Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Solihull and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $2,518 in Solihull, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Solihull
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Solihull Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Solihull

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,518

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,518 in Solihull versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Solihull $2,518
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,719 in Solihull versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Solihull $3,719
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,921 in Solihull versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Solihull $4,921
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Solihull is roughly 6% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Solihull 86% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$27.07 £20.30

$17.89 €15.92

51.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.0 £60.0

$66.2 €58.9

20.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.85

$13.69 €12.18

-23.52%

Cappuccino

$4.90 £3.68

$3.06 €2.72

60.13%

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

$2.50 £1.88

$3.07 €2.73

-18.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.94 €1.73

8.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.68 £4.26

$3.87 €3.44

46.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.59 £4.19

$4.61 €4.10

21.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 £1.13

$1.30 €1.16

15.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 £1.39

$2.10 €1.87

-11.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.83 €1.62

-3.83%

Eggs

$4.05 £3.04

$4.62 €4.11

-12.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.28 £6.96

$17.36 €15.44

-46.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.24 £6.18

$9.28 €8.25

-11.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.59 £9.45

$19.83 €17.64

-36.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 £2.47

$3.01 €2.68

9.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.17

$2.03 €1.81

-23.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$2.65 €2.36

-30.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.52 £2.64

$2.87 €2.55

22.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.43 £1.07

$2.16 €1.92

-33.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.55 £1.16

$2.15 €1.91

-27.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 £0.97

$1.47 €1.31

-11.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 £0.95

$0.88 €0.79

43.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.39 £17.55

$6.93 €6.16

237.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.55 £6.41

$7.83 €6.96

9.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.67

$1.39 €1.24

59.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 £1.46

$2.63 €2.34

-26.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.70 £2.02

$2.91 €2.59

-7.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.11 £3.09

$3.00 €2.66

37.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.91 £2.93

$1.44 €1.28

171.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.77 £23.84

$33.20 €29.53

-4.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.86 €1.65

11.29%

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

$38.7K £29.0K

$32.3K €28.8K

19.70%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$31.7K €28.2K

28.95%

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

$343 £258

$183 €163

87.88%

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

$17.19 £12.89

$13.61 €12.11

26.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.22 £34.67

$32.93 €29.29

40.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.27 £34.72

$54.7 €48.65

-15.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.17 £8.38

$11.23 €9.99

-0.53%

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

$1,446 £1,085

$954 €849

51.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.4K £18.3K

$16.6K €14.8K

46.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.9 £63.7

$86.0 €76.5

-1.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.58

$39.11 €34.78

38.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 £81.4

$104 €92.2

4.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 £83.6

$119 €106

-6.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,049 £787

$1,695 €1,508

-38.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,207 £906

$1,276 €1,135

-5.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,134 £1,601

$2,576 €2,291

-17.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,138 £1,604

$1,922 €1,710

11.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,479 £4,111

$7,281 €6,477

-24.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,599 £2,700

$5,010 €4,456

-28.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,759 £3,570

$2,227 €1,981

113.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.21

3.28

58.84%

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

Last update for Solihull: 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

Solihull

$1.2K 47.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 5.7% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Solihull

$407 16.2%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 43.6% $177

Eating Out

Solihull

$365 14.5%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 26.1% $95

Groceries & Markets

Solihull

$274 10.9%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 18.6% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Solihull

$162 6.4%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 3.2% $5.2

Sport & Entertainment

Solihull

$69 2.7%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 12.4% $8.5

Getting Around

Solihull

$34 * 1.4%

Barcelona

$47 2% 37.3% $13

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,049 in Solihull and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Solihull pays 114% 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: $80.0 in Solihull vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $274 vs $325, with Solihull cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Solihull

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

12:36 12:36 PM

13:36 1:36 PM

1 h ahead of Solihull

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

206,091

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 20, 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Solihull Barcelona 1,260 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Solihull
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

Solihull vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Solihull and Barcelona differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($2,518 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 114% higher in Solihull, 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: $1,049 in Solihull versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,446 in Solihull versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $80.0 in Solihull. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,518 in Solihull, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Solihull. 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, Solihull 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 6% less than in Solihull. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.