Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Solihull

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $2,518 in Solihull, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
121

Cost of Living Index in Solihull
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Solihull Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Solihull

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Solihull

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,518 in Solihull.

Barcelona $2,381
Solihull $2,518

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $3,719 in Solihull.

Barcelona $3,406
Solihull $3,719

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $4,921 in Solihull.

Barcelona $4,431
Solihull $4,921

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 5% less than in Solihull, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Solihull 86% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$27.07 £20.30

-33.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$80.0 £60.0

-17.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$10.47 £7.85

30.75%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.90 £3.68

-37.55%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.50 £1.88

22.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$2.10 £1.58

-7.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$5.68 £4.26

-31.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$5.59 £4.19

-17.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.50 £1.13

-13.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.85 £1.39

13.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.76 £1.32

3.98%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$4.05 £3.04

14.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$9.28 £6.96

87.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$8.24 £6.18

12.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$12.59 £9.45

57.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$3.30 £2.47

-8.79%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.55 £1.17

30.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.83 £1.37

44.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.52 £2.64

-18.47%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.43 £1.07

51.05%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.55 £1.16

38.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.30 £0.97

13.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.26 £0.95

-30.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$23.39 £17.55

-70.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$8.55 £6.41

-8.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.22 £1.67

-37.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$1.94 £1.46

35.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$2.70 £2.02

7.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$4.11 £3.09

-27.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$3.91 £2.93

-63.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$31.77 £23.84

4.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.07 £1.55

-10.14%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$38.7K £29.0K

-16.46%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$40.9K £30.7K

-22.45%

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

$183 €163

$343 £258

-46.77%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$17.19 £12.89

-20.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$46.22 £34.67

-28.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$46.27 £34.72

18.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$11.17 £8.38

0.54%

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

$954 €849

$1,446 £1,085

-34.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$24.4K £18.3K

-31.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$84.9 £63.7

1.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$54.1 £40.58

-27.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$109 £81.4

-4.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$111 £83.6

6.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$1,049 £787

61.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$1,207 £906

5.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$2,134 £1,601

20.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$2,138 £1,604

-10.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$5,479 £4,111

32.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$3,599 £2,700

39.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$4,759 £3,570

-53.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.21

-37.04%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Solihull: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Solihull

$1.2K 47.9% 5.4% $69

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Solihull

$274 10.9% 15.7% $51

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Solihull

$365 14.5% 35.3% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Solihull

$407 16.2% 77.4% $177

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Solihull

$162 6.4% 3.3% $5.2

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Solihull

$69 2.7% 11.1% $8.5

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Solihull

$34 * 1.4% 27.2% $13

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,049 in Solihull. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Solihull pays 114% 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 $80.0 in Solihull. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $274, with Solihull cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Solihull

🕒 Local time

14:30 2:30 PM

13:30 1:30 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

206,091

💱 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

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Between locations

Barcelona Solihull 1,260 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Solihull

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 Solihull: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Solihull differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $2,518 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 114% lower in Solihull. 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 $1,049 in Solihull. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $1,446 in Solihull. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $80.0 in Solihull. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,518 in Solihull, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Solihull. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelona the clear choice for anyone on this 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.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Solihull 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 6% less than in Solihull. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.