Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Motherwell and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Motherwell: $2,306 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

111

Cost of Living Index in Motherwell
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Motherwell Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Motherwell

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,306

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,306 in Motherwell versus $2,443 in Barcelona.

Motherwell $2,306
Barcelona $2,443

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,342 in Motherwell versus $3,519 in Barcelona.

Motherwell $3,342
Barcelona $3,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,377 in Motherwell versus $4,595 in Barcelona.

Motherwell $4,377
Barcelona $4,595

Living in Motherwell costs roughly 6% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Motherwell 71% above, Barcelona 81% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.71 £14.71

$17.66 €15.80

11.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.6 £49.73

$67.5 €60.4

-1.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.52 £7.85

$13.61 €12.18

-22.70%

Cappuccino

$4.83 £3.61

$3.10 €2.77

55.81%

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

$2.36 £1.76

$3.00 €2.69

-21.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 £1.41

$1.93 €1.72

-2.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.46 £4.07

$3.84 €3.44

42.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.81 £5.09

$4.36 €3.90

56.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.25 €1.12

17.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 £1.22

$2.12 €1.90

-23.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 £1.66

$1.97 €1.77

13.20%

Eggs

$4.06 £3.03

$4.76 €4.26

-14.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.25 £6.90

$17.07 €15.27

-45.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.29 £6.93

$8.96 €8.01

3.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.02 £12.71

$20.65 €18.48

-17.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 £2.21

$3.16 €2.83

-6.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 £1.12

$1.97 €1.76

-23.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 £2.09

$2.65 €2.37

5.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.16 £2.36

$2.88 €2.58

9.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 £1.49

$2.06 €1.84

-2.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 £1.02

$2.18 €1.95

-37.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 £0.85

$1.53 €1.37

-25.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 £1.24

$0.97 €0.87

71.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.09 £16.49

$6.97 €6.23

216.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.53 £7.86

$7.89 €7.06

33.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.44

$1.42 €1.27

130.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 £2.49

$2.69 €2.40

24.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.99 £2.98

$3.31 €2.96

20.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.6 £73.6

$25.61 €22.91

284.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.85 £4.37

$3.08 €2.76

89.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.48 €1.33

26.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.71 £17.70

$32.87 €29.42

-27.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 £1.63

$1.87 €1.67

17.11%

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

$39.4K £29.4K

$33.0K €29.5K

19.55%

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

$41.1K £30.6K

$31.9K €28.6K

28.51%

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

$236 £176

$183 €164

29.30%

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

$20.05 £14.96

$14.24 €12.74

40.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.38 £32.38

$34.56 €30.93

25.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.11 £32.93

$51.4 €46.01

-14.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.62 £4.94

$16.38 €14.66

-59.58%

Cinema Ticket

$12.09 £9.03

$11.06 €9.90

9.31%

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

$1,128 £842

$944 €844

19.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.8K £17.0K

$22.3K €19.9K

2.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 £89.9

$87.7 €78.5

37.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.45 £35.42

$38.77 €34.70

22.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 £77.2

$105 €93.6

-1.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 £68.7

$118 €105

-21.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,268 £947

$1,697 €1,518

-25.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 £769

$1,337 €1,196

-22.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,090 £1,560

$2,692 €2,409

-22.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,620 £1,209

$2,077 €1,858

-22.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,310 £3,964

$7,155 €6,402

-25.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,380 £2,523

$5,079 €4,545

-33.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €2,006

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

56.74%

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

Last update for Motherwell: October 31, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Motherwell

$1K 44.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7% 29.8% $307

Groceries & Markets

Motherwell

$310 13.4%

Barcelona

$328 13.4% 5.9% $18

Eating Out

Motherwell

$305 13.2%

Barcelona

$267 10.9% 12.5% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Motherwell

$300 13%

Barcelona

$232 9.5% 22.7% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Motherwell

$164 7.1%

Barcelona

$157 6.4% 4% $6.6

Getting Around

Motherwell

$130 5.6%

Barcelona

$49 2% 62% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Motherwell

$68 3%

Barcelona

$74 3% 7.7% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,268 in Motherwell and $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Motherwell vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $328 per month, with Motherwell cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Motherwell

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

15:45 3:45 PM

16:45 4:45 PM

1 h ahead of Motherwell

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

32,120

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.895 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Motherwell Barcelona 1,660 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Motherwell
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

Motherwell vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,306 in Motherwell and $2,443 in Barcelona, so Motherwell is about 6% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,459 in Motherwell and $3,664 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: $1,268 in Motherwell versus $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,128 in Motherwell versus $944 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Barcelona runs roughly 74% less than in Motherwell. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your 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.