Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Merthyr Tydfil and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Merthyr Tydfil: $2,071 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

101

Cost of Living Index in Merthyr Tydfil
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Merthyr Tydfil Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Merthyr Tydfil

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,071

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,071 in Merthyr Tydfil versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Merthyr Tydfil $2,071
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,871 in Merthyr Tydfil versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Merthyr Tydfil $2,871
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,671 in Merthyr Tydfil versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Merthyr Tydfil $3,671
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Merthyr Tydfil costs roughly 13% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Merthyr Tydfil 53% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.21 £18.16

$17.89 €15.92

35.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 £46.76

$66.2 €58.9

-5.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.85 £8.14

$13.69 €12.18

-20.75%

Cappuccino

$4.45 £3.34

$3.06 €2.72

45.42%

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

$2.51 £1.88

$3.07 €2.73

-18.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.94 €1.73

-15.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.16 £4.62

$3.87 €3.44

59.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.81 £4.36

$4.61 €4.10

26.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.30 €1.16

10.77%

White Bread (500g)

$0.61 £0.46

$2.10 €1.87

-70.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.83 €1.62

-7.10%

Eggs

$4.10 £3.08

$4.62 €4.11

-11.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.51 £6.39

$17.36 €15.44

-50.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.66 £6.50

$9.28 €8.25

-6.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.08 £9.82

$19.83 €17.64

-34.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.62 £1.97

$3.01 €2.68

-12.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 £1.35

$2.03 €1.81

-10.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 £1.95

$2.65 €2.36

-1.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.22 £2.41

$2.87 €2.55

12.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 £0.88

$2.16 €1.92

-45.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 £1.00

$2.15 €1.91

-37.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 £0.88

$1.47 €1.31

-20.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 £0.82

$0.88 €0.79

23.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.15 £17.37

$6.93 €6.16

234.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.72 £8.04

$7.83 €6.96

36.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 £2.09

$1.39 €1.24

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 £2.73

$2.63 €2.34

38.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.9 £72.7

$25.46 €22.64

280.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 £2.57

$3.00 €2.66

14.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.44 €1.28

18.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.34 £19.76

$33.20 €29.53

-20.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 £1.62

$1.86 €1.65

16.13%

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

$38.2K £28.7K

$32.3K €28.8K

18.19%

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

$40.4K £30.3K

$31.7K €28.2K

27.32%

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

$320 £240

$183 €163

75.16%

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

$13.18 £9.89

$13.61 €12.11

-3.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.40 £28.06

$32.93 €29.29

13.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.24 £29.44

$54.7 €48.65

-28.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$8.02 £6.02

$11.23 €9.99

-28.58%

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

$2,211 £1,659

$954 €849

131.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.5K £19.1K

$16.6K €14.8K

53.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 £76.2

$86.0 €76.5

18.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.44 £36.34

$39.11 €34.78

23.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.0

$104 €92.2

2.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 £73.4

$119 €106

-17.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$807 £605

$1,695 €1,508

-52.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$770 £577

$1,276 €1,135

-39.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,171 £878

$2,576 €2,291

-54.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$979 £734

$1,922 €1,710

-49.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,572 £1,180

$2,227 €1,981

-29.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

3.28

48.48%

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

Last update for Merthyr Tydfil: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Merthyr Tydfil

$770 37.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 65.8% $507

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Merthyr Tydfil

$371 17.9%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 38.1% $141

Eating Out

Merthyr Tydfil

$339 16.3%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 20.4% $69

Groceries & Markets

Merthyr Tydfil

$269 13%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 20.9% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Merthyr Tydfil

$160 7.7%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 2% $3.2

Getting Around

Merthyr Tydfil

$109 * 5.3%

Barcelona

$47 2% 56.5% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Merthyr Tydfil

$55 2.7%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 39.6% $22

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 $807 in Merthyr Tydfil and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 42% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $62.0 in Merthyr Tydfil vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $325 per month, with Merthyr Tydfil cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Merthyr Tydfil

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

11:50 11:50 AM

12:50 12:50 PM

1 h ahead of Merthyr Tydfil

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,820

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 20, 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

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Between locations

Merthyr Tydfil Barcelona 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Merthyr Tydfil
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

Merthyr Tydfil vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Merthyr Tydfil and Barcelona differ by about 15% in total monthly costs ($2,071 vs $2,381 including rent). Merthyr Tydfil is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 42% lower in Barcelona. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $807 in Merthyr Tydfil versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,211 in Merthyr Tydfil 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 21% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,071 in Merthyr Tydfil versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Merthyr Tydfil but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Merthyr Tydfil 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, Merthyr Tydfil 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 Merthyr Tydfil gentler on the wallet – expenses run 15% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.