Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bradford and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Bradford: $2,040 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

99

Cost of Living Index in Bradford
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Bradford Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Bradford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,040

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,040 in Bradford versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Bradford $2,040
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,987 in Bradford versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Bradford $2,987
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,933 in Bradford versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Bradford $3,933
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Bradford costs roughly 15% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bradford 51% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.85 £15.64

$17.94 €15.96

16.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$76.5 £57.4

$68.1 €60.5

12.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.59 £7.94

$13.28 €11.81

-20.26%

Cappuccino

$4.34 £3.26

$3.25 €2.89

33.54%

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

$2.39 £1.80

$3.01 €2.67

-20.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 £1.51

$1.87 €1.66

7.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.08 £4.56

$3.85 €3.42

57.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.36 £4.02

$4.48 €3.98

19.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.29 €1.15

13.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 £1.09

$2.04 €1.81

-28.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.86 £2.15

$1.72 €1.53

66.28%

Eggs

$3.98 £2.99

$4.77 €4.24

-16.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.58 £6.44

$16.77 €14.92

-48.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 £6.47

$8.93 €7.94

-3.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.16 £10.62

$19.88 €17.68

-28.77%

Apples (1kg)

$3.12 £2.34

$2.98 €2.65

4.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 £1.44

$2.03 €1.80

-5.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.77 £2.08

$2.73 €2.43

1.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.33 £2.50

$2.68 €2.38

24.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.81 £1.36

$2.10 €1.87

-13.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.70 £1.28

$2.08 €1.85

-18.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.45 €1.29

-16.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 £1.21

$0.89 €0.79

80.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.57 £15.43

$6.94 €6.17

196.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.43 £7.82

$7.78 €6.92

34.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 £2.49

$1.45 €1.29

128.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.46

$2.57 €2.29

27.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.72 £2.04

$2.99 €2.66

-9.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.2 £49.66

$25.20 €22.41

162.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 £3.28

$3.12 €2.77

40.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.44 €1.28

-0.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.79 £14.85

$33.50 €29.80

-40.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.50

$1.79 €1.59

11.17%

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

$38.5K £28.9K

$34.6K €30.8K

11.31%

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

$40.6K £30.5K

$30.1K €26.7K

35.09%

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

$339 £254

$178 €158

90.53%

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

$20.18 £15.14

$13.32 €11.85

51.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.92 £32.20

$34.88 €31.03

23.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.11 £26.34

$53.3 €47.37

-34.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 £14.56

$16.01 €14.24

21.24%

Cinema Ticket

$13.40 £10.06

$11.06 €9.84

21.16%

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

$1,195 £897

$957 €851

24.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.2K £16.6K

$16.6K €14.7K

33.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.4 £65.6

$88.2 €78.4

-0.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.64 £34.24

$39.49 €35.12

15.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.8 £68.1

$103 €91.5

-11.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 £67.8

$121 €108

-25.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 £634

$1,653 €1,470

-48.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$738 £553

$1,302 €1,158

-43.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,347 £1,011

$2,557 €2,275

-47.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,174 £881

$1,915 €1,703

-38.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,048 £3,037

$7,286 €6,481

-44.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,916 £2,188

$5,080 €4,519

-42.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,406 £2,555

$2,281 €2,029

49.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.99

3.28

52.13%

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

Last update for Bradford: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bradford

$738 36.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 76.5% $564

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bradford

$402 19.7%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 43.8% $176

Eating Out

Bradford

$309 15.2%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 12.7% $39

Groceries & Markets

Bradford

$300 14.7%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 6.8% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Bradford

$141 6.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 12% $17

Getting Around

Bradford

$89 4.3%

Barcelona

$47 2% 46.4% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Bradford

$62 3%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 21.7% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $845 in Bradford and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bradford pays 49% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $77.0 in Bradford vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $300 vs $320, with Bradford cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bradford

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

01:32 1:32 AM

02:32 2:32 AM

1 h ahead of Bradford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

293,717

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

Bradford Barcelona 1,410 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bradford
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

Bradford vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bradford and Barcelona differ by about 18% in total monthly costs ($2,040 vs $2,399 including rent). Bradford is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 49% higher in Bradford, 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: $845 in Bradford versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,195 in Bradford versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 7% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,040 in Bradford versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Bradford but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Bradford 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, Bradford 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 Bradford gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.