Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lerwick and Barcelona

For one person, living costs are similar in Lerwick and in Barcelona: $2,368 and $2,381 a month, rent and utilities included.

114

Cost of Living Index in Lerwick
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Lerwick Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Lerwick

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,368

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,368 in Lerwick versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Lerwick $2,368
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,415 in Lerwick versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Lerwick $3,415
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,462 in Lerwick versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Lerwick $4,462
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Lerwick costs roughly 1% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lerwick 75% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.15 £15.11

$17.89 €15.92

12.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.5 £73.9

$66.2 €58.9

48.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 £7.76

$13.69 €12.18

-24.40%

Cappuccino

$5.40 £4.05

$3.06 €2.72

76.47%

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

$2.25 £1.69

$3.07 €2.73

-26.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.94 €1.73

-15.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.45 £4.84

$3.87 €3.44

66.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.86 £4.40

$4.61 €4.10

27.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.30 €1.16

19.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 £1.27

$2.10 €1.87

-19.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 £1.66

$1.83 €1.62

20.77%

Eggs

$4.02 £3.02

$4.62 €4.11

-12.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.37 £7.03

$17.36 €15.44

-46.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.57 £6.43

$9.28 €8.25

-7.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 £10.84

$19.83 €17.64

-27.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.27

$3.01 €2.68

0.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$2.03 €1.81

-25.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 £2.07

$2.65 €2.36

4.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$2.87 €2.55

14.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$2.16 €1.92

-15.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$2.15 €1.91

-20.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 £0.95

$1.47 €1.31

-14.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 £1.16

$0.88 €0.79

76.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.02 £18.02

$6.93 €6.16

246.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.48 £7.86

$7.83 €6.96

33.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.00 £2.25

$1.39 €1.24

115.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.46

$2.63 €2.34

24.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.07 £2.30

$2.91 €2.59

5.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.1 £62.3

$25.46 €22.64

226.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.23 £3.18

$3.00 €2.66

41.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 £1.76

$1.44 €1.28

63.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.03 £18.03

$33.20 €29.53

-27.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 £1.75

$1.86 €1.65

25.81%

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

$38.9K £29.2K

$32.3K €28.8K

20.21%

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

$34.5K £25.9K

$31.7K €28.2K

8.72%

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

$309 £232

$183 €163

69.33%

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

$19.33 £14.50

$13.61 €12.11

42.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.26 £33.95

$32.93 €29.29

37.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 £39.61

$54.7 €48.65

-3.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$13.32 £9.99

$11.23 €9.99

18.61%

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

$1,392 £1,045

$954 €849

45.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K £18.4K

$16.6K €14.8K

47.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 £66.5

$86.0 €76.5

3.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 £37.93

$39.11 €34.78

29.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 £66.8

$104 €92.2

-14.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 £82.8

$119 €106

-6.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 £834

$1,695 €1,508

-34.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 £777

$1,276 €1,135

-18.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,395 £1,797

$2,576 €2,291

-7.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,523 £1,143

$1,922 €1,710

-20.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,646 £3,486

$7,281 €6,477

-36.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,438 £2,579

$5,010 €4,456

-31.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

3.28

55.18%

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

Last update for Lerwick: 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

Lerwick

$1K 43.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 23.2% $240

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lerwick

$374 15.8%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 38.7% $145

Eating Out

Lerwick

$317 13.4%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 14.9% $47

Groceries & Markets

Lerwick

$298 12.6%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 9% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Lerwick

$152 6.4%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 2.6% $3.9

Getting Around

Lerwick

$111 4.7%

Barcelona

$47 2% 57.5% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Lerwick

$79 3.4%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 2.9% $2.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,112 in Lerwick and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $99.0 in Lerwick vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $298 vs $325, with Lerwick cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lerwick

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

17:23 5:23 PM

18:23 6:23 PM

1 h ahead of Lerwick

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,000

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 22, 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 22, 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

Lerwick Barcelona 2,100 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Lerwick
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

Lerwick vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lerwick and Barcelona differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($2,368 vs $2,381 including rent). Lerwick is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,552 in Lerwick and $3,571 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: $1,112 in Lerwick versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,392 in Lerwick versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,368 in Lerwick versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Lerwick but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Lerwick 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, Lerwick 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 Lerwick 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.