Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Retford and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Retford: $2,255 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

113

Cost of Living Index in Retford
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Retford Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Retford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,255

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,255 in Retford versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Retford $2,255
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,343 in Retford versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Retford $3,343
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,432 in Retford versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Retford $4,432
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Retford costs roughly 5% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Retford 66% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.72 £11.04

$17.89 €15.92

-17.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 £49.87

$66.2 €58.9

0.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.14 £5.36

$13.69 €12.18

-47.85%

Cappuccino

$3.88 £2.91

$3.06 €2.72

26.80%

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

$1.75 £1.31

$3.07 €2.73

-43.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.94 €1.73

-8.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.30 £3.22

$3.87 €3.44

11.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 £3.26

$4.61 €4.10

-5.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.30 €1.16

32.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 £1.38

$2.10 €1.87

-12.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.83 €1.62

-10.38%

Eggs

$4.66 £3.50

$4.62 €4.11

0.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.18 £8.39

$17.36 €15.44

-35.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.16 £7.62

$9.28 €8.25

9.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.50 £9.38

$19.83 €17.64

-36.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.09 £1.56

$3.01 €2.68

-30.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$2.03 €1.81

-11.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 £1.32

$2.65 €2.36

-33.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$2.87 €2.55

-39.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 £1.11

$2.16 €1.92

-31.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$2.15 €1.91

-26.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 £0.31

$1.47 €1.31

-71.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$0.88 €0.79

77.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.33 £17.50

$6.93 €6.16

236.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.77 £5.83

$7.83 €6.96

-0.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 £1.27

$1.39 €1.24

22.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 £1.53

$2.63 €2.34

-22.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.65 £2.74

$2.91 €2.59

25.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$108 £80.7

$25.46 €22.64

322.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.93 £3.70

$3.00 €2.66

64.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.91 £2.93

$1.44 €1.28

171.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.85 £21.64

$33.20 €29.53

-13.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.86 €1.65

12.37%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$32.3K €28.8K

24.11%

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

$44.2K £33.2K

$31.7K €28.2K

39.44%

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

$342 £257

$183 €163

87.10%

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

$27.87 £20.91

$13.61 €12.11

104.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.53 £34.91

$32.93 €29.29

41.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 £39.53

$54.7 €48.65

-3.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.50 £8.62

$11.23 €9.99

2.40%

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

$1,926 £1,445

$954 €849

101.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.9K £17.9K

$16.6K €14.8K

43.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.1 £63.9

$86.0 €76.5

-1.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.8 £45.59

$39.11 €34.78

55.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 £81.4

$104 €92.2

4.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$161 £121

$119 €106

35.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,398 £1,049

$1,695 €1,508

-17.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$924 £693

$1,276 €1,135

-27.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,099 £1,575

$2,576 €2,291

-18.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,675 £1,257

$1,922 €1,710

-12.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,059 £3,796

$7,281 €6,477

-30.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,851 £2,889

$5,010 €4,456

-23.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,711 £1,283

$2,227 €1,981

-23.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.3

3.28

61.59%

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

Last update for Retford: 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

Retford

$924 41%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 38.1% $352

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Retford

$416 18.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 44.9% $187

Groceries & Markets

Retford

$276 12.2%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 17.9% $49

Eating Out

Retford

$230 10.2%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 17.2% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Retford

$187 8.3%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 16.4% $31

Getting Around

Retford

$147 6.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 67.7% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Retford

$76 3.4%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 2% $1.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,398 in Retford and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 30% 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: $66.0 in Retford vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $276 vs $325 per month, with Retford cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Retford

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

11:35 11:35 AM

12:35 12:35 PM

1 h ahead of Retford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,023

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 24, 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 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Retford Barcelona 1,350 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Retford
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

Retford vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Retford and Barcelona differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($2,255 vs $2,381 including rent). Retford is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 30% lower in Barcelona. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,398 in Retford versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,926 in Retford 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 18% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,255 in Retford versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Retford but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Retford 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, Retford 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 Retford gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.