Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bristol and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $2,883 in Bristol, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Bristol
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Bristol Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Bristol

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,883

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Bristol versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Bristol $2,883
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,161 in Bristol versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Bristol $4,161
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,440 in Bristol versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Bristol $5,440
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Bristol is roughly 18% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bristol 112% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.78 £17.77

$17.59 €15.76

35.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$114 £85.1

$67.5 €60.5

68.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.82 £8.08

$13.53 €12.12

-20.03%

Cappuccino

$5.14 £3.84

$3.19 €2.86

61.13%

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

$2.69 £2.01

$2.91 €2.61

-7.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 £1.38

$1.89 €1.70

-2.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.83 £5.85

$4.01 €3.59

95.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.74 £5.04

$4.53 €4.06

48.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.31 €1.17

16.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.28

$2.02 €1.81

-15.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 £1.57

$1.85 €1.66

13.51%

Eggs

$4.25 £3.18

$4.83 €4.33

-12.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.15 £6.09

$16.74 €15.00

-51.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.82 £7.34

$9.12 €8.17

7.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.88 £9.62

$19.64 €17.60

-34.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.22 £2.40

$2.98 €2.67

8.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 £1.31

$2.02 €1.81

-12.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 £2.02

$2.70 €2.42

Tomato (1kg)

$4.13 £3.08

$2.80 €2.51

47.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 £1.55

$2.09 €1.87

-0.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.08

$2.07 €1.85

-29.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 £0.92

$1.46 €1.31

-15.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.02 £1.51

$0.94 €0.84

114.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.31 £17.41

$6.87 €6.16

239.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.57 £7.90

$7.89 €7.07

33.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 £2.16

$1.41 €1.26

104.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 £2.73

$2.54 €2.27

43.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.40 £2.54

$3.14 €2.82

8.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$125 £93.2

$25.45 €22.80

389.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.50 £2.62

$2.99 €2.68

17.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 £1.21

$1.49 €1.34

8.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.41 £19.73

$33.37 €29.91

-20.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.17 £1.62

$1.80 €1.61

20.56%

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

$38.0K £28.4K

$33.2K €29.7K

14.36%

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

$40.0K £29.9K

$31.7K €28.4K

26.20%

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

$326 £244

$180 €162

80.94%

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

$17.56 £13.12

$13.84 €12.40

26.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.06 £28.44

$33.70 €30.20

12.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.92 £31.31

$51.5 €46.16

-18.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.75 £8.77

$15.96 €14.30

-26.38%

Cinema Ticket

$15.58 £11.64

$10.99 €9.85

41.77%

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

$2,366 £1,767

$917 €821

158.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.2K £18.8K

$16.5K €14.8K

53.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 £74.9

$87.0 €78.0

15.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.78 £35.69

$38.51 €34.51

24.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 £80.4

$106 €94.8

1.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 £72.1

$120 €107

-19.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,963 £1,466

$1,699 €1,523

15.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,455 £1,087

$1,355 €1,214

7.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,048 £2,277

$2,603 €2,332

17.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,225 £1,662

$2,062 €1,848

7.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,040 £5,259

$6,915 €6,196

1.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,142 £3,841

$5,128 €4,595

0.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,801 £2,839

$2,211 €1,981

71.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

3.28

48.48%

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

Last update for Bristol: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bristol

$1.5K 50.5%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 6.9% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bristol

$382 13.3%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 40.3% $154

Eating Out

Bristol

$355 12.3%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 24.6% $87

Groceries & Markets

Bristol

$309 10.7%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 4.1% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Bristol

$158 5.5%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 0.3% $0.5

Getting Around

Bristol

$150 5.2%

Barcelona

$48 2% 67.7% $101

Sport & Entertainment

Bristol

$73 2.5%

Barcelona

$74 3% 0.6% $0.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,963 in Bristol and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bristol pays 72% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $114 in Bristol vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $309 vs $322, with Bristol cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bristol

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

02:56 2:56 AM

03:56 3:56 AM

1 h ahead of Bristol

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

463,400

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bristol Barcelona 1,180 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Bristol
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

Bristol vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,883 in Bristol and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Barcelona is about 15% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 72% higher in Bristol, 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: $1,963 in Bristol versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,366 in Bristol versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

For families, Barcelona is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bristol, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Bristol and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Barcelona wins on affordability, Bristol on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.