Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Leicester and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Leicester: $2,266 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

108

Cost of Living Index in Leicester
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Leicester Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Leicester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,266

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,266 in Leicester versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Leicester $2,266
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,200 in Leicester versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Leicester $3,200
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,133 in Leicester versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Leicester $4,133
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Leicester costs roughly 8% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Leicester 66% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.76 £16.23

$17.59 €15.69

23.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 £49.20

$67.5 €60.2

-2.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 £6.89

$13.53 €12.07

-31.71%

Cappuccino

$4.72 £3.52

$3.19 €2.85

47.96%

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

$2.42 £1.80

$2.91 €2.60

-16.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.89 €1.69

-28.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.74 £5.03

$4.01 €3.58

68.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.20 £3.88

$4.53 €4.04

14.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 £1.29

$1.31 €1.16

32.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 £1.21

$2.02 €1.80

-19.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.18 £1.62

$1.85 €1.65

17.84%

Eggs

$3.94 £2.94

$4.83 €4.31

-18.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.21 £7.61

$16.74 €14.93

-39.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.99 £6.70

$9.12 €8.14

-1.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.85 £11.07

$19.64 €17.52

-24.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 £2.14

$2.98 €2.66

-3.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 £1.11

$2.02 €1.80

-26.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.74 £2.04

$2.70 €2.41

1.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.47 £2.59

$2.80 €2.50

23.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 £1.16

$2.09 €1.86

-25.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.57 £1.17

$2.07 €1.85

-24.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 £0.88

$1.46 €1.30

-19.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 £1.09

$0.94 €0.84

56.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.03 £15.68

$6.87 €6.13

206.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.26 £8.40

$7.89 €7.04

42.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.49 £1.85

$1.41 €1.25

76.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.37

$2.54 €2.26

25.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.11 £3.06

$3.14 €2.80

30.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 £74.6

$25.45 €22.70

293.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.86 £3.62

$2.99 €2.67

62.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.93 £2.93

$1.49 €1.33

163.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.78

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 £1.51

$1.80 €1.60

12.78%

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

$38.0K £28.3K

$33.2K €29.6K

14.45%

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

$40.2K £30.0K

$31.7K €28.3K

26.96%

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

$312 £233

$180 €161

72.99%

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

$16.36 £12.20

$13.84 €12.35

18.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.04 £32.84

$33.70 €30.06

30.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.58 £25.78

$51.5 €45.96

-32.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.32 £19.62

$15.96 €14.24

64.91%

Cinema Ticket

$14.55 £10.85

$10.99 €9.81

32.39%

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

$1,372 £1,023

$917 €818

49.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.4K £19.7K

$16.5K €14.7K

59.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.0 £61.9

$87.0 €77.7

-4.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.80 £31.16

$38.51 €34.35

8.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £79.9

$106 €94.4

1.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 £79.5

$120 €107

-10.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,090 £813

$1,699 €1,516

-35.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$918 £684

$1,355 €1,209

-32.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,739 £1,296

$2,603 €2,322

-33.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,290 £961

$2,062 €1,840

-37.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,857 £3,621

$6,915 €6,169

-29.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,333 £2,485

$5,128 €4,575

-35.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,936 £2,189

$2,211 €1,972

32.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.33

3.28

62.50%

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

Last update for Leicester: 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

Leicester

$918 40.5%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 47.7% $438

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Leicester

$372 16.4%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 38.8% $145

Eating Out

Leicester

$318 14%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 15.7% $50

Groceries & Markets

Leicester

$301 13.3%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 6.9% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Leicester

$152 6.7%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 3.7% $5.6

Getting Around

Leicester

$141 6.2%

Barcelona

$48 2% 65.6% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Leicester

$64 2.8%

Barcelona

$74 3% 15.4% $9.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,090 in Leicester and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Leicester pays 33% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66 in Leicester vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $301 vs $322 per month, with Leicester cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Leicester

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

18:25 6:25 PM

19:25 7:25 PM

1 h ahead of Leicester

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

305,700

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 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).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Leicester Barcelona 1,280 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Leicester
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

Leicester vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,266 in Leicester and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Leicester is about 8% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 33% higher in Leicester, 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: $1,090 in Leicester versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,372 in Leicester versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Barcelona runs roughly 75% less than in Leicester. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Leicester 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.