Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Croydon and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,443 a month against $2,919 in Croydon, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Croydon
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Croydon Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Croydon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,919

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,919 in Croydon versus $2,443 in Barcelona.

Croydon $2,919
Barcelona $2,443

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,036 in Croydon versus $3,519 in Barcelona.

Croydon $4,036
Barcelona $3,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,153 in Croydon versus $4,595 in Barcelona.

Croydon $5,153
Barcelona $4,595

Living in Croydon is roughly 19% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Croydon 116% above, Barcelona 81% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.42 £15.18

$17.66 €15.73

15.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.9 £55.7

$67.5 €60.1

11.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.58 £7.12

$13.61 €12.13

-29.61%

Cappuccino

$5.00 £3.71

$3.10 €2.76

61.29%

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

$2.76 £2.05

$3.00 €2.67

-8.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.44 £1.07

$1.93 €1.72

-25.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.08 £4.52

$3.84 €3.42

58.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.86 £4.35

$4.36 €3.88

34.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 £1.21

$1.25 €1.11

30.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 £1.11

$2.12 €1.89

-29.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.73 £2.03

$1.97 €1.76

38.58%

Eggs

$4.02 £2.99

$4.76 €4.24

-15.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.67 £7.93

$17.07 €15.20

-37.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.27 £6.15

$8.96 €7.98

-7.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.19 £9.80

$20.65 €18.39

-36.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 £2.18

$3.16 €2.82

-6.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 £0.92

$1.97 €1.75

-37.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 £1.56

$2.65 €2.36

-20.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.95 £1.45

$2.88 €2.57

-32.29%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 £2.26

$2.06 €1.83

47.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 £1.41

$2.18 €1.94

-12.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 £1.17

$1.53 €1.37

2.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 £0.92

$0.97 €0.86

27.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.62 £17.55

$6.97 €6.21

238.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.18 £9.80

$7.89 €7.03

67.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.87 £2.13

$1.42 €1.26

102.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 £1.62

$2.69 €2.39

-18.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 £1.71

$3.31 €2.95

-30.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$134 £99.7

$25.61 €22.81

423.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.44

$3.08 €2.75

94.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.42 £2.54

$1.48 €1.32

131.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.1 £43.17

$32.87 €29.28

76.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.46

$1.87 €1.66

5.35%

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

$38.2K £28.4K

$33.0K €29.4K

15.84%

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

$40.3K £30.0K

$31.9K €28.5K

26.27%

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

$306 £228

$183 €163

67.44%

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

$30.02 £22.31

$14.24 €12.69

110.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.20 £30.62

$34.56 €30.79

19.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.18 £27.63

$51.4 €45.81

-27.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.06 £14.91

$16.38 €14.60

22.47%

Cinema Ticket

$12.16 £9.03

$11.06 €9.86

9.95%

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

$1,674 £1,244

$944 €841

77.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.8K £20.0K

$22.3K €19.8K

20.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.8 £48.90

$87.7 €78.1

-24.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.67 £36.92

$38.77 €34.54

28.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.9 £69.8

$105 €93.1

-10.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$160 £119

$118 €105

35.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,047 £1,521

$1,697 €1,512

20.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,546 £1,149

$1,337 €1,191

15.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,809 £2,088

$2,692 €2,398

4.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,228 £1,656

$2,077 €1,850

7.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,125 £6,039

$7,155 €6,373

13.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,836 £4,338

$5,079 €4,524

14.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,414 £3,280

$2,241 €1,997

96.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.06

3.19

58.62%

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

Last update for Croydon: November 3, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Croydon

$1.5K 53%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7% 13.5% $209

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Croydon

$377 12.9%

Barcelona

$232 9.5% 38.6% $146

Eating Out

Croydon

$311 10.7%

Barcelona

$267 10.9% 14.2% $44

Groceries & Markets

Croydon

$291 10%

Barcelona

$328 13.4% 12.8% $37

Getting Around

Croydon

$166 5.7%

Barcelona

$49 2% 70.4% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Croydon

$166 5.7%

Barcelona

$157 6.4% 5.5% $9.2

Sport & Entertainment

Croydon

$61 2.1%

Barcelona

$74 3% 19.6% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,047 in Croydon and $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Croydon pays 97% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $75 in Croydon vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $291 vs $328, with Croydon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Croydon

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

22:26 10:26 PM

23:26 11:26 PM

1 h ahead of Croydon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

173,314

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Croydon Barcelona 1,120 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Croydon
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

Croydon vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,919 in Croydon and $2,443 in Barcelona, so Barcelona is about 16% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 97% higher in Croydon, 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: $2,047 in Croydon versus $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,674 in Croydon versus $944 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Croydon pay roughly 11% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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.

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