Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Romford

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $2,706 in Romford, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
131

Cost of Living Index in Romford
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Romford Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Romford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,706

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Romford

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,706 in Romford.

Barcelona $2,381
Romford $2,706

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $4,122 in Romford.

Barcelona $3,406
Romford $4,122

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $5,538 in Romford.

Barcelona $4,431
Romford $5,538

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 12% less than in Romford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Romford 100% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$23.90 £17.93

-25.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$108 £81.3

-38.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$10.75 £8.07

27.35%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.88 £3.66

-37.30%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.68 £2.01

14.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.85 £1.39

4.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$7.62 £5.72

-49.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$6.78 £5.09

-32.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.83 £1.37

-28.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.74 £1.30

20.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.62 £1.96

-30.15%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$4.88 £3.66

-5.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$9.51 £7.13

82.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$9.56 £7.17

-2.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$16.02 £12.02

23.78%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$3.03 £2.28

-0.66%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.37 £1.03

48.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$3.24 £2.43

-18.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.55 £2.66

-19.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.66 £1.25

30.12%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.82 £1.37

18.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.25 £0.93

17.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.80 £1.35

-51.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$23.41 £17.56

-70.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$13.22 £9.92

-40.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$3.21 £2.41

-56.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$4.14 £3.11

-36.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$4.58 £3.43

-36.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$97.1 £72.8

-73.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$5.51 £4.13

-45.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.59 £1.94

-44.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$25.48 £19.11

30.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.08 £1.56

-10.58%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$38.9K £29.2K

-16.91%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$40.4K £30.3K

-21.48%

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

$183 €163

$381 £286

-52.04%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$18.84 £14.13

-27.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$43.29 £32.48

-23.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$50.6 £37.94

8.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$17.03 £12.78

-34.06%

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

$954 €849

$2,581 £1,936

-63.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$35.1K £26.4K

-52.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$90.0 £67.6

-4.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$46.87 £35.16

-16.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$91.7 £68.8

13.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$130 £97.3

-8.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$1,852 £1,389

-8.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$1,201 £901

6.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$3,269 £2,452

-21.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$2,259 £1,695

-14.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$5,605 £4,205

29.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$3,693 £2,770

35.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$2,863 £2,148

-22.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-34.40%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Romford: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Romford

$1.2K 44.4% 5.9% $75

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Romford

$330 12.2% 1.6% $5.1

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Romford

$352 13% 30.5% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Romford

$443 16.4% 93.3% $214

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Romford

$161 6% 3.1% $4.9

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Romford

$85 3.1% 9.7% $7.5

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Romford

$134 5% 183% $87

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,852 in Romford. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Romford pays 29% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $108 in Romford for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $330 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Romford

🕒 Local time

08:15 8:15 AM

07:15 7:15 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

95,894

💱 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 Romford 1,140 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Romford

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 Romford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Romford differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $2,706 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 29% lower in Romford. 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 $1,852 in Romford. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $2,581 in Romford. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Romford. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Romford 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Romford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.