Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southend-on-Sea and Bilbao

For one person, living is cheaper in Bilbao: $2,129 a month against $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Southend-on-Sea outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

112

Cost of Living Index in Southend-on-Sea
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Southend-on-Sea Living Index
103

Cost of Living Index in Bilbao
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Bilbao Living Index

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Southend-on-Sea

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,289

/mo nomad

Bilbao

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,129

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Southend-on-Sea and in Bilbao

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Southend-on-Sea and in Bilbao actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea versus $2,129 in Bilbao.

Southend-on-Sea $2,289
Bilbao $2,129

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,534 in Southend-on-Sea versus $3,159 in Bilbao.

Southend-on-Sea $3,534
Bilbao $3,159

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,779 in Southend-on-Sea versus $4,190 in Bilbao.

Southend-on-Sea $4,779
Bilbao $4,190

Living in Southend-on-Sea is roughly 8% more expensive than in Bilbao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Southend-on-Sea 70% above, Bilbao 58% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.89 £14.92

$22.39 €19.92

-11.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.2 £62.5

$71.3 €63.4

16.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.17 £6.88

$12.25 €10.90

-25.14%

Cappuccino

$4.37 £3.28

$2.55 €2.27

71.37%

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

$2.65 £1.99

$3.03 €2.70

-12.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 £1.44

$1.89 €1.68

1.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.05 £5.29

$3.33 €2.96

111.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.64 £3.48

$3.41 €3.04

36.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.29 €1.15

13.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.58 €1.41

-11.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.48 €1.32

-8.78%

Eggs

$4.13 £3.10

$3.31 €2.95

24.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.82 £5.87

$15.51 €13.80

-49.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.51 £4.89

$7.99 €7.11

-18.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.04 £11.28

$14.47 €12.87

3.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 £2.26

$2.80 €2.49

7.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$2.16 €1.93

-37.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 £1.51

$2.61 €2.32

-22.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.60 £1.95

$2.55 €2.27

1.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.63 €1.45

9.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$2.50 €2.22

-26.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 £0.67

$1.27 €1.13

-29.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.18

$0.90 €0.80

75.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.06 £16.55

$6.60 €5.88

234.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 £7.60

$8.00 €7.12

26.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 £2.49

$1.48 €1.31

124.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 £2.47

$2.50 €2.23

31.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.72 £2.04

$1.76 €1.57

54.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.26 £34.70

$50.4 €44.87

-8.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.77 £4.33

$5.54 €4.93

4.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 £2.03

$1.03 €0.91

162.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$48.18 £36.15

$32.65 €29.04

47.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.81 €1.61

13.81%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$34.7K €30.9K

9.63%

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

$40.5K £30.4K

$30.7K €27.3K

32.11%

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

$177 £133

$142 €127

24.23%

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

$18.31 £13.74

$20.57 €18.29

-10.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.18 £31.65

$30.26 €26.92

39.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.0 €48.96

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.24 €13.55

Cinema Ticket

$3.92 £2.94

$9.97 €8.87

-60.68%

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

$1,959 £1,470

$521 €463

276.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K £14.7K

$11.4K €10.1K

72.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.1 £63.8

$105 €93.4

-18.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.31 £34.74

$37.72 €33.55

22.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.7 £69.6

$75.7 €67.3

22.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 £78.6

$146 €130

-28.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,359 £1,020

$1,261 €1,121

7.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,247 £935

$1,057 €940

17.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,334 £1,751

$2,392 €2,127

-2.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,372 £1,780

$1,689 €1,503

40.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,640 £3,481

$5,657 €5,032

-17.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,970 £2,978

$3,688 €3,281

7.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,700 £2,776

$2,394 €2,129

54.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

2.98

69.13%

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

Last update for Southend-on-Sea: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bilbao: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Southend-on-Sea

$1.2K 54.5%

Bilbao

$1.1K 49.7% 15.2% $190

Eating Out

Southend-on-Sea

$302 13.2%

Bilbao

$290 13.6% 4% $12

Groceries & Markets

Southend-on-Sea

$271 11.8%

Bilbao

$282 13.3% 4.2% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southend-on-Sea

$237 10.4%

Bilbao

$193 9.1% 18.6% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Southend-on-Sea

$148 6.5%

Bilbao

$164 7.7% 10.7% $16

Getting Around

Southend-on-Sea

$76 3.3%

Bilbao

$68 3.2% 10.8% $8.2

Sport & Entertainment

Southend-on-Sea

$7.8 * 0.3%

Bilbao

$75 3.5% 857% $67

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 $1,359 in Southend-on-Sea and $1,261 in Bilbao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Southend-on-Sea pays 55% 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: $83.0 in Southend-on-Sea vs $71.0 in Bilbao. Groceries flip the comparison at $271 vs $282, with Southend-on-Sea cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southend-on-Sea

🇪🇸 Bilbao

🕒 Local time

04:42 4:42 AM

05:42 5:42 AM

1 h ahead of Southend-on-Sea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

181,808

346,096

💱 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

Southend-on-Sea Bilbao 960 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Southend-on-Sea
Bilbao

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

Southend-on-Sea vs Bilbao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Southend-on-Sea and Bilbao differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($2,289 vs $2,129 including rent). Bilbao is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 55% higher in Southend-on-Sea, 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: $1,359 in Southend-on-Sea versus $1,261 in Bilbao. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,959 in Southend-on-Sea versus $521 in Bilbao. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Southend-on-Sea pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,129 in Bilbao versus $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Bilbao but tight or insufficient in Southend-on-Sea. The gap between the two cities makes Bilbao 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, Southend-on-Sea and Bilbao 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 Bilbao gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Southend-on-Sea. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.