Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bath and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $2,794 in Bath, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Bath
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Bath Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Bath

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,794

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bath and in Barcelona

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bath and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,794 in Bath versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Bath $2,794
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,002 in Bath versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Bath $4,002
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,210 in Bath versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Bath $5,210
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Bath is roughly 17% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bath 106% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.73 £17.80

$17.89 €15.92

32.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 £75.8

$66.2 €58.9

52.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.78 £8.09

$13.69 €12.18

-21.26%

Cappuccino

$5.14 £3.86

$3.06 €2.72

67.97%

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

$2.59 £1.95

$3.07 €2.73

-15.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$1.94 €1.73

-4.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.81 £5.86

$3.87 €3.44

101.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.46 £4.85

$4.61 €4.10

40.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 £1.18

$1.30 €1.16

20.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 £1.28

$2.10 €1.87

-19.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.83 €1.62

10.38%

Eggs

$4.24 £3.18

$4.62 €4.11

-8.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.48 £6.36

$17.36 €15.44

-51.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.69 £7.27

$9.28 €8.25

4.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.05 £9.79

$19.83 €17.64

-34.19%

Apples (1kg)

$4.22 £3.16

$3.01 €2.68

40.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 £1.36

$2.03 €1.81

-10.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.71 £2.03

$2.65 €2.36

2.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.00 £3.00

$2.87 €2.55

39.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.08 £1.56

$2.16 €1.92

-3.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$2.15 €1.91

-20.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 £0.91

$1.47 €1.31

-17.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.47

$0.88 €0.79

122.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.05 £17.29

$6.93 €6.16

232.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.68 £8.01

$7.83 €6.96

36.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.85 £2.14

$1.39 €1.24

105.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 £2.40

$2.63 €2.34

21.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.56 £2.67

$2.91 €2.59

22.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$127 £95.6

$25.46 €22.64

400.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 £2.52

$3.00 €2.66

12.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.44 €1.28

18.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.26 £19.70

$33.20 €29.53

-20.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.86 €1.65

11.83%

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

$37.8K £28.4K

$32.3K €28.8K

16.96%

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

$40.3K £30.3K

$31.7K €28.2K

27.27%

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

$300 £225

$183 €163

64.31%

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

$19.61 £14.71

$13.61 €12.11

44.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.83 £29.13

$32.93 €29.29

17.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.16 £33.88

$54.7 €48.65

-17.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.59 £14.70

$16.52 €14.70

18.58%

Cinema Ticket

$15.03 £11.28

$11.23 €9.99

33.84%

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

$1,631 £1,224

$954 €849

70.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.1K £18.9K

$16.6K €14.8K

51.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.6 £62.7

$86.0 €76.5

-2.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.68 £23.02

$39.11 €34.78

-21.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 £74.3

$104 €92.2

-4.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.9 £62.2

$119 €106

-30.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,804 £1,353

$1,695 €1,508

6.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 £1,055

$1,276 €1,135

10.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,506 £2,630

$2,576 €2,291

36.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,105 £1,579

$1,922 €1,710

9.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,965 £7,476

$7,281 €6,477

36.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,723 £5,043

$5,010 €4,456

34.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,687 £2,766

$2,227 €1,981

65.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

3.28

55.79%

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

Last update for Bath: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bath

$1.4K 50.3%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 9.2% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bath

$359 12.8%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 36.1% $129

Eating Out

Bath

$354 12.7%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 23.8% $84

Groceries & Markets

Bath

$314 11.2%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 3.7% $11

Getting Around

Bath

$154 5.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 69.2% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Bath

$133 4.8%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 17.3% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Bath

$75 2.7%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 2.6% $1.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,804 in Bath and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bath pays 66% 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: $101 in Bath vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $314 vs $325, with Bath cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bath

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

13:25 1:25 PM

14:25 2:25 PM

1 h ahead of Bath

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

88,859

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bath Barcelona 1,160 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Bath
Barcelona

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

Bath vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bath and Barcelona differ by about 17% in total monthly costs ($2,794 vs $2,381 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 66% higher in Bath, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,804 in Bath versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,631 in Bath versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Bath pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona 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.

Safety-wise, Bath and Barcelona 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 17% less than in Bath. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.