Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hertfordshire and Barcelona

For one person, living costs are similar in Hertfordshire and in Barcelona: $2,499 and $2,453 a month, rent and utilities included.

121

Cost of Living Index in Hertfordshire
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Hertfordshire Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Hertfordshire

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,499

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,499 in Hertfordshire versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Hertfordshire $2,499
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,774 in Hertfordshire versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Hertfordshire $3,774
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,049 in Hertfordshire versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Hertfordshire $5,049
Barcelona $4,564

Monthly costs are close between Hertfordshire and Barcelona; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Hertfordshire 84% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.87 £20.07

$17.59 €15.75

52.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.1 £60.6

$67.5 €60.5

20.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.61 £7.93

$13.53 €12.12

-21.58%

Cappuccino

$5.14 £3.84

$3.19 €2.86

61.13%

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

$2.42 £1.80

$2.91 €2.61

-16.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.89 €1.70

10.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.50 £4.11

$4.01 €3.59

37.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 £4.20

$4.53 €4.06

24.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 £1.14

$1.31 €1.17

16.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 £1.43

$2.02 €1.81

-5.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.78 £2.07

$1.85 €1.66

50.27%

Eggs

$3.64 £2.71

$4.83 €4.33

-24.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.83 £5.85

$16.74 €14.99

-53.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.38 £5.51

$9.12 €8.17

-19.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.59

$19.64 €17.59

-14.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 £2.45

$2.98 €2.67

10.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 £1.15

$2.02 €1.81

-23.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 £2.26

$2.70 €2.42

12.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.40 £2.54

$2.80 €2.51

21.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 £0.87

$2.09 €1.87

-44.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 £1.36

$2.07 €1.85

-12.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 £0.94

$1.46 €1.31

-13.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.97

$0.94 €0.84

38.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.92 £15.62

$6.87 €6.15

204.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.09 £7.53

$7.89 €7.06

27.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 £1.50

$1.41 €1.26

42.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.46

$2.54 €2.27

-22.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.54 £2.64

$3.14 €2.82

12.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.7 £64.0

$25.45 €22.79

236.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.05 £3.02

$2.99 €2.68

35.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.94 £2.94

$1.49 €1.34

164.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.16 £24.02

$33.37 €29.89

-3.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.80 €1.61

11.11%

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

$38.3K £28.6K

$33.2K €29.7K

15.51%

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

$39.8K £29.7K

$31.7K €28.4K

25.55%

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

$158 £118

$180 €162

-12.65%

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

$17.19 £12.83

$13.84 €12.39

24.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.88 £32.77

$33.70 €30.18

30.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.49 £34.71

$51.5 €46.13

-9.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$13.52 £10.10

$10.99 €9.85

23.02%

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

$1,620 £1,210

$917 €821

76.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.4K £16.7K

$16.5K €14.8K

35.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.28 £35.30

$87.0 €77.9

-45.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.28 £29.33

$38.51 €34.49

2.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.0 £55.3

$106 €94.8

-30.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 £84.0

$120 €107

-6.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,787 £1,334

$1,699 €1,522

5.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,307 £976

$1,355 €1,214

-3.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,899 £2,164

$2,603 €2,331

11.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,311 £1,725

$2,062 €1,847

12.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,001 £3,734

$6,915 €6,193

-27.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,819 £2,852

$5,128 €4,592

-25.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,256 £2,431

$2,211 €1,980

47.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.21

3.28

58.84%

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

Last update for Hertfordshire: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hertfordshire

$1.3K 52.3%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 3.7% $48

Eating Out

Hertfordshire

$365 14.6%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 26.7% $97

Groceries & Markets

Hertfordshire

$288 11.5%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 11.9% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hertfordshire

$219 8.8%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 4.2% $9.3

Getting Around

Hertfordshire

$124 5%

Barcelona

$48 2% 60.8% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Hertfordshire

$123 4.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 28.5% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Hertfordshire

$74 2.9%

Barcelona

$74 3% 0.1% $0

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,787 in Hertfordshire and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hertfordshire pays 47% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $81 in Hertfordshire vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $322, with Hertfordshire cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Hertfordshire

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

11:23 11:23 AM

12:23 12:23 PM

1 h ahead of Hertfordshire

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

33,990

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Hertfordshire Barcelona 1,190 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Hertfordshire
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

Hertfordshire vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 47% higher in Hertfordshire, 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: $1,787 in Hertfordshire versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,620 in Hertfordshire versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $67 versus $81 in Hertfordshire. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Barcelona gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Hertfordshire and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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