Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oban and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Oban: $2,142 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

103

Cost of Living Index in Oban
Learn more

Oban Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Oban

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,142

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,142 in Oban versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Oban $2,142
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,149 in Oban versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Oban $3,149
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,156 in Oban versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Oban $4,156
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Oban costs roughly 10% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Oban 58% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.86 £11.90

$17.89 €15.92

-11.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.5 £64.1

$66.2 €58.9

29.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.30 £6.98

$13.69 €12.18

-32.07%

Cappuccino

$4.85 £3.64

$3.06 €2.72

58.50%

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

$2.24 £1.68

$3.07 €2.73

-27.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.60

$1.94 €1.73

10.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.82 £4.37

$3.87 €3.44

50.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.06 £3.80

$4.61 €4.10

9.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.30 €1.16

16.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 £1.29

$2.10 €1.87

-18.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.83 €1.62

9.29%

Eggs

$4.56 £3.42

$4.62 €4.11

-1.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 £6.64

$17.36 €15.44

-49.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.90 £8.93

$9.28 €8.25

28.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.69 £12.52

$19.83 €17.64

-15.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$3.01 €2.68

-2.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 £1.00

$2.03 €1.81

-34.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 £2.06

$2.65 €2.36

3.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.83 £2.87

$2.87 €2.55

33.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$2.16 €1.92

-19.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.09

$2.15 €1.91

-32.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.47 €1.31

-17.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 £1.20

$0.88 €0.79

81.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.80 £16.35

$6.93 €6.16

214.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 £8.36

$7.83 €6.96

42.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 £2.10

$1.39 €1.24

101.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 £2.27

$2.63 €2.34

14.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.57 £2.68

$2.91 €2.59

22.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.0 £73.6

$25.46 €22.64

285.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.88 £2.91

$3.00 €2.66

29.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 £1.78

$1.44 €1.28

65.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.74 £17.81

$33.20 €29.53

-28.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.86 €1.65

9.68%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$32.3K €28.8K

18.84%

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

$40.4K £30.3K

$31.7K €28.2K

27.42%

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

$339 £254

$183 €163

85.60%

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

$28.24 £21.19

$13.61 €12.11

107.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.43 £31.83

$32.93 €29.29

28.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.42 £34.08

$54.7 €48.65

-16.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.49 £4.87

$16.52 €14.70

-60.71%

Cinema Ticket

$11.44 £8.58

$11.23 €9.99

1.87%

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

$1,778 £1,334

$954 €849

86.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.7K £17.0K

$16.6K €14.8K

36.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.8 £73.4

$86.0 €76.5

13.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.68 £36.52

$39.11 €34.78

24.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.3

$104 €92.2

1.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 £86.7

$119 €106

-2.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,206 £905

$1,695 €1,508

-28.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$778 £584

$1,276 €1,135

-39.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,071 £1,553

$2,576 €2,291

-19.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,231 £924

$1,922 €1,710

-35.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,074 £3,806

$7,281 €6,477

-30.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,866 £2,900

$5,010 €4,456

-22.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,005 £2,254

$2,227 €1,981

34.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

3.28

55.79%

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

Last update for Oban: 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

Oban

$778 36.4%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 64% $498

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oban

$410 19.1%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 44.1% $181

Groceries & Markets

Oban

$322 15%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 1% $3.2

Eating Out

Oban

$270 12.6%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 0.1% $0.2

Clothing & Footwear

Oban

$165 7.7%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 5.5% $9.1

Getting Around

Oban

$128 6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 63.1% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Oban

$68 3.2%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 13% $8.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,206 in Oban and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oban pays 35% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $85.0 in Oban vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $325, with Oban cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Oban

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

04:09 4:09 AM

05:09 5:09 AM

1 h ahead of Oban

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,500

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

Oban Barcelona 1,760 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Oban
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

Oban vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Oban and Barcelona differ by about 11% in total monthly costs ($2,142 vs $2,381 including rent). Oban is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 35% higher in Oban, 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: $1,206 in Oban versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,778 in Oban 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 1% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,142 in Oban versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Oban but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Oban 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, Oban 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 Oban gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.