Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $3,192 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

154

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Cambridge

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,192

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,192 in Cambridge versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Cambridge $3,192
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,469 in Cambridge versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Cambridge $4,469
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,746 in Cambridge versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Cambridge $5,746
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Cambridge is roughly 30% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cambridge 135% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.53 £16.08

$17.59 €15.76

22.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.6 £67.0

$67.5 €60.5

32.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.52 £7.86

$13.53 €12.12

-22.25%

Cappuccino

$4.70 £3.51

$3.19 €2.86

47.34%

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

$2.68 £2.00

$2.91 €2.61

-7.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.38

$1.89 €1.70

-2.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.93 £5.93

$4.01 €3.59

97.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.77 £5.06

$4.53 €4.06

49.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 £1.19

$1.31 €1.17

22.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 £1.30

$2.02 €1.81

-13.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 £1.87

$1.85 €1.66

35.68%

Eggs

$4.57 £3.42

$4.83 €4.33

-5.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.87 £7.37

$16.74 €15.00

-41.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.79 £7.31

$9.12 €8.17

7.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.03 £11.97

$19.64 €17.60

-18.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.04 £2.27

$2.98 €2.67

2.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$2.02 €1.81

-15.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.66 £2.73

$2.70 €2.42

35.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.58 £2.68

$2.80 €2.51

27.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 £1.36

$2.09 €1.87

-12.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 £1.41

$2.07 €1.85

-8.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.46 €1.31

-15.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.52

$0.94 €0.84

115.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.71 £16.96

$6.87 €6.16

230.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.91 £8.15

$7.89 €7.07

38.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.22 £2.40

$1.41 €1.26

128.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 £3.06

$2.54 €2.27

61.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.89 £2.91

$3.14 €2.82

23.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$122 £91.2

$25.45 €22.80

379.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.19 £6.12

$2.99 €2.68

173.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.64 £1.97

$1.49 €1.34

77.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$51.3 £38.36

$33.37 €29.91

53.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.80 €1.61

15.00%

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

$38.8K £29.0K

$33.2K €29.7K

16.88%

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

$40.3K £30.1K

$31.7K €28.4K

27.24%

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

$338 £253

$180 €162

87.55%

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

$18.64 £13.92

$13.84 €12.40

34.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.43 £32.44

$33.70 €30.20

28.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.6 £43.78

$51.5 €46.16

13.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.89 £15.61

$15.96 €14.30

30.89%

Cinema Ticket

$17.04 £12.73

$10.99 €9.85

55.05%

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

$2,515 £1,879

$917 €821

174.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.5K £27.2K

$16.5K €14.8K

121.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.3 £67.5

$87.0 €78.0

3.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.31 £36.09

$38.51 €34.51

25.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.3 £69.7

$106 €94.8

-11.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 £95.6

$120 €107

6.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 £1,570

$1,699 €1,523

23.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,715 £1,281

$1,355 €1,214

26.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,163 £2,363

$2,603 €2,332

21.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 £1,910

$2,062 €1,848

23.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,228 £6,894

$6,915 €6,196

33.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,031 £4,506

$5,128 €4,595

17.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,537 £3,389

$2,211 €1,981

105.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

3.28

53.66%

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

Last update for Cambridge: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge

$1.7K 53.7%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 21% $360

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$400 12.6%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 43.1% $172

Eating Out

Cambridge

$332 10.4%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 19.2% $64

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$331 10.4%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 2.7% $9.1

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$162 5.1%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 2.5% $4

Getting Around

Cambridge

$159 5%

Barcelona

$48 2% 69.5% $111

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$93 2.9%

Barcelona

$74 3% 20.7% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,102 in Cambridge and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cambridge pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $90 in Cambridge vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $331 vs $322 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cambridge

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

04:46 4:46 AM

05:46 5:46 AM

1 h ahead of Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

145,818

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

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Highest

Between locations

Cambridge Barcelona 1,210 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cambridge
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

Cambridge vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $3,192 in Cambridge and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Barcelona is about 23% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Cambridge is about 2.1 times higher, 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: $2,102 in Cambridge versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,515 in Cambridge versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Cambridge. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,192 in Cambridge, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Cambridge. 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, Cambridge and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Cambridge. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.