Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Surrey, United Kingdom

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $3,025 in Surrey, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Surrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
148

Cost of Living Index in Surrey
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Surrey Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Surrey

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,025

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Surrey

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,025 in Surrey.

Barcelona $2,453
Surrey $3,025

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $4,456 in Surrey.

Barcelona $3,509
Surrey $4,456

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $5,887 in Surrey.

Barcelona $4,564
Surrey $5,887

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 19% less than in Surrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Surrey 122% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$23.47 £17.66

-25.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$59.5 £44.75

13.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$9.62 £7.24

40.64%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$4.77 £3.59

-33.12%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$2.26 £1.70

28.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.48 £1.11

27.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$6.54 £4.92

-38.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$6.15 £4.63

-26.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.31 £0.99

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.10 £1.58

-3.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.60 £1.21

15.63%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$4.15 £3.13

16.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$8.62 £6.49

94.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$9.33 £7.02

-2.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$16.52 £12.43

18.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$3.19 £2.40

-6.58%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.48 £1.12

36.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.03 £1.53

33.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$3.26 £2.45

-14.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.38 £1.04

51.45%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.79 £1.35

15.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.40 £1.06

4.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.17 £0.88

-19.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$23.32 £17.55

-70.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$10.47 £7.88

-24.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.22 £1.67

-36.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$2.50 £1.88

1.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$3.90 £2.93

-19.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$5.22 £3.93

-42.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.93 £1.45

-6.74%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$38.1K £28.7K

-12.96%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$41.0K £30.8K

-22.63%

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

$180 €162

$263 £198

-31.33%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$13.29 £10.00

4.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$35.87 £27.00

-6.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$52.7 £39.69

-2.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$18.44 £13.88

-13.45%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$13.07 £9.84

-15.91%

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

$917 €823

$2,137 £1,609

-57.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$29.9K £22.5K

-44.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$52.7 £39.69

65.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$40.02 £30.12

-3.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$87.4 £65.8

21.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$93.0 £70.0

28.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$1,945 £1,463

-12.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$1,864 £1,403

-27.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$3,308 £2,489

-21.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$3,400 £2,559

-39.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$7,255 £5,460

-29.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$4,565 £3,436

-51.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.4

-39.26%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Surrey: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Surrey

$1.9K 61.6% 37.5% $509

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Surrey

$293 9.7% 9% $29

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Surrey

$334 11% 24.6% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Surrey

$312 10.3% 36.8% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Surrey

$123 4.1% 22.2% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Surrey

$79 2.6% 7.3% $5.4

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Surrey

$21 * 0.7% 57.1% $28

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,945 in Surrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Surrey pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $59 in Surrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $293 per month, with Surrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Surrey

🕒 Local time

20:59 8:59 PM

19:59 7:59 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

585

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 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 Surrey 1,120 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Surrey

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 Surrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $3,025 in Surrey, so Barcelona is about 19% 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 $1,945 in Surrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $2,137 in Surrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Surrey – a meal for two runs $59 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,025 in Surrey, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Surrey. 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 Surrey are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Barcelona wins on affordability, Surrey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.