Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Reading Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Reading

🙂 Solo nomad: Barcelona is 12.1% cheaper than Reading without rent, and 14.5% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Barcelona is 13.2% cheaper than Reading without rent, and 16.3% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Barcelona
Reading
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.41 €15.03
$27.14 £19.97
-35.85%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$68.7 €59.3
$96.6 £71.1
-28.82%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.71 €11.84
$10.01 £7.37
36.96%
Cappuccino
$2.78 €2.4
$4.83 £3.56
-42.44%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.8 €2.42
$3.35 £2.47
-16.42%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.98 €1.71
$2.97 £2.18
-33.33%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.43 €3.83
$8.37 £6.16
-47.07%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.53 €3.91
$6.94 £5.11
-34.73%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
Reading
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.24 €1.07
$1.37 £1.01
-9.49%
White Bread (500g)
$2.03 €1.75
$1.31 £0.96
54.96%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.98 €1.71
$2.69 £1.98
-26.39%
Eggs
$3.46 €2.99
$3.66 £2.69
-5.46%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$18.32 €15.82
$9.96 £7.33
83.94%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.82 €8.47
$8.29 £6.1
18.46%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$19.24 €16.61
$12.98 £9.55
48.23%
Apples (1kg)
$2.61 €2.25
$3.07 £2.26
-14.98%
Banana (1kg)
$2.34 €2.02
$1.52 £1.12
53.95%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.11 €1.82
$2.78 £2.05
-24.10%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.77 €2.39
$3.28 £2.41
-15.55%
Potato (1kg)
$2.04 €1.76
$1.5 £1.1
36.00%
Onion (1kg)
$1.77 €1.53
$1.38 £1.02
28.26%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.5 €1.3
$0.92 £0.68
63.04%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.85 €0.73
$1.56 £1.15
-45.51%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$7 €6.04
$20.3 £14.94
-65.52%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.13 €6.16
$13.48 £9.92
-47.11%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.43 €1.24
$2.24 £1.65
-36.16%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.29 €1.98
$3.48 £2.56
-34.20%
🚌 Getting Around
Barcelona
Reading
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.02 €2.6
$2.71 £1.99
11.44%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$28.97 €25.01
$88 £64.7
-67.07%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.59 €3.96
$6.25 £4.6
-26.56%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.02 €1.74
$1.74 £1.28
16.09%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$29.56 €25.53
$15.12 £11.13
95.50%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.81 €1.56
$1.86 £1.37
-2.69%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.4K €33.1K
$39.1K £28.8K
-1.73%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$32.4K €28K
$41.2K £30.3K
-21.45%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
Reading
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$190 €164
$221 £162
-14.12%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.18 €19.15
$19.18 £14.11
15.64%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$36.37 €31.4
$43.33 £31.88
-16.06%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
Reading
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$57.4 €49.55
$47.42 £34.9
21.02%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$20.95 €18.09
$19.88 £14.63
5.38%
Cinema Ticket
$10.8 €9.33
$13.43 £9.88
-19.58%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Barcelona
Reading
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$732 €632
$1,930 £1,420
-62.06%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$15.1K €13.1K
$25.4K £18.7K
-40.56%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
Reading
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$86.8 €74.9
$81.4 £59.9
6.62%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$36.78 €31.76
$49.95 £36.75
-26.37%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$102 €88.2
$113 £83.3
-9.70%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$117 €101
$99.1 £72.9
18.15%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
Reading
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,581 €1,365
$1,801 £1,325
-12.22%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,230 €1,062
$1,426 £1,050
-13.77%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,707 €2,337
$3,036 £2,234
-10.83%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,028 €1,751
$2,423 £1,783
-16.29%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$6,602 €5,700
$5,731 £4,218
15.19%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$5,045 €4,356
$5,414 £3,984
-6.81%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Barcelona
Reading
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,198 €1,898
$3,575 £2,631
-38.50%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.39
5.53
-38.70%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 28, 2025

Last update for Reading: October 28, 2025

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