Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Rugby

For one person, living is cheaper in Rugby: $2,353 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
113

Cost of Living Index in Rugby
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Rugby Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Rugby

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,353

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Rugby

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,353 in Rugby.

Barcelona $2,453
Rugby $2,353

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,513 in Rugby.

Barcelona $3,509
Rugby $3,513

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $4,673 in Rugby.

Barcelona $4,564
Rugby $4,673

Living in Barcelona is roughly 4% more expensive than in Rugby, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Rugby 73% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$19.95 £14.90

-11.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$80.1 £59.9

-15.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$9.38 £7.00

44.24%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$5.02 £3.75

-36.45%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$2.07 £1.55

40.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.49 £1.11

26.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$6.13 £4.58

-34.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$6.42 £4.80

-29.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.72 £1.28

-23.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.82 £1.36

10.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.62 £1.96

-29.39%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.93 £2.93

22.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$9.35 £6.99

79.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$7.92 £5.91

15.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$15.17 £11.33

29.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.58 £1.93

15.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.77 £1.32

14.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.49 £1.86

8.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.13 £2.34

-10.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.64 £1.23

27.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.79 £1.34

15.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.30 £0.97

12.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.64 £1.23

-42.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$22.48 £16.80

-69.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$11.88 £8.87

-33.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.74 £2.80

-62.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.25 £2.43

-21.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$2.60 £1.94

20.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$96.6 £72.1

-73.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$4.69 £3.50

-36.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.61 £1.20

-7.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$24.12 £18.02

38.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.02 £1.51

-10.89%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$38.4K £28.7K

-13.45%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$41.0K £30.6K

-22.59%

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

$180 €162

$269 £201

-32.94%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$20.01 £14.95

-30.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$46.65 £34.85

-27.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$57.7 £43.09

-10.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$14.92 £11.14

-26.34%

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

$917 €821

$1,617 £1,208

-43.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$22.3K £16.6K

-25.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$105 £78.4

-17.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$31.48 £23.52

22.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$82.6 £61.7

28.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$114 £85.3

4.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$1,117 £835

52.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$1,049 £783

29.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$1,799 £1,344

44.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$1,847 £1,380

11.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$5,050 £3,773

36.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$3,853 £2,879

33.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$4,564 £3,410

-51.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.09

-35.56%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Rugby: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Rugby

$1K 44.6% 22.6% $307

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Rugby

$306 13% 4.9% $16

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Rugby

$306 13% 14.1% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Rugby

$336 14.3% 47.3% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Rugby

$150 6.4% 5.1% $8.1

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Rugby

$88 3.7% 19.1% $14

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Rugby

$120 5.1% 147% $71

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,117 in Rugby. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rugby pays about 2.1 times 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 $80 in Rugby. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $306, with Rugby cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Rugby

🕒 Local time

03:34 3:34 AM

02:34 2:34 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

70,628

💱 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

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Between locations

Barcelona Rugby 1,250 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Rugby

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 Rugby: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,353 in Rugby, so Rugby is about 4% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 52% 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 $1,117 in Rugby. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,617 in Rugby. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 5% 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.