Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lincoln and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Lincoln: $2,203 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lincoln
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Lincoln Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Lincoln

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,203

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,203 in Lincoln versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Lincoln $2,203
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,290 in Lincoln versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Lincoln $3,290
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,376 in Lincoln versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Lincoln $4,376
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Lincoln costs roughly 7% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lincoln 63% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.70 £20.03

$17.89 €15.92

49.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.8 £64.4

$66.2 €58.9

29.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.14 £6.11

$13.69 €12.18

-40.54%

Cappuccino

$4.98 £3.74

$3.06 €2.72

62.75%

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

$2.64 £1.98

$3.07 €2.73

-14.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.94 €1.73

1.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.70 £5.03

$3.87 €3.44

73.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.58 £4.94

$4.61 €4.10

42.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.30 €1.16

7.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 £1.12

$2.10 €1.87

-29.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.83 €1.62

-26.78%

Eggs

$3.36 £2.52

$4.62 €4.11

-27.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.31 £6.23

$17.36 €15.44

-52.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.59 £6.44

$9.28 €8.25

-7.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.39 £8.54

$19.83 €17.64

-42.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.48 £2.61

$3.01 €2.68

15.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.20 £0.90

$2.03 €1.81

-40.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$2.65 €2.36

17.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.65 £2.74

$2.87 €2.55

27.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 £1.10

$2.16 €1.92

-31.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.16 £0.87

$2.15 €1.91

-46.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.04 £0.78

$1.47 €1.31

-29.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 £1.02

$0.88 €0.79

53.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.57 £17.68

$6.93 €6.16

240.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.50 £7.88

$7.83 €6.96

34.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.39

$1.39 €1.24

128.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 £2.69

$2.63 €2.34

36.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.15 £3.12

$2.91 €2.59

42.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 £80.3

$25.46 €22.64

320.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.88 £2.91

$3.00 €2.66

29.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 £0.54

$1.44 €1.28

-50.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.84 £14.89

$33.20 €29.53

-40.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.86 €1.65

10.75%

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

$38.6K £28.9K

$32.3K €28.8K

19.26%

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

$40.4K £30.3K

$31.7K €28.2K

27.28%

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

$304 £228

$183 €163

66.28%

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

$17.07 £12.81

$13.61 €12.11

25.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.02 £30.02

$32.93 €29.29

21.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.70 £20.03

$54.7 €48.65

-51.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.35 £16.01

$16.52 €14.70

29.24%

Cinema Ticket

$15.55 £11.66

$11.23 €9.99

38.47%

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

$1,831 £1,373

$954 €849

91.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.6K £15.5K

$16.6K €14.8K

24.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$115 £85.9

$86.0 €76.5

33.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.6 £43.98

$39.11 €34.78

49.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.9 £63.7

$104 €92.2

-18.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.3 £74.5

$119 €106

-16.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 £809

$1,695 €1,508

-36.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$854 £640

$1,276 €1,135

-33.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,936 £1,453

$2,576 €2,291

-24.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,426 £1,070

$1,922 €1,710

-25.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,503 £1,878

$7,281 €6,477

-65.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,220 £916

$5,010 €4,456

-75.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,307 £2,481

$2,227 €1,981

48.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.88

3.28

48.78%

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

Last update for Lincoln: October 17, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lincoln

$854 38.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 49.5% $423

Eating Out

Lincoln

$363 16.5%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 25.7% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lincoln

$361 16.4%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 36.5% $132

Groceries & Markets

Lincoln

$276 12.5%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 17.7% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Lincoln

$161 7.3%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 2.8% $4.4

Getting Around

Lincoln

$131 6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 63.9% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Lincoln

$58 2.6%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 33.5% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,078 in Lincoln and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lincoln pays 49% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $86.0 in Lincoln vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $276 vs $325, with Lincoln cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lincoln

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

03:14 3:14 AM

04:14 4:14 AM

1 h ahead of Lincoln

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

97,541

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lincoln Barcelona 1,330 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lincoln
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

Lincoln vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lincoln and Barcelona differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($2,203 vs $2,381 including rent). Lincoln is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 49% higher in Lincoln, 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: $1,078 in Lincoln versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,831 in Lincoln 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 18% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,203 in Lincoln versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lincoln but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Lincoln 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, Lincoln 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 Lincoln gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.