Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Grays and Barcelona

For one person, living costs are similar in Grays and in Barcelona: $2,369 and $2,399 a month, rent and utilities included.

116

Cost of Living Index in Grays
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Grays Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Grays

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,369

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,369 in Grays versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Grays $2,369
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,403 in Grays versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Grays $3,403
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,437 in Grays versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Grays $4,437
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Grays costs roughly 1% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Grays 75% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.94 £18.71

$17.94 €15.96

39.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.3 £39.24

$68.1 €60.5

-23.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.98 £7.49

$13.28 €11.81

-24.85%

Cappuccino

$4.64 £3.48

$3.25 €2.89

42.77%

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

$3.86 £2.90

$3.01 €2.67

28.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 £2.49

$1.87 €1.66

77.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.40 £4.05

$3.85 €3.42

40.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.88 £5.91

$4.48 €3.98

75.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.29 €1.15

20.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 £1.10

$2.04 €1.81

-27.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.72 €1.53

-4.65%

Eggs

$4.41 £3.31

$4.77 €4.24

-7.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.06 £9.05

$16.77 €14.92

-28.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.17 £6.88

$8.93 €7.94

2.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.11 £11.33

$19.88 €17.68

-23.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 £2.21

$2.98 €2.65

-1.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 £1.42

$2.03 €1.80

-6.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.11

$2.73 €2.43

3.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 £2.83

$2.68 €2.38

40.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.10 €1.87

4.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 £1.35

$2.08 €1.85

-13.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 £0.88

$1.45 €1.29

-18.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 £1.07

$0.89 €0.79

60.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.07 £12.80

$6.94 €6.17

145.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.87 £8.16

$7.78 €6.92

39.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.04 £2.28

$1.45 €1.29

109.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.42

$2.57 €2.29

25.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.54 £2.66

$2.99 €2.66

18.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.5 £73.1

$25.20 €22.41

286.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.88 £3.66

$3.12 €2.77

56.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.69 £2.02

$1.44 €1.28

86.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.12 £29.35

$33.50 €29.80

16.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.79 €1.59

15.08%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$34.6K €30.8K

11.48%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$30.1K €26.7K

36.08%

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

$280 £210

$178 €158

57.15%

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

$16.46 £12.35

$13.32 €11.85

23.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.70 £33.53

$34.88 €31.03

28.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.48 £34.87

$53.3 €47.37

-12.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$11.16 £8.37

$11.06 €9.84

0.90%

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

$2,079 £1,559

$957 €851

117.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.6K £23.0K

$16.6K €14.7K

84.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.9 £68.2

$88.2 €78.4

3.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.44 £33.34

$39.49 €35.12

12.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 £78.4

$103 €91.5

1.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 £66.0

$121 €108

-27.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,235 £926

$1,653 €1,470

-25.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 £759

$1,302 €1,158

-22.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,126 £1,595

$2,557 €2,275

-16.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,634 £1,226

$1,915 €1,703

-14.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,052 £3,790

$7,286 €6,481

-30.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,847 £2,886

$5,080 €4,519

-24.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

3.28

56.10%

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

Last update for Grays: 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

Grays

$1K 42.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 28.6% $290

Eating Out

Grays

$357 15.1%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 24.3% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Grays

$341 14.4%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 33.6% $115

Groceries & Markets

Grays

$313 13.2%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 2.2% $6.8

Clothing & Footwear

Grays

$148 6.2%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 7.4% $11

Getting Around

Grays

$130 5.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 63.5% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Grays

$69 2.9%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 9.6% $6.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,235 in Grays and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52.0 in Grays vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $313 vs $320 per month, with Grays cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Grays

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

08:26 8:26 AM

09:26 9:26 AM

1 h ahead of Grays

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

36,601

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 20, 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Grays Barcelona 1,130 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Grays
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

Grays vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Grays and Barcelona differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($2,369 vs $2,399 including rent). Grays is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,553 in Grays and $3,599 in Barcelona to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,235 in Grays versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,079 in Grays versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,369 in Grays versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Grays but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Grays 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, Grays 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 Grays gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.