Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston upon Thames and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,399 a month against $3,276 in Kingston upon Thames, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

161

Cost of Living Index in Kingston upon Thames
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Kingston upon Thames Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Kingston upon Thames

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,276

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,276 in Kingston upon Thames versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Kingston upon Thames $3,276
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,746 in Kingston upon Thames versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Kingston upon Thames $4,746
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,216 in Kingston upon Thames versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Kingston upon Thames $6,216
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Kingston upon Thames is roughly 37% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kingston upon Thames 143% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.10 £16.58

$17.94 €15.96

23.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.6 £65.0

$68.1 €60.5

27.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.42 £7.82

$13.28 €11.81

-21.54%

Cappuccino

$5.46 £4.09

$3.25 €2.89

68.00%

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

$3.00 £2.25

$3.01 €2.67

-0.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.87 €1.66

-3.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.20 £6.91

$3.85 €3.42

138.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.91 £5.93

$4.48 €3.98

76.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.29 €1.15

30.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.30

$2.04 €1.81

-15.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.45 £1.84

$1.72 €1.53

42.44%

Eggs

$4.91 £3.68

$4.77 €4.24

2.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.46 £6.35

$16.77 €14.92

-49.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.72 £6.54

$8.93 €7.94

-2.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.99 £9.74

$19.88 €17.68

-34.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.13 £2.35

$2.98 €2.65

5.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$2.03 €1.80

-33.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 £1.96

$2.73 €2.43

-4.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.90 £2.18

$2.68 €2.38

8.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.10 €1.87

-20.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$2.08 €1.85

-17.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.45 €1.29

-14.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.89 €0.79

102.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$6.94 €6.17

235.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.31 £6.99

$7.78 €6.92

19.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.09 £2.32

$1.45 €1.29

113.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 £3.34

$2.57 €2.29

73.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.37 £1.78

$2.99 €2.66

-20.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.49 £31.88

$25.20 €22.41

68.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 £3.69

$3.12 €2.77

57.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.44 €1.28

-0.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.70 £17.78

$33.50 €29.80

-29.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 £1.49

$1.79 €1.59

10.61%

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

$37.7K £28.3K

$34.6K €30.8K

8.82%

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

$39.8K £29.9K

$30.1K €26.7K

32.42%

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

$371 £278

$178 €158

108.36%

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

$15.63 £11.73

$13.32 €11.85

17.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.78 £30.60

$34.88 €31.03

16.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$102 £76.8

$53.3 €47.37

92.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.49 £7.87

$16.01 €14.24

-34.48%

Cinema Ticket

$19.46 £14.60

$11.06 €9.84

75.95%

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

$2,594 £1,946

$957 €851

171.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.2K £16.6K

$16.6K €14.7K

33.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.7

$88.2 €78.4

29.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.6 £40.19

$39.49 €35.12

35.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.1 £58.6

$103 €91.5

-24.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 £79.7

$121 €108

-12.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,035 £1,527

$1,653 €1,470

23.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,832 £1,374

$1,302 €1,158

40.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,567 £2,676

$2,557 €2,275

39.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,164 £2,374

$1,915 €1,703

65.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,303 £3,978

$2,281 €2,029

132.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

3.28

44.51%

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

Last update for Kingston upon Thames: October 13, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kingston upon Thames

$1.8K 55.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 28.9% $530

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston upon Thames

$427 13%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 47.1% $201

Eating Out

Kingston upon Thames

$355 10.8%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 23.8% $85

Groceries & Markets

Kingston upon Thames

$298 9.1%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 7.4% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston upon Thames

$158 4.8%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 0.1% $0.1

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston upon Thames

$141 4.3%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 46.7% $66

Getting Around

Kingston upon Thames

$64 2%

Barcelona

$47 2% 25.9% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,035 in Kingston upon Thames and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kingston upon Thames pays 133% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $87.0 in Kingston upon Thames vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $298 vs $320, with Kingston upon Thames cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Kingston upon Thames

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

18:55 6:55 PM

19:55 7:55 PM

1 h ahead of Kingston upon Thames

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,013

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 19, 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 19, 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

Kingston upon Thames Barcelona 1,130 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Kingston upon Thames
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

Kingston upon Thames vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kingston upon Thames and Barcelona differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($3,276 vs $2,399 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 133% higher in Kingston upon Thames, 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: $2,035 in Kingston upon Thames versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,594 in Kingston upon Thames versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Kingston upon Thames pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Kingston upon Thames 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Kingston upon Thames. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.