Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Romford and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $2,706 in Romford, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

131

Cost of Living Index in Romford
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Romford Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Romford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,706

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,706 in Romford versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Romford $2,706
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,122 in Romford versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Romford $4,122
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,538 in Romford versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Romford $5,538
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Romford is roughly 14% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Romford 100% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.90 £17.93

$17.89 €15.92

33.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$66.2 €58.9

63.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 £8.07

$13.69 €12.18

-21.48%

Cappuccino

$4.88 £3.66

$3.06 €2.72

59.48%

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

$2.68 £2.01

$3.07 €2.73

-12.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$1.94 €1.73

-4.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.62 £5.72

$3.87 €3.44

96.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.78 £5.09

$4.61 €4.10

47.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.30 €1.16

40.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 £1.30

$2.10 €1.87

-17.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.62 £1.96

$1.83 €1.62

43.17%

Eggs

$4.88 £3.66

$4.62 €4.11

5.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.51 £7.13

$17.36 €15.44

-45.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.56 £7.17

$9.28 €8.25

3.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.02 £12.02

$19.83 €17.64

-19.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$3.01 €2.68

0.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 £1.03

$2.03 €1.81

-32.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.24 £2.43

$2.65 €2.36

22.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.66

$2.87 €2.55

23.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 £1.25

$2.16 €1.92

-23.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 £1.37

$2.15 €1.91

-15.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.93

$1.47 €1.31

-14.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.88 €0.79

104.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.41 £17.56

$6.93 €6.16

237.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 £9.92

$7.83 €6.96

68.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.41

$1.39 €1.24

130.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 £3.11

$2.63 €2.34

57.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.58 £3.43

$2.91 €2.59

57.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.1 £72.8

$25.46 €22.64

281.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.51 £4.13

$3.00 €2.66

83.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.59 £1.94

$1.44 €1.28

79.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.48 £19.11

$33.20 €29.53

-23.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.86 €1.65

11.83%

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

$38.9K £29.2K

$32.3K €28.8K

20.36%

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

$40.4K £30.3K

$31.7K €28.2K

27.36%

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

$381 £286

$183 €163

108.52%

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

$18.84 £14.13

$13.61 €12.11

38.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.29 £32.48

$32.93 €29.29

31.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.6 £37.94

$54.7 €48.65

-7.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$17.03 £12.78

$11.23 €9.99

51.65%

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

$2,581 £1,936

$954 €849

170.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.1K £26.4K

$16.6K €14.8K

111.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.0 £67.6

$86.0 €76.5

4.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.87 £35.16

$39.11 €34.78

19.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.7 £68.8

$104 €92.2

-11.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 £97.3

$119 €106

9.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,852 £1,389

$1,695 €1,508

9.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 £901

$1,276 €1,135

-5.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,269 £2,452

$2,576 €2,291

26.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,259 £1,695

$1,922 €1,710

17.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,605 £4,205

$7,281 €6,477

-23.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,693 £2,770

$5,010 €4,456

-26.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,863 £2,148

$2,227 €1,981

28.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

52.44%

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

Last update for Romford: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Romford

$1.2K 44.4%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 6.3% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Romford

$443 16.4%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 48.3% $214

Eating Out

Romford

$352 13%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 23.4% $82

Groceries & Markets

Romford

$330 12.2%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 1.5% $5.1

Clothing & Footwear

Romford

$161 6%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 3% $4.9

Getting Around

Romford

$134 5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 64.6% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Romford

$85 3.1%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 8.8% $7.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,852 in Romford and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Romford pays 29% 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: $108 in Romford vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $330 vs $325 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Romford

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

06:46 6:46 AM

07:46 7:46 AM

1 h ahead of Romford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

95,894

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 23, 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 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Romford Barcelona 1,140 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Romford
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

Romford vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Romford and Barcelona differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($2,706 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 29% higher in Romford, 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: $1,852 in Romford versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,581 in Romford 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 2% higher in Romford. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Romford 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 14% less than in Romford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.