Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southampton and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,405 a month against $2,681 in Southampton, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Southampton
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Southampton Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Southampton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,681

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,681 in Southampton versus $2,405 in Barcelona.

Southampton $2,681
Barcelona $2,405

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,835 in Southampton versus $3,477 in Barcelona.

Southampton $3,835
Barcelona $3,477

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,989 in Southampton versus $4,550 in Barcelona.

Southampton $4,989
Barcelona $4,550

Living in Southampton is roughly 11% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Southampton 100% above, Barcelona 79% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.05 £19.68

$17.98 €16.05

44.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.7 £68.5

$67.4 €60.2

34.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.35 £8.57

$13.37 €11.93

-15.11%

Cappuccino

$5.14 £3.89

$3.34 €2.98

53.89%

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

$2.97 £2.24

$2.95 €2.64

0.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.62

$1.90 €1.69

12.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.48 £5.65

$3.88 €3.46

92.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 £4.94

$4.57 €4.08

42.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 £1.48

$1.27 €1.13

54.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.96 €1.75

-11.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.98 £2.25

$1.75 €1.56

70.29%

Eggs

$4.54 £3.43

$4.89 €4.36

-7.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.89 £7.47

$17.47 €15.59

-43.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.43 £7.12

$9.06 €8.09

4.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.27 £10.78

$20.18 €18.01

-29.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.26

$3.08 €2.75

-2.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.32

$2.03 €1.81

-13.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.89 £2.18

$2.60 €2.32

11.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.68

$2.71 €2.42

31.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$2.15 €1.92

-17.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 £1.14

$2.21 €1.97

-31.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.94

$1.54 €1.38

-19.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 £1.32

$0.93 €0.83

87.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.37 £16.15

$7.09 €6.32

201.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.85 £8.20

$7.63 €6.81

42.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.95 £2.23

$1.49 €1.33

97.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 £2.62

$2.73 €2.43

26.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.13 £2.36

$2.95 €2.63

6.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.2 £65.1

$25.91 €23.13

232.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.27 £3.23

$3.13 €2.80

36.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 £1.46

$1.45 €1.29

33.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.36 £23.70

$34.17 €30.49

-8.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.58

$1.79 €1.60

16.76%

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

$37.7K £28.5K

$34.7K €31.0K

8.76%

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

$40.2K £30.3K

$30.3K €27.0K

32.54%

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

$325 £245

$181 €161

79.77%

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

$29.44 £22.25

$13.56 €12.10

117.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.9 £40.75

$35.12 €31.34

53.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.02 £31.00

$53.2 €47.44

-22.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.46 £12.44

$16.05 €14.33

2.55%

Cinema Ticket

$15.69 £11.85

$11.37 €10.14

37.99%

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

$1,560 £1,179

$939 €838

66.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.8K £13.4K

$16.5K €14.7K

7.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 £77.8

$88.2 €78.7

16.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.9 £38.49

$39.77 €35.49

28.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.4 £75.1

$103 €92.3

-3.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 £101

$119 €107

11.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,500 £1,133

$1,695 €1,513

-11.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,192 £901

$1,301 €1,161

-8.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,397 £1,811

$2,576 €2,299

-6.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,859 £1,405

$1,941 €1,732

-4.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,870 £4,436

$7,470 €6,666

-21.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,381 £4,066

$5,195 €4,636

3.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,333 £2,519

$2,299 €2,052

44.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

3.28

51.22%

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

Last update for Southampton: October 5, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Southampton

$1.2K 45%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54% 9.1% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southampton

$408 15.4%

Barcelona

$229 9.5% 43.8% $179

Eating Out

Southampton

$375 14.1%

Barcelona

$272 11.3% 27.5% $103

Groceries & Markets

Southampton

$319 12%

Barcelona

$325 13.5% 1.9% $6

Clothing & Footwear

Southampton

$174 6.6%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 9.2% $16

Getting Around

Southampton

$113 4.2%

Barcelona

$48 2% 57.3% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Southampton

$72 2.7%

Barcelona

$76 3.2% 4.8% $3.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,500 in Southampton and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Southampton pays 45% 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: $91.0 in Southampton vs $67.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $319 vs $325, with Southampton cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southampton

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

06:37 6:37 AM

07:37 7:37 AM

1 h ahead of Southampton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

228,600

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Southampton Barcelona 1,090 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Southampton
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

Southampton vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Southampton and Barcelona differ by about 11% in total monthly costs ($2,681 vs $2,405 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 45% higher in Southampton, 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: $1,500 in Southampton versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,560 in Southampton versus $939 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Southampton pay roughly 2% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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, Southampton 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 11% less than in Southampton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.