Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Harlow and Barcelona

For one person, living costs are similar in Harlow and in Barcelona: $2,330 and $2,381 a month, rent and utilities included.

113

Cost of Living Index in Harlow
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Harlow Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Harlow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,330

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,330 in Harlow versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Harlow $2,330
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,407 in Harlow versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Harlow $3,407
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,483 in Harlow versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Harlow $4,483
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Harlow costs roughly 2% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Harlow 72% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.01 £15.76

$17.89 €15.92

17.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.7 £68.8

$66.2 €58.9

38.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.86

$13.69 €12.18

-23.52%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$3.06 €2.72

78.76%

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

$2.63 £1.97

$3.07 €2.73

-14.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$1.94 €1.73

-4.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.81 £5.11

$3.87 €3.44

75.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.87 £5.15

$4.61 €4.10

49.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.30 €1.16

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 £1.06

$2.10 €1.87

-32.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 £0.84

$1.83 €1.62

-39.34%

Eggs

$2.38 £1.79

$4.62 €4.11

-48.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.83 £5.12

$17.36 €15.44

-60.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.05 £4.54

$9.28 €8.25

-34.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.45 £4.84

$19.83 €17.64

-67.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 £1.54

$3.01 €2.68

-31.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 £0.92

$2.03 €1.81

-39.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.15 £0.87

$2.65 €2.36

-56.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.02 £1.52

$2.87 €2.55

-29.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 £1.22

$2.16 €1.92

-24.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 £1.01

$2.15 €1.91

-37.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.47 €1.31

-8.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 £1.07

$0.88 €0.79

62.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.29 £15.97

$6.93 €6.16

207.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.33 £7.00

$7.83 €6.96

19.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 £2.02

$1.39 €1.24

94.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 £1.53

$2.63 €2.34

-22.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.73 £2.04

$2.91 €2.59

-6.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.84 £4.38

$3.00 €2.66

94.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.44 €1.28

16.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.15 £15.87

$33.20 €29.53

-36.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.86 €1.65

3.23%

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

$39.0K £29.2K

$32.3K €28.8K

20.53%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$31.7K €28.2K

26.61%

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

$226 £169

$183 €163

23.61%

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

$11.95 £8.97

$13.61 €12.11

-12.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.54 £21.41

$32.93 €29.29

-13.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.10 £35.34

$54.7 €48.65

-13.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.06 £6.05

$16.52 €14.70

-51.21%

Cinema Ticket

$12.56 £9.42

$11.23 €9.99

11.84%

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

$1,061 £796

$954 €849

11.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.7K £14.8K

$16.6K €14.8K

18.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.8 £51.6

$86.0 €76.5

-19.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.19 £24.15

$39.11 €34.78

-17.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 £57.8

$104 €92.2

-25.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.33 £29.51

$119 €106

-66.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,403 £1,053

$1,695 €1,508

-17.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,328 £996

$1,276 €1,135

4.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,276 £1,708

$2,576 €2,291

-11.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,182 £1,637

$1,922 €1,710

13.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,013 £2,260

$2,227 €1,981

35.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.91

3.28

49.70%

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

Last update for Harlow: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Harlow

$1.3K 57%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 3.9% $51

Eating Out

Harlow

$331 14.2%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 18.5% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Harlow

$266 11.4%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 13.9% $37

Groceries & Markets

Harlow

$210 9%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 54.9% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Harlow

$98 4.2%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 59.9% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Harlow

$72 3.1%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 6.9% $5

Getting Around

Harlow

$25 * 1.1%

Barcelona

$47 2% 88% $22

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 $1,403 in Harlow and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harlow pays 35% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $92.0 in Harlow vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $325, with Harlow cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Harlow

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:51 2:51 PM

15:51 3:51 PM

1 h ahead of Harlow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

86,191

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 24, 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 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Harlow Barcelona 1,170 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Harlow
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

Harlow vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Harlow and Barcelona differ by about 2% in total monthly costs ($2,330 vs $2,381 including rent). Harlow is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 35% higher in Harlow, 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: $1,403 in Harlow versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,061 in Harlow versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Harlow – a meal for two runs $92.0 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,330 in Harlow versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Harlow but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Harlow 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, Harlow 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 Harlow gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.