Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caernarfon and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Caernarfon: $1,211 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Caernarfon, United Kingdom
Barcelona, Spain
Caernarfon
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$1,211
/mo nomad
Barcelona
🇪🇸 Spain
$2,453
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,211 in Caernarfon versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

  • Caernarfon $1,211
  • Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,727 in Caernarfon versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

  • Caernarfon $2,727
  • Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,243 in Caernarfon versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

  • Caernarfon $4,243
  • Barcelona $4,564

Living in Caernarfon costs roughly 51% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Caernarfon is 11% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Caernarfon
Barcelona
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$13.08 £9.85
$17.59 €15.80
-25.64%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$94.0 £70.7
$67.5 €60.6
39.27%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.57 £7.20
$13.53 €12.15
-29.27%
Cappuccino
$3.98 £2.99
$3.19 €2.87
24.76%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.73 £2.05
$2.91 €2.62
-6.19%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.97 £1.48
$1.89 €1.70
4.23%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.89 £3.68
$4.01 €3.60
21.95%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.06 £3.06
$4.53 €4.07
-10.38%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Caernarfon
Barcelona
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.86 £1.40
$1.31 €1.17
41.98%
White Bread (500g)
$1.76 £1.32
$2.02 €1.81
-12.87%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.22 £1.67
$1.85 €1.66
20.00%
Eggs
$2.43 £1.83
$4.83 €4.34
-49.69%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.11 £6.85
$16.74 €15.03
-45.58%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.14 £5.37
$9.12 €8.19
-21.71%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$15.44 £11.62
$19.64 €17.64
-21.38%
Apples (1kg)
$2.66 £2.00
$2.98 €2.68
-10.74%
Banana (1kg)
$1.31 £0.98
$2.02 €1.81
-35.15%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.30 £0.98
$2.70 €2.43
-51.85%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.37 £1.03
$2.80 €2.52
-51.07%
Potato (1kg)
$1.71 £1.29
$2.09 €1.87
-18.18%
Onion (1kg)
$1.81 £1.36
$2.07 €1.86
-12.56%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.38 £1.04
$1.46 €1.31
-5.48%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.66 £1.25
$0.94 €0.84
76.60%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$22.58 £16.99
$6.87 €6.17
228.68%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.08 £6.83
$7.89 €7.08
15.08%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.80 £2.86
$1.41 €1.26
169.50%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.54 £2.67
$2.54 €2.28
39.37%
🚌 Getting Around
Caernarfon
Barcelona
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$5.44 £4.09
$3.14 €2.82
73.25%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$67.0 £50.5
$25.45 €22.86
163.42%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.97 £3.74
$2.99 €2.69
66.22%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.37 £1.78
$1.49 €1.34
59.06%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$23.60 £17.76
$33.37 €29.98
-29.28%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.00 £1.51
$1.80 €1.61
11.11%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.4K £28.9K
$33.2K €29.8K
15.80%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$40.9K £30.8K
$31.7K €28.5K
28.94%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Caernarfon
Barcelona
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$320 £241
$180 €162
77.41%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$21.68 £16.32
$13.84 €12.43
56.65%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.41 £30.41
$33.70 €30.27
19.91%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Caernarfon
Barcelona
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$29.92 £22.52
$51.5 €46.27
-41.91%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$15.96 €14.34
-
Cinema Ticket
$16.22 £12.20
$10.99 €9.88
47.59%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Caernarfon
Barcelona
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,608 £1,210
$917 €823
75.38%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$24.1K £18.1K
$16.5K €14.8K
46.15%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Caernarfon
Barcelona
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$105 £78.9
$87.0 €78.2
20.50%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$49.01 £36.88
$38.51 €34.59
27.27%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$108 £80.9
$106 €95.1
1.61%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$78.6 £59.2
$120 €108
-34.31%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Caernarfon
Barcelona
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$673 £506
$1,699 €1,527
-60.42%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,355 €1,217
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$2,603 €2,338
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,597 £1,202
$2,062 €1,853
-22.56%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$6,915 €6,211
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$5,128 €4,606
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Caernarfon
Barcelona
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,538 £2,663
$2,211 €1,986
60.04%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.09
3.28
55.18%

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

Last update for Caernarfon: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Caernarfon
$382
Barcelona
$228 40.4% $154
Groceries & Markets
Caernarfon
$276
Barcelona
$322 16.7% $46
Eating Out
Caernarfon
$232
Barcelona
$268 15.3% $35
Clothing & Footwear
Caernarfon
$153
Barcelona
$158 3.2% $5
Getting Around
Caernarfon
$106
Barcelona
$48 54.1% $57
Sport & Entertainment
Caernarfon
$62
Barcelona
$74 17.9% $11
Accommodation & Living
Caernarfon
- *
Barcelona
$1.4K

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 $673 in Caernarfon and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Caernarfon pays 60% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $94 in Caernarfon vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $276 vs $322, with Caernarfon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇬🇧 Caernarfon
🇪🇸 Barcelona
🕒 Local time
02:50 2:50 AM
03:50 3:50 AM
1 h ahead of Caernarfon
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
9,500
1,660,122
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

British Pound exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

On the map
Between locations
  • Caernarfon Barcelona 1,390 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Caernarfon
  • 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
Caernarfon vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Caernarfon and in Barcelona?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,211 in Caernarfon and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Caernarfon is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Caernarfon or Barcelona?
Average pay runs 60% higher in Caernarfon, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Caernarfon and in Barcelona?
Rent for a central apartment: $673 in Caernarfon versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Caernarfon and Barcelona?
Childcare runs $1,608 in Caernarfon versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more doable on $1,500 per month?
At $1,211 in Caernarfon versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Caernarfon but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Caernarfon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Caernarfon and Barcelona?
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.

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