Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Swansea

For one person, living is cheaper in Swansea: $2,196 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 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
106

Cost of Living Index in Swansea
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Swansea Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Swansea

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,196

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Swansea

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,196 in Swansea.

Barcelona $2,453
Swansea $2,196

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,130 in Swansea.

Barcelona $3,509
Swansea $3,130

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $4,065 in Swansea.

Barcelona $4,564
Swansea $4,065

Living in Barcelona is roughly 12% more expensive than in Swansea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Swansea 61% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$20.41 £15.25

-13.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$63.1 £47.11

7.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$10.47 £7.82

29.23%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$4.76 £3.56

-32.98%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$2.36 £1.76

23.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.26 £0.94

50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$5.89 £4.40

-31.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$6.38 £4.77

-29.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.34 £1.00

-2.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.05 £1.53

-1.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.06 £1.54

-10.19%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.52 £2.63

37.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$7.78 £5.82

115.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$8.33 £6.22

9.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$12.87 £9.61

52.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.32 £1.73

28.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.24 £0.93

62.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.87 £2.14

-5.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.57 £2.67

-21.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.25 £1.68

-7.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$3.05 £2.28

-32.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.27 £0.95

14.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$2.29 £1.71

-58.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$23.23 £17.35

-70.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$10.63 £7.94

-25.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.33 £1.74

-39.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.40 £2.54

-25.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$4.12 £3.08

-23.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$97.1 £72.5

-73.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$3.95 £2.95

-24.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.68 £2.01

-44.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$33.33 £24.90

0.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.95 £1.46

-7.69%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$38.9K £29.1K

-14.70%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$40.5K £30.2K

-21.67%

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

$180 €162

$306 £229

-41.13%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$14.81 £11.07

-6.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$43.20 £32.27

-21.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$33.28 £24.87

54.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$15.52 £11.60

2.84%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$9.85 £7.36

11.57%

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

$917 €821

$1,777 £1,327

-48.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$89.7 £67.0

-2.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$48.22 £36.03

-20.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$122 £91.3

-13.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$82.6 £61.7

45.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$1,112 £831

52.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$891 £666

52.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$1,500 £1,120

73.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$1,337 £999

54.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$3,563 £2,662

94.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$2,615 £1,953

96.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$3,263 £2,437

-32.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.04

-45.70%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Swansea: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Swansea

$891 40.6% 34.3% $464

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Swansea

$293 13.4% 8.8% $28

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Swansea

$309 14.1% 15.2% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Swansea

$364 16.6% 59.9% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Swansea

$154 7% 2.4% $3.8

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Swansea

$53 2.4% 27.9% $21

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Swansea

$131 6% 170% $82

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,112 in Swansea. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Swansea pays 48% 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 $63 in Swansea for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $293 per month, with Swansea cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Swansea

🕒 Local time

12:43 12:43 PM

11:43 11:43 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

239,000

💱 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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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Swansea 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Swansea

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 Swansea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,196 in Swansea, so Swansea is about 10% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 32% 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 $1,112 in Swansea. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,777 in Swansea. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Swansea 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.