Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Liverpool and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Liverpool: $2,205 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

106

Cost of Living Index in Liverpool
Learn more

Liverpool Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Liverpool

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,205

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,205 in Liverpool versus $2,405 in Barcelona.

Liverpool $2,205
Barcelona $2,405

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,262 in Liverpool versus $3,477 in Barcelona.

Liverpool $3,262
Barcelona $3,477

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Liverpool versus $4,550 in Barcelona.

Liverpool $4,319
Barcelona $4,550

Living in Liverpool costs roughly 8% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Liverpool 65% above, Barcelona 79% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.60 £19.34

$17.98 €16.05

42.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$104 £78.6

$67.4 €60.2

54.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.20 £7.71

$13.37 €11.93

-23.71%

Cappuccino

$4.98 £3.77

$3.34 €2.98

49.10%

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

$2.48 £1.87

$2.95 €2.64

-15.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 £1.39

$1.90 €1.69

-3.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.52 £4.93

$3.88 €3.46

68.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.45 £4.87

$4.57 €4.08

41.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 £1.29

$1.27 €1.13

34.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.29

$1.96 €1.75

-12.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.19 £1.66

$1.75 €1.56

25.14%

Eggs

$3.85 £2.91

$4.89 €4.36

-21.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.07 £6.10

$17.47 €15.59

-53.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.06 £6.09

$9.06 €8.09

-11.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.89 £10.50

$20.18 €18.01

-31.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.76 £2.09

$3.08 €2.75

-10.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 £1.21

$2.03 €1.81

-21.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.71 £2.05

$2.60 €2.32

4.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 £2.12

$2.71 €2.42

3.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 £1.48

$2.15 €1.92

-8.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 £1.16

$2.21 €1.97

-30.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.92

$1.54 €1.38

-21.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.18

$0.93 €0.83

67.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.43 £17.70

$7.09 €6.32

230.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.20 £7.71

$7.63 €6.81

33.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.85 £2.16

$1.49 €1.33

91.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 £2.28

$2.73 €2.43

10.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.70 £2.04

$2.95 €2.63

-8.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$103 £77.7

$25.91 €23.13

296.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.93 £3.72

$3.13 €2.80

57.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.65 £2.01

$1.45 €1.29

82.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.39 £16.92

$34.17 €30.49

-34.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 £1.54

$1.79 €1.60

13.41%

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

$38.9K £29.4K

$34.7K €31.0K

12.12%

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

$40.4K £30.5K

$30.3K €27.0K

33.25%

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

$296 £224

$181 €161

63.88%

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

$21.20 £16.02

$13.56 €12.10

56.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.66 £31.48

$35.12 €31.34

18.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.81 £24.80

$53.2 €47.44

-38.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.15 £12.96

$16.05 €14.33

6.85%

Cinema Ticket

$18.82 £14.22

$11.37 €10.14

65.52%

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

$1,775 £1,341

$939 €838

89.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.0K £12.1K

$16.5K €14.7K

-3.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.8 £68.6

$88.2 €78.7

2.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.22 £31.91

$39.77 €35.49

6.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £77.3

$103 €92.3

-1.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 £77.4

$119 €107

-14.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,177 £890

$1,695 €1,513

-30.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$827 £625

$1,301 €1,161

-36.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,202 £1,664

$2,576 €2,299

-14.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,250 £945

$1,941 €1,732

-35.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,834 £2,897

$7,470 €6,666

-48.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,633 £1,990

$5,195 €4,636

-49.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,246 £2,453

$2,299 €2,052

41.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.15

3.28

57.01%

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

Last update for Liverpool: October 6, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Liverpool

$827 37.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54% 57.3% $474

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Liverpool

$359 16.4%

Barcelona

$229 9.5% 36.1% $130

Eating Out

Liverpool

$358 16.4%

Barcelona

$272 11.3% 24% $86

Groceries & Markets

Liverpool

$286 13.1%

Barcelona

$325 13.5% 13.6% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Liverpool

$152 7%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 3.9% $5.9

Getting Around

Liverpool

$132 6%

Barcelona

$48 2% 63.5% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Liverpool

$70 3.2%

Barcelona

$76 3.2% 7.7% $5.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,177 in Liverpool and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Liverpool pays 41% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $104 in Liverpool vs $67.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $286 vs $325, with Liverpool cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Liverpool

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

07:33 7:33 AM

08:33 8:33 AM

1 h ahead of Liverpool

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

434,900

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Liverpool Barcelona 1,390 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Liverpool
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

Liverpool vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Liverpool and Barcelona differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($2,205 vs $2,405 including rent). Liverpool is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 41% higher in Liverpool, 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: $1,177 in Liverpool versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,775 in Liverpool versus $939 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,205 in Liverpool versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Liverpool but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Liverpool 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, Liverpool 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 Liverpool gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.