

Cost of Living Index in Preston
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Preston Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Preston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,114

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Preston

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,114 in Preston.

Barcelona $2,453
Preston $2,114

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,021 in Preston.

Barcelona $3,509
Preston $3,021

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,928 in Preston.

Barcelona $4,564
Preston $3,928

Living in Barcelona is roughly 16% more expensive than in Preston, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Preston 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$15.89 £11.96

10.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$74.3 £55.9

-9.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$9.20 £6.93

47.07%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$4.24 £3.19

-24.76%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$2.31 £1.74

25.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.83 £1.38

3.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$5.39 £4.06

-25.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$5.20 £3.91

-12.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.49 £1.12

-12.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.43 £1.08

41.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.60 £1.21

15.63%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$3.59 £2.70

34.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$5.30 £3.99

215.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$9.53 £7.17

-4.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$12.68 £9.54

54.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.59 £1.95

15.06%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.72 £1.29

17.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.57 £1.93

5.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$3.96 £2.98

-29.29%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.06 £1.55

1.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$2.25 £1.70

-8.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.17 £0.88

24.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.65 £1.24

-43.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$21.56 £16.23

-68.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$9.14 £6.88

-13.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.18 £2.39

-55.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$3.25 £2.45

-21.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$3.92 £2.95

-19.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$98.5 £74.1

-74.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$2.60 £1.96

15.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.10 £1.58

-29.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.99 £1.49

-9.55%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$37.9K £28.5K

-12.42%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$41.1K £31.0K

-22.94%

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

$180 €162

$439 £330

-58.91%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$14.86 £11.19

-6.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$43.51 £32.75

-22.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$41.40 £31.16

24.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$16.80 £12.64

-5.00%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$17.83 £13.42

-38.36%

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

$917 €823

$1,512 £1,138

-39.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$8,738 £6,576

88.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$75.7 £57.0

14.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$26.16 £19.69

47.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$65.4 £49.21

61.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$66.4 £49.97

80.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$969 £729

75.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$767 £578

76.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,608 £1,210

61.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$1,211 £911

70.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$3,634 £2,735

90.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$2,379 £1,790

115.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$2,994 £2,253

-26.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.93

-33.47%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Preston: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Preston

$767 36.3% 43.4% $588

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Preston

$281 13.3% 12.8% $41

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Preston

$260 12.3% 3.1% $8.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Preston

$497 23.5% 118% $269

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Preston

$105 5% 33.4% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Preston

$77 3.6% 4.9% $3.6

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Preston

$127 6% 163% $79

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $969 in Preston. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Preston 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: $67 in Barcelona vs $74 in Preston. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $281, with Preston cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Preston

🕒 Local time

23:54 11:54 PM

22:54 10:54 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

114,300

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 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 Preston 1,420 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Preston

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 Preston: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,114 in Preston, so Preston is about 14% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 26% 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 $969 in Preston. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,512 in Preston. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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.