Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cardiff and Barcelona

For one person, living costs are similar in Cardiff and in Barcelona: $2,454 and $2,399 a month, rent and utilities included.

119

Cost of Living Index in Cardiff
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Cardiff Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Cardiff

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,454

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,454 in Cardiff versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Cardiff $2,454
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,414 in Cardiff versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Cardiff $3,414
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,373 in Cardiff versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Cardiff $4,373
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Cardiff is roughly 2% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cardiff 82% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.04 £15.04

$17.94 €15.96

11.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.4 £62.6

$68.1 €60.5

22.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.74 £8.06

$13.28 €11.81

-19.13%

Cappuccino

$4.45 £3.34

$3.25 €2.89

36.92%

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

$2.92 £2.19

$3.01 €2.67

-2.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.87 €1.66

6.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.80 £5.85

$3.85 €3.42

102.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.32 £4.74

$4.48 €3.98

41.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.29 €1.15

33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 £1.07

$2.04 €1.81

-29.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.15 £1.61

$1.72 €1.53

25.00%

Eggs

$3.62 £2.72

$4.77 €4.24

-24.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.47 £7.11

$16.77 €14.92

-43.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.85 £6.64

$8.93 €7.94

-0.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.18 £12.14

$19.88 €17.68

-18.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 £2.10

$2.98 €2.65

-6.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.16

$2.03 €1.80

-23.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$2.73 €2.43

10.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.51 £2.63

$2.68 €2.38

30.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 £1.50

$2.10 €1.87

-5.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.15

$2.08 €1.85

-25.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 £0.82

$1.45 €1.29

-24.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 £1.23

$0.89 €0.79

84.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.08 £17.31

$6.94 €6.17

232.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.07 £8.31

$7.78 €6.92

42.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.05 £2.29

$1.45 €1.29

110.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 £2.48

$2.57 €2.29

28.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.21 £2.41

$2.99 €2.66

7.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$79.1 £59.3

$25.20 €22.41

213.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.58 £3.44

$3.12 €2.77

46.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 £1.25

$1.44 €1.28

15.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.87 £26.91

$33.50 €29.80

7.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.55

$1.79 €1.59

15.08%

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

$37.9K £28.4K

$34.6K €30.8K

9.29%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$30.1K €26.7K

35.91%

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

$335 £252

$178 €158

88.59%

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

$25.35 £19.02

$13.32 €11.85

90.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.54 £32.67

$34.88 €31.03

24.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.26 £27.95

$53.3 €47.37

-30.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.37 £8.53

$16.01 €14.24

-28.98%

Cinema Ticket

$10.36 £7.77

$11.06 €9.84

-6.33%

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

$1,990 £1,493

$957 €851

107.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.5K £24.4K

$16.6K €14.7K

96.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.8 £73.4

$88.2 €78.4

10.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.54 £36.41

$39.49 €35.12

22.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 £86.9

$103 €91.5

12.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.4 £74.6

$121 €108

-18.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,168 £876

$1,653 €1,470

-29.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,102 £826

$1,302 €1,158

-15.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,136 £1,602

$2,557 €2,275

-16.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,482 £1,112

$1,915 €1,703

-22.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,255 £3,942

$7,286 €6,481

-27.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,432 £2,575

$5,080 €4,519

-32.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,179 £2,385

$2,281 €2,029

39.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

3.28

55.79%

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

Last update for Cardiff: 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

Cardiff

$1.1K 44.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 18.2% $200

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cardiff

$404 16.5%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 44.1% $178

Eating Out

Cardiff

$317 12.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 14.9% $47

Groceries & Markets

Cardiff

$306 12.5%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 4.7% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Cardiff

$163 6.6%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 2.7% $4.3

Getting Around

Cardiff

$105 4.3%

Barcelona

$47 2% 54.7% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Cardiff

$58 2.4%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 30% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,168 in Cardiff and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cardiff pays 39% 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: $83.0 in Cardiff vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $306 vs $320, with Cardiff cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cardiff

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

12:18 12:18 PM

13:18 1:18 PM

1 h ahead of Cardiff

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

346,100

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 18, 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cardiff Barcelona 1,190 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cardiff
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

Cardiff vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cardiff and Barcelona differ by about 2% in total monthly costs ($2,454 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 39% higher in Cardiff, 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: $1,168 in Cardiff versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,990 in Cardiff versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Cardiff pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,399 in Barcelona versus $2,454 in Cardiff, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Cardiff. 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, Cardiff 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 2% less than in Cardiff. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.