Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Welwyn Garden City

For one person, living is cheaper in Welwyn Garden City: $2,222 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
108

Cost of Living Index in Welwyn Garden City
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Welwyn Garden City Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Welwyn Garden City

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,222

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Welwyn Garden City

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 Welwyn Garden City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $2,222 in Welwyn Garden City.

Barcelona $2,399
Welwyn Garden City $2,222

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $4,264 in Welwyn Garden City.

Barcelona $3,410
Welwyn Garden City $4,264

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $6,307 in Welwyn Garden City.

Barcelona $4,421
Welwyn Garden City $6,307

Living in Barcelona is roughly 8% more expensive than in Welwyn Garden City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 78% above, Welwyn Garden City 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$20.80 £15.60

-13.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$84.9 £63.7

-19.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$11.46 £8.60

15.88%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$4.82 £3.62

-32.57%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$2.00 £1.50

50.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.68 £1.26

11.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$6.50 £4.87

-40.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$5.85 £4.39

-23.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.70 £1.27

-24.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.60 £1.20

27.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$2.40 £1.80

-28.33%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$4.08 £3.06

16.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$8.65 £6.49

93.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$8.58 £6.44

4.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$16.39 £12.29

21.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$3.03 £2.28

-1.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.47 £1.10

38.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.50 £1.87

9.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$2.77 £2.08

-3.25%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.55 £1.17

35.48%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.55 £1.16

34.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.19 £0.89

21.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$1.38 £1.04

-35.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$23.10 £17.33

-69.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$10.73 £8.05

-27.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.69 £2.02

-46.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$2.42 £1.82

6.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$3.32 £2.49

-9.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$4.83 £3.62

-35.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.41 £1.06

2.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$24.19 £18.15

38.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.98 £1.49

-9.60%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$38.1K £28.6K

-9.06%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$39.8K £29.8K

-24.36%

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

$178 €158

$288 £216

-38.18%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$14.52 £10.89

-8.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$34.93 £26.20

-0.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$53.6 £40.23

-0.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$23.48 £17.61

-52.90%

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

$957 €851

$1,858 £1,394

-48.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$22.6K £16.9K

-26.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$113 £85.1

-22.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$40.26 £30.20

-1.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$88.8 £66.6

15.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$93.0 £69.7

30.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$1,451 £1,089

13.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$997 £748

30.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$3,798 £2,850

-32.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$3,614 £2,711

-47.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$7,445 £5,585

-2.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$4,290 £3,219

18.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$3,831 £2,874

-40.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.05

-35.05%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Welwyn Garden City: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Welwyn Garden City

$997 44.9% 23.4% $304

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Welwyn Garden City

$294 13.2% 8.3% $26

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Welwyn Garden City

$318 14.3% 17.6% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Welwyn Garden City

$337 15.2% 49.1% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Welwyn Garden City

$151 6.8% 4.7% $7.4

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Welwyn Garden City

$101 4.5% 33.5% $25

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Welwyn Garden City

$25 * 1.1% 47% $22

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 $1,653 in Barcelona and $1,451 in Welwyn Garden City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Welwyn Garden City pays 68% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $85.0 in Welwyn Garden City. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $294, with Welwyn Garden City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Welwyn Garden City

🕒 Local time

21:54 9:54 PM

20:54 8:54 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

48,380

💱 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

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Between locations

Barcelona Welwyn Garden City 1,170 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

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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 Welwyn Garden City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Welwyn Garden City differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $2,222 including rent). Welwyn Garden City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 68% lower in Welwyn Garden City. 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $1,451 in Welwyn Garden City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $1,858 in Welwyn Garden City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Welwyn Garden City – a meal for two runs $85.0 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,222 in Welwyn Garden City versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Welwyn Garden City but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Welwyn Garden City 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 Welwyn Garden City 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 Welwyn Garden City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.