Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Plymouth and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $2,602 in Plymouth, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Plymouth
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Plymouth Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Plymouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,602

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,602 in Plymouth versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Plymouth $2,602
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,589 in Plymouth versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Plymouth $3,589
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,576 in Plymouth versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Plymouth $4,576
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Plymouth is roughly 9% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Plymouth 92% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.12 £16.59

$17.89 €15.92

23.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.4 £61.8

$66.2 €58.9

24.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 £8.06

$13.69 €12.18

-21.48%

Cappuccino

$5.02 £3.77

$3.06 €2.72

64.05%

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

$2.10 £1.57

$3.07 €2.73

-31.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.94 €1.73

-11.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.28 £4.71

$3.87 €3.44

62.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.09 £4.57

$4.61 €4.10

32.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.30 €1.16

13.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.23 £0.92

$2.10 €1.87

-41.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.02 £2.26

$1.83 €1.62

65.03%

Eggs

$3.88 £2.91

$4.62 €4.11

-16.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.24 £7.68

$17.36 €15.44

-41.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.51 £6.39

$9.28 €8.25

-8.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.56 £10.18

$19.83 €17.64

-31.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 £1.53

$3.01 €2.68

-32.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 £1.08

$2.03 €1.81

-29.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.06 £3.05

$2.65 €2.36

53.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.96 £2.97

$2.87 €2.55

37.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 £1.42

$2.16 €1.92

-12.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 £1.06

$2.15 €1.91

-34.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.75 £1.31

$1.47 €1.31

19.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 £1.10

$0.88 €0.79

67.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.20 £18.15

$6.93 €6.16

249.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.19 £5.39

$7.83 €6.96

-8.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.39 €1.24

121.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.69 £3.52

$2.63 €2.34

78.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.88 £2.91

$2.91 €2.59

33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$134 £100

$25.46 €22.64

424.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.57 £4.93

$3.00 €2.66

119.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.47 £1.85

$1.44 €1.28

71.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.01 £1.51

$1.86 €1.65

8.06%

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

$38.7K £29.0K

$32.3K €28.8K

19.61%

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

$40.6K £30.4K

$31.7K €28.2K

27.98%

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

$463 £347

$183 €163

153.14%

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

$32.48 £24.37

$13.61 €12.11

138.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.2 £47.39

$32.93 €29.29

91.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.55 £32.68

$54.7 €48.65

-20.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.83 £13.37

$16.52 €14.70

7.93%

Cinema Ticket

$11.52 £8.64

$11.23 €9.99

2.58%

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

$2,692 £2,019

$954 €849

182.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.1K £21.1K

$16.6K €14.8K

69.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.1 £63.1

$86.0 €76.5

-2.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 £42.86

$39.11 €34.78

46.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.6 £70.2

$104 €92.2

-9.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.7 £60.5

$119 €106

-31.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,044 £783

$1,695 €1,508

-38.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,043 £782

$1,276 €1,135

-18.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,243 £1,683

$2,576 €2,291

-12.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,415 £1,062

$1,922 €1,710

-26.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,882 £3,662

$7,281 €6,477

-32.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,369 £2,528

$5,010 €4,456

-32.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,046 £2,285

$2,227 €1,981

36.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.64

3.28

71.95%

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

Last update for Plymouth: 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

Plymouth

$1K 40.1%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 22.4% $233

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Plymouth

$558 21.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 58.9% $329

Eating Out

Plymouth

$328 12.6%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 17.9% $59

Groceries & Markets

Plymouth

$296 11.4%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 9.9% $29

Getting Around

Plymouth

$168 6.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 71.8% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Plymouth

$142 5.5%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 10.1% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Plymouth

$67 2.6%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 15.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,044 in Plymouth and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Plymouth pays 37% 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: $82.0 in Plymouth vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $296 vs $325, with Plymouth cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Plymouth

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

17:40 5:40 PM

18:40 6:40 PM

1 h ahead of Plymouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

264,695

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 21, 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Plymouth Barcelona 1,110 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Plymouth
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

Plymouth vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Plymouth and Barcelona differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($2,602 vs $2,381 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 37% higher in Plymouth, 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: $1,044 in Plymouth versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,692 in Plymouth versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Plymouth pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,602 in Plymouth, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Plymouth. 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, Plymouth 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Plymouth. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.