Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Macclessfield and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Macclessfield: $2,126 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

102

Cost of Living Index in Macclessfield
Learn more

Macclessfield Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Macclessfield

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,126

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,126 in Macclessfield versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Macclessfield $2,126
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,070 in Macclessfield versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Macclessfield $3,070
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,014 in Macclessfield versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Macclessfield $4,014
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Macclessfield costs roughly 11% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Macclessfield 57% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.83 £15.63

$17.89 €15.92

16.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.8 £65.9

$66.2 €58.9

32.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.59 £7.94

$13.69 €12.18

-22.64%

Cappuccino

$5.00 £3.75

$3.06 €2.72

63.40%

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

$2.65 £1.99

$3.07 €2.73

-13.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 £1.48

$1.94 €1.73

2.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.54 £4.91

$3.87 €3.44

68.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.52 £4.89

$4.61 €4.10

41.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.30 €1.16

16.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 £1.12

$2.10 €1.87

-29.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.37 £1.78

$1.83 €1.62

29.51%

Eggs

$3.75 £2.81

$4.62 €4.11

-18.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.46 £7.09

$17.36 €15.44

-45.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.33 £6.25

$9.28 €8.25

-10.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.47 £11.61

$19.83 €17.64

-21.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.52 £2.64

$3.01 €2.68

16.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.68 £2.01

$2.03 €1.81

32.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.07 £2.30

$2.65 €2.36

15.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.51 £2.63

$2.87 €2.55

22.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$2.16 €1.92

-29.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$2.15 €1.91

-28.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 £0.92

$1.47 €1.31

-16.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 £1.06

$0.88 €0.79

60.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.57 £17.68

$6.93 €6.16

240.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.67 £8.01

$7.83 €6.96

36.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.48 £1.86

$1.39 €1.24

78.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 £2.71

$2.63 €2.34

37.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 £1.76

$2.91 €2.59

-19.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.44 £3.33

$3.00 €2.66

48.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.44 €1.28

47.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.06 £22.55

$33.20 €29.53

-9.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.86 €1.65

11.29%

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

$38.5K £28.9K

$32.3K €28.8K

18.98%

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

$40.6K £30.5K

$31.7K €28.2K

28.17%

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

$270 £203

$183 €163

47.92%

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

$20.19 £15.14

$13.61 €12.11

48.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.28

$32.93 €29.29

22.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.42 £35.58

$54.7 €48.65

-13.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.48 £4.86

$16.52 €14.70

-60.77%

Cinema Ticket

$13.09 £9.82

$11.23 €9.99

16.56%

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

$1,255 £941

$954 €849

31.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.2K £15.1K

$16.6K €14.8K

21.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.0 £63.0

$86.0 €76.5

-2.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.92 £31.45

$39.11 €34.78

7.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.1 £66.1

$104 €92.2

-15.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.4 £74.6

$119 €106

-16.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$965 £724

$1,695 €1,508

-43.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$929 £697

$1,276 €1,135

-27.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,269 £952

$2,576 €2,291

-50.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,343 £1,007

$1,922 €1,710

-30.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,343 £1,007

$7,281 €6,477

-81.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,320 £990

$5,010 €4,456

-73.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,289 £1,717

$2,227 €1,981

2.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.82

3.28

46.95%

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

Last update for Macclessfield: 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

Macclessfield

$929 43.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 37.4% $348

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Macclessfield

$331 15.6%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 30.7% $102

Eating Out

Macclessfield

$323 15.2%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 16.5% $53

Groceries & Markets

Macclessfield

$305 14.3%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 6.6% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Macclessfield

$141 6.6%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 10.8% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Macclessfield

$74 3.5%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 4.8% $3.5

Getting Around

Macclessfield

$24 * 1.2%

Barcelona

$47 2% 93.3% $23

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $965 in Macclessfield and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Macclessfield pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $88.0 in Macclessfield vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $305 vs $325, with Macclessfield cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Macclessfield

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

07:15 7:15 AM

08:15 8:15 AM

1 h ahead of Macclessfield

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

54,345

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 23, 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 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Macclessfield Barcelona 1,360 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Macclessfield
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

Macclessfield vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Macclessfield and Barcelona differ by about 12% in total monthly costs ($2,126 vs $2,381 including rent). Macclessfield is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3% higher in Macclessfield, 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: $965 in Macclessfield versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,255 in Macclessfield versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Macclessfield – a meal for two runs $88.0 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,126 in Macclessfield versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Macclessfield but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Macclessfield 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, Macclessfield 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 Macclessfield gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.