Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bournemouth and Barcelona

For one person, living costs are similar in Bournemouth and in Barcelona: $2,509 and $2,399 a month, rent and utilities included.

122

Cost of Living Index in Bournemouth
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Bournemouth Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Bournemouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,509

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bournemouth 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 Bournemouth and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,509 in Bournemouth versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Bournemouth $2,509
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,689 in Bournemouth versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Bournemouth $3,689
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,870 in Bournemouth versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Bournemouth $4,870
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Bournemouth is roughly 5% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bournemouth 86% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.33 £15.25

$17.94 €15.96

13.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 £75.6

$68.1 €60.5

48.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 £8.76

$13.28 €11.81

-12.05%

Cappuccino

$4.76 £3.57

$3.25 €2.89

46.46%

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

$3.21 £2.41

$3.01 €2.67

6.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.53

$1.87 €1.66

8.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.09

$3.85 €3.42

76.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.19 £5.39

$4.48 €3.98

60.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 £1.21

$1.29 €1.15

24.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 £1.16

$2.04 €1.81

-24.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.72 €1.53

4.65%

Eggs

$4.32 £3.24

$4.77 €4.24

-9.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.23 £4.68

$16.77 €14.92

-62.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 £6.96

$8.93 €7.94

3.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.68 £9.51

$19.88 €17.68

-36.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 £1.67

$2.98 €2.65

-25.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.32

$2.03 €1.80

-13.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 £1.46

$2.73 €2.43

-28.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.11 £1.58

$2.68 €2.38

-21.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$2.10 €1.87

-3.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 £0.95

$2.08 €1.85

-39.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.89 £1.42

$1.45 €1.29

30.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 £1.27

$0.89 €0.79

89.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.60 £17.71

$6.94 €6.17

240.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.36 £7.02

$7.78 €6.92

20.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 £2.10

$1.45 €1.29

93.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 £1.87

$2.57 €2.29

-3.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.64 £2.73

$2.99 €2.66

21.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$90.8 £68.1

$25.20 €22.41

260.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 £2.42

$3.12 €2.77

3.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.29 £1.72

$1.44 €1.28

59.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.25 £24.20

$33.50 €29.80

-3.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.79 €1.59

11.17%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$34.6K €30.8K

10.22%

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

$40.0K £30.0K

$30.1K €26.7K

32.88%

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

$353 £265

$178 €158

98.46%

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

$16.19 £12.14

$13.32 €11.85

21.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.90 £32.18

$34.88 €31.03

22.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.33 £28.00

$53.3 €47.37

-29.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.71 £8.78

$16.01 €14.24

-26.86%

Cinema Ticket

$17.19 £12.90

$11.06 €9.84

55.42%

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

$2,218 £1,664

$957 €851

131.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.8K £25.4K

$16.6K €14.7K

104.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.8 £66.6

$88.2 €78.4

0.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.86 £32.90

$39.49 €35.12

11.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.6 £62.0

$103 €91.5

-19.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$143 £107

$121 €108

17.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,258 £944

$1,653 €1,470

-23.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,146 £860

$1,302 €1,158

-11.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,670 £2,003

$2,557 €2,275

4.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,898 £1,424

$1,915 €1,703

-0.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,662 £4,998

$7,286 €6,481

-8.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,474 £4,107

$5,080 €4,519

7.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,920 £2,191

$2,281 €2,029

28.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

3.28

51.22%

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

Last update for Bournemouth: October 11, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bournemouth

$1.1K 45.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 13.6% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bournemouth

$412 16.4%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 45.1% $186

Eating Out

Bournemouth

$324 12.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 16.7% $54

Groceries & Markets

Bournemouth

$273 10.9%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 17.1% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Bournemouth

$161 6.4%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 1.8% $2.9

Getting Around

Bournemouth

$120 4.8%

Barcelona

$47 2% 60.5% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Bournemouth

$72 2.9%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 5.1% $3.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,258 in Bournemouth and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bournemouth pays 28% 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 Bournemouth vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $273 vs $320, with Bournemouth cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bournemouth

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

04:36 4:36 AM

05:36 5:36 AM

1 h ahead of Bournemouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

183,491

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 20, 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bournemouth Barcelona 1,080 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bournemouth
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

Bournemouth vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bournemouth and Barcelona differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($2,509 vs $2,399 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 28% higher in Bournemouth, 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: $1,258 in Bournemouth versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,218 in Bournemouth versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Bournemouth pay roughly 17% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,399 in Barcelona versus $2,509 in Bournemouth, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Bournemouth. 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, Bournemouth 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 5% less than in Bournemouth. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.