Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Preston and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Preston: $2,114 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Preston
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Preston Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Preston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,114

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,114 in Preston versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Preston $2,114
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,021 in Preston versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Preston $3,021
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,928 in Preston versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Preston $3,928
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Preston costs roughly 14% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Preston 55% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.89 £11.96

$17.59 €15.80

-9.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.3 £55.9

$67.5 €60.6

10.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.20 £6.93

$13.53 €12.15

-32.00%

Cappuccino

$4.24 £3.19

$3.19 €2.87

32.92%

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

$2.31 £1.74

$2.91 €2.62

-20.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.38

$1.89 €1.70

-3.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.39 £4.06

$4.01 €3.60

34.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.20 £3.91

$4.53 €4.07

14.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 £1.12

$1.31 €1.17

13.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 £1.08

$2.02 €1.81

-29.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 £1.21

$1.85 €1.66

-13.51%

Eggs

$3.59 £2.70

$4.83 €4.34

-25.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.30 £3.99

$16.74 €15.03

-68.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 £7.17

$9.12 €8.19

4.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.68 £9.54

$19.64 €17.64

-35.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 £1.95

$2.98 €2.68

-13.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.29

$2.02 €1.81

-14.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 £1.93

$2.70 €2.43

-4.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.96 £2.98

$2.80 €2.52

41.43%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 £1.55

$2.09 €1.87

-1.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 £1.70

$2.07 €1.86

8.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 £0.88

$1.46 €1.31

-19.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.24

$0.94 €0.84

75.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.56 £16.23

$6.87 €6.17

213.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.14 £6.88

$7.89 €7.08

15.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.39

$1.41 €1.26

125.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 £2.45

$2.54 €2.28

27.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.92 £2.95

$3.14 €2.82

24.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.5 £74.1

$25.45 €22.86

286.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.60 £1.96

$2.99 €2.69

-13.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.49 €1.34

40.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.80 €1.61

10.56%

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

$37.9K £28.5K

$33.2K €29.8K

14.18%

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

$41.1K £31.0K

$31.7K €28.5K

29.77%

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

$439 £330

$180 €162

143.35%

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

$14.86 £11.19

$13.84 €12.43

7.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.51 £32.75

$33.70 €30.27

29.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.40 £31.16

$51.5 €46.27

-19.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 £12.64

$15.96 €14.34

5.26%

Cinema Ticket

$17.83 £13.42

$10.99 €9.88

62.24%

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

$1,512 £1,138

$917 €823

64.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,738 £6,576

$16.5K €14.8K

-46.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.7 £57.0

$87.0 €78.2

-13.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.16 £19.69

$38.51 €34.59

-32.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.4 £49.21

$106 €95.1

-38.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.4 £49.97

$120 €108

-44.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 £729

$1,699 €1,527

-42.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$767 £578

$1,355 €1,217

-43.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 £1,210

$2,603 €2,338

-38.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,211 £911

$2,062 €1,853

-41.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,634 £2,735

$6,915 €6,211

-47.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,379 £1,790

$5,128 €4,606

-53.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,994 £2,253

$2,211 €1,986

35.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.93

3.28

50.30%

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

Last update for Preston: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Preston

$767 36.3%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 76.6% $588

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Preston

$497 23.5%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 54.2% $269

Groceries & Markets

Preston

$281 13.3%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 14.7% $41

Eating Out

Preston

$260 12.3%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 3.2% $8.4

Getting Around

Preston

$127 6%

Barcelona

$48 2% 61.9% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Preston

$105 5%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 50.2% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Preston

$77 3.6%

Barcelona

$74 3% 4.6% $3.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $969 in Preston and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Preston 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: $74 in Preston vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $281 vs $322, with Preston cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Preston

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

22:06 10:06 PM

23:06 11:06 PM

1 h ahead of Preston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,300

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Preston Barcelona 1,420 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Preston
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

Preston vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,114 in Preston and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Preston is about 14% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 35% higher in Preston, 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: $969 in Preston versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,512 in Preston versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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.