Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dartford and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $2,939 in Dartford, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Dartford, United Kingdom
Barcelona, Spain
Dartford
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$2,939
/mo nomad
Barcelona
🇪🇸 Spain
$2,453
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,939 in Dartford versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

  • Dartford $2,939
  • Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,203 in Dartford versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

  • Dartford $4,203
  • Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,467 in Dartford versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

  • Dartford $5,467
  • Barcelona $4,564

Living in Dartford is roughly 20% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dartford 116% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Dartford
Barcelona
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$23.91 £17.83
$17.59 €15.69
35.93%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$107 £80.1
$67.5 €60.2
59.19%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.54 £7.86
$13.53 €12.07
-22.10%
Cappuccino
$4.82 £3.60
$3.19 €2.85
51.10%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.96 £2.21
$2.91 €2.60
1.72%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.75 £1.30
$1.89 €1.69
-7.41%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$7.17 £5.35
$4.01 €3.58
78.80%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$6.81 £5.08
$4.53 €4.04
50.33%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Dartford
Barcelona
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.58 £1.18
$1.31 €1.16
20.61%
White Bread (500g)
$1.99 £1.49
$2.02 €1.80
-1.49%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.44 £1.82
$1.85 €1.65
31.89%
Eggs
$4.15 £3.09
$4.83 €4.31
-14.08%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.64 £6.44
$16.74 €14.93
-48.39%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.04 £7.48
$9.12 €8.14
10.09%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$16.28 £12.14
$19.64 €17.52
-17.11%
Apples (1kg)
$3.05 £2.28
$2.98 €2.66
2.35%
Banana (1kg)
$1.48 £1.10
$2.02 €1.80
-26.73%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.71 £2.02
$2.70 €2.41
0.37%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.35 £2.50
$2.80 €2.50
19.64%
Potato (1kg)
$1.46 £1.09
$2.09 €1.86
-30.14%
Onion (1kg)
$1.83 £1.36
$2.07 €1.85
-11.59%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.44 £1.07
$1.46 €1.30
-1.37%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.98 £0.73
$0.94 €0.84
4.26%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.28 £17.36
$6.87 €6.13
238.86%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.73 £8.00
$7.89 €7.04
35.99%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.28 £1.70
$1.41 €1.25
61.70%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.44 £1.82
$2.54 €2.26
-3.94%
🚌 Getting Around
Dartford
Barcelona
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.80 £2.08
$3.14 €2.80
-10.83%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$25.45 €22.70
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.43 £4.05
$2.99 €2.67
81.61%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.39 £2.53
$1.49 €1.33
127.52%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$57.1 £42.56
$33.37 €29.78
71.08%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.00 £1.49
$1.80 €1.60
11.11%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.1K £28.4K
$33.2K €29.6K
14.89%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$40.8K £30.4K
$31.7K €28.3K
28.75%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Dartford
Barcelona
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$285 £212
$180 €161
57.87%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$16.52 £12.32
$13.84 €12.35
19.36%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$39.69 £29.59
$33.70 €30.06
17.77%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Dartford
Barcelona
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$44.44 £33.14
$51.5 €45.96
-13.73%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$15.96 €14.24
-
Cinema Ticket
$19.41 £14.47
$10.99 €9.81
76.62%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Dartford
Barcelona
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$2,229 £1,662
$917 €818
143.17%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$29.8K £22.2K
$16.5K €14.7K
81.08%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Dartford
Barcelona
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$54.1 £40.30
$87.0 €77.7
-37.89%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$24.07 £17.95
$38.51 €34.35
-37.50%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$90.1 £67.1
$106 €94.4
-14.89%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$95.2 £71.0
$120 €107
-20.48%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Dartford
Barcelona
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,235 £1,666
$1,699 €1,516
31.51%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,711 £1,276
$1,355 €1,209
26.26%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,951 £2,200
$2,603 €2,322
13.38%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,655 £1,980
$2,062 €1,840
28.74%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$5,354 £3,991
$6,915 €6,169
-22.58%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,479 £3,339
$5,128 €4,575
-12.65%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Dartford
Barcelona
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$4,472 £3,334
$2,211 €1,972
102.29%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.79
3.28
46.04%

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

Last update for Dartford: 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
Dartford
$1.7K
Barcelona
$1.4K 20.8% $356
Eating Out
Dartford
$349
Barcelona
$268 23.3% $81
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Dartford
$341
Barcelona
$228 33.2% $113
Groceries & Markets
Dartford
$302
Barcelona
$322 6.5% $20
Clothing & Footwear
Dartford
$119
Barcelona
$158 33.3% $39
Sport & Entertainment
Dartford
$83
Barcelona
$74 11.7% $9.8
Getting Around
Dartford
$34 *
Barcelona
$48 44.4% $15

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 $2,235 in Dartford and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dartford pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $107 in Dartford vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $302 vs $322, with Dartford cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇬🇧 Dartford
🇪🇸 Barcelona
🕒 Local time
14:30 2:30 PM
15:30 3:30 PM
1 h ahead of Dartford
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
51,240
1,660,122
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.746 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.832 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

On the map
Between locations
  • Dartford Barcelona 1,130 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Dartford
  • 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
Dartford vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Dartford and in Barcelona?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,939 in Dartford and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Barcelona is about 17% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Dartford or Barcelona?
Average pay in Dartford is about 2 times higher, 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 Dartford and in Barcelona?
Rent for a central apartment: $2,235 in Dartford 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 Dartford and Barcelona?
Childcare runs $2,229 in Dartford 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 restaurants?
Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $67 versus $107 in Dartford. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
How does quality of life compare between Dartford 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.
Is Dartford or Barcelona safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Dartford and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.
How do I decide between Dartford and Barcelona?
It comes down to priorities – Barcelona wins on affordability, Dartford on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.

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