Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sunderland

For one person, living is cheaper in Sunderland: $1,845 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Sunderland
Learn more

Sunderland Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Sunderland

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,845

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sunderland

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,845 in Sunderland.

Barcelona $2,381
Sunderland $1,845

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $2,755 in Sunderland.

Barcelona $3,406
Sunderland $2,755

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $3,665 in Sunderland.

Barcelona $4,431
Sunderland $3,665

Living in Barcelona is roughly 29% more expensive than in Sunderland, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Sunderland 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$18.54 £13.91

-3.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$70.2 £52.7

-5.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$8.87 £6.66

54.34%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$5.02 £3.77

-39.04%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.32 £1.74

32.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.96 £1.47

-1.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$4.63 £3.48

-16.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$4.30 £3.23

7.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.44 £1.08

-9.72%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.37 £1.03

53.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.40 £1.80

-23.75%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$3.52 £2.64

31.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$9.72 £7.29

78.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$8.99 £6.74

3.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$14.35 £10.76

38.19%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$3.26 £2.44

-7.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.85 £1.39

9.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.92 £2.19

-9.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.79 £2.84

-24.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.79 £1.34

20.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.48 £1.11

45.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.20 £0.90

22.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.50 £1.13

-41.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$22.99 £17.25

-69.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$10.19 £7.65

-23.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$3.57 £2.68

-61.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$3.49 £2.62

-24.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$2.08 £1.56

39.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$119 £89.6

-78.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$4.40 £3.30

-31.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.55 £1.16

-7.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$28.14 £21.11

17.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.09 £1.57

-11.00%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$38.3K £28.8K

-15.65%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$40.5K £30.4K

-21.71%

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

$183 €163

$248 £186

-26.29%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$16.93 £12.70

-19.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$42.31 £31.74

-22.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$40.70 £30.53

34.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$12.01 £9.01

37.55%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$10.66 £8.00

5.35%

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

$954 €849

$819 £614

16.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$17.6K £13.2K

-5.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$91.1 £68.4

-5.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$47.14 £35.37

-17.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$109 £81.4

-4.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$94.7 £71.1

25.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$792 £594

114.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$595 £446

114.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,356 £1,017

89.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$957 £718

100.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$3,663 £2,748

-39.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.15

-36.31%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Sunderland: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Sunderland

$595 32.2% 53.4% $681

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Sunderland

$303 16.4% 6.7% $22

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Sunderland

$284 15.4% 5.4% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Sunderland

$307 16.7% 34% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Sunderland

$154 8.3% 1.7% $2.7

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Sunderland

$62 3.4% 19.6% $15

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Sunderland

$140 7.6% 196% $93

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $792 in Sunderland. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sunderland pays 65% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $70.0 in Sunderland. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $303, with Sunderland cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Sunderland

🕒 Local time

07:22 7:22 AM

06:22 6:22 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

275,300

💱 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 Sunderland 1,530 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sunderland

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 Sunderland: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Sunderland differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,845 including rent). Sunderland is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 65% lower in Sunderland. 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 $792 in Sunderland. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $819 in Sunderland. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 7% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,845 in Sunderland versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Sunderland but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sunderland 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 Sunderland 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 Sunderland gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.