Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portsmouth and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $2,765 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,765

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,765 in Portsmouth versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Portsmouth $2,765
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,781 in Portsmouth versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Portsmouth $3,781
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,798 in Portsmouth versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Portsmouth $4,798
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Portsmouth is roughly 13% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Portsmouth 103% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.08 £15.00

$17.59 €15.76

14.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 £49.64

$67.5 €60.5

-1.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.87

$13.53 €12.12

-22.10%

Cappuccino

$4.78 £3.57

$3.19 €2.86

49.84%

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

$2.74 £2.05

$2.91 €2.61

-5.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 £1.73

$1.89 €1.70

22.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.28 £4.69

$4.01 €3.59

56.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.85 £4.37

$4.53 €4.06

29.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 £1.04

$1.31 €1.17

6.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 £1.20

$2.02 €1.81

-20.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.67 £2.74

$1.85 €1.66

98.38%

Eggs

$3.46 £2.58

$4.83 €4.33

-28.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.49 £10.07

$16.74 €15.00

-19.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.16 £6.09

$9.12 €8.17

-10.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 £9.85

$19.64 €17.60

-32.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.89 £2.91

$2.98 €2.67

30.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 £1.45

$2.02 €1.81

-4.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.92 £2.18

$2.70 €2.42

8.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.52

$2.80 €2.51

20.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.09 €1.87

-20.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.07 €1.85

-19.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.90

$1.46 €1.31

-17.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 £1.10

$0.94 €0.84

56.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.69 £16.95

$6.87 €6.16

230.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 £8.32

$7.89 €7.07

41.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 £2.34

$1.41 €1.26

121.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 £1.61

$2.54 €2.27

-14.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.94 £2.94

$3.14 €2.82

25.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.3 £64.5

$25.45 €22.80

239.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.31 £3.97

$2.99 €2.68

77.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 £1.15

$1.49 €1.34

3.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.93 £14.89

$33.37 €29.91

-40.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.56

$1.80 €1.61

16.11%

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

$38.5K £28.8K

$33.2K €29.7K

16.04%

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

$41.1K £30.7K

$31.7K €28.4K

29.59%

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

$661 £494

$180 €162

266.30%

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

$15.19 £11.35

$13.84 €12.40

9.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.05 £32.16

$33.70 €30.20

27.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.53 £25.80

$51.5 €46.16

-32.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.24 £12.88

$15.96 €14.30

8.02%

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 £8.07

$10.99 €9.85

-1.73%

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

$1,602 £1,197

$917 €821

74.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$16.5K €14.8K

21.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.2 £68.1

$87.0 €78.0

4.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.80 £29.74

$38.51 €34.51

3.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 £75.0

$106 €94.8

-5.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 £89.2

$120 €107

-0.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,493 £1,115

$1,699 €1,523

-12.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,092 £816

$1,355 €1,214

-19.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,146 £1,603

$2,603 €2,332

-17.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,669 £1,247

$2,062 €1,848

-19.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,574 £3,417

$6,915 €6,196

-33.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,680 £2,749

$5,128 €4,595

-28.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,397 £2,537

$2,211 €1,981

53.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

3.28

57.32%

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

Last update for Portsmouth: 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

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.5%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 24.1% $264

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portsmouth

$719 26%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 68.3% $491

Eating Out

Portsmouth

$313 11.3%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 14.4% $45

Groceries & Markets

Portsmouth

$312 11.3%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 3.2% $9.9

Clothing & Footwear

Portsmouth

$158 5.7%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 0.1% $0.1

Getting Around

Portsmouth

$115 4.2%

Barcelona

$48 2% 57.9% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Portsmouth

$56 2%

Barcelona

$74 3% 30.9% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,493 in Portsmouth and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portsmouth pays 54% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Portsmouth vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $322 per month, with Portsmouth cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

02:05 2:05 AM

03:05 3:05 AM

1 h ahead of Portsmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,974

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Portsmouth Barcelona 1,080 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Portsmouth
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

Portsmouth vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,765 in Portsmouth and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Barcelona is about 11% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 54% higher in Portsmouth, 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: $1,493 in Portsmouth versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,602 in Portsmouth versus $917 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 71% less than in Portsmouth. 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.

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