Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oxford and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $3,210 in Oxford, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

153

Cost of Living Index in Oxford
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Oxford Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Oxford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,210

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,210 in Oxford versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Oxford $3,210
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,477 in Oxford versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Oxford $4,477
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,743 in Oxford versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Oxford $5,743
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Oxford is roughly 31% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Oxford 136% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.95 £18.64

$17.59 €15.76

41.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$104 £77.7

$67.5 €60.5

54.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.60 £7.92

$13.53 €12.12

-21.66%

Cappuccino

$4.94 £3.69

$3.19 €2.86

54.86%

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

$4.46 £3.33

$2.91 €2.61

53.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 £1.64

$1.89 €1.70

15.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.04 £6.75

$4.01 €3.59

125.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.55 £6.39

$4.53 €4.06

88.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 £1.26

$1.31 €1.17

29.01%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 £1.27

$2.02 €1.81

-15.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 £1.47

$1.85 €1.66

6.49%

Eggs

$4.06 £3.04

$4.83 €4.33

-15.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.74 £10.27

$16.74 €15.00

-17.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.58 £6.41

$9.12 €8.17

-5.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.83 £11.08

$19.64 €17.60

-24.49%

Apples (1kg)

$3.33 £2.49

$2.98 €2.67

11.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$2.02 €1.81

-15.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.01 £2.25

$2.70 €2.42

11.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.73 £2.79

$2.80 €2.51

33.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 £1.29

$2.09 €1.87

-17.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 £1.31

$2.07 €1.85

-14.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.90

$1.46 €1.31

-17.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 £1.20

$0.94 €0.84

71.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.70 £17.70

$6.87 €6.16

244.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.30 £8.45

$7.89 €7.07

43.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.26 £2.44

$1.41 €1.26

131.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 £2.53

$2.54 €2.27

33.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.89 £2.91

$3.14 €2.82

23.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$110 £82.0

$25.45 €22.80

331.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 £3.72

$2.99 €2.68

66.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.18 £2.37

$1.49 €1.34

113.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.14 £31.48

$33.37 €29.91

26.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 £1.58

$1.80 €1.61

17.22%

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

$38.4K £28.7K

$33.2K €29.7K

15.80%

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

$41.1K £30.7K

$31.7K €28.4K

29.72%

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

$361 £270

$180 €162

100.07%

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

$18.08 £13.51

$13.84 €12.40

30.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.18 £33.00

$33.70 €30.20

31.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.85 £31.26

$51.5 €46.16

-18.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.49 £8.58

$15.96 €14.30

-28.01%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 £11.98

$10.99 €9.85

45.86%

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

$2,254 £1,684

$917 €821

145.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K £11.4K

$16.5K €14.8K

-7.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.8 £73.8

$87.0 €78.0

13.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.09 £34.43

$38.51 €34.51

19.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.4

$106 €94.8

-3.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 £77.8

$120 €107

-13.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,187 £1,634

$1,699 €1,523

28.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,706 £1,275

$1,355 €1,214

25.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,231 £2,414

$2,603 €2,332

24.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,464 £1,841

$2,062 €1,848

19.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,794 £6,570

$6,915 €6,196

27.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,600 £4,931

$5,128 €4,595

28.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,032 £3,012

$2,211 €1,981

82.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.79

3.28

46.04%

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

Last update for Oxford: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Oxford

$1.7K 53.2%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 20.6% $351

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oxford

$423 13.2%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 46.1% $195

Eating Out

Oxford

$380 11.8%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 29.4% $112

Groceries & Markets

Oxford

$323 10.1%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 0.3% $0.9

Clothing & Footwear

Oxford

$158 4.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 0.1% $0.1

Getting Around

Oxford

$146 4.6%

Barcelona

$48 2% 66.8% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Oxford

$74 2.3%

Barcelona

$74 3% 0.6% $0.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,187 in Oxford and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oxford pays 82% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $104 in Oxford vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $322 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Oxford

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

10:21 10:21 AM

11:21 11:21 AM

1 h ahead of Oxford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

165,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Oxford Barcelona 1,180 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Oxford
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

Oxford vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $3,210 in Oxford and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Barcelona is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 82% higher in Oxford, 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: $2,187 in Oxford versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,254 in Oxford versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $67 versus $104 in Oxford. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,210 in Oxford, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Oxford. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelona 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, Oxford and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Barcelona wins on affordability, Oxford on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.