Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stevenage and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $2,591 in Stevenage, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

126

Cost of Living Index in Stevenage
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Stevenage Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Stevenage

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,591

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,591 in Stevenage versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Stevenage $2,591
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,874 in Stevenage versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Stevenage $3,874
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,157 in Stevenage versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Stevenage $5,157
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Stevenage 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: Stevenage 90% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.98 £20.15

$17.59 €15.76

53.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.6 £58.7

$67.5 €60.5

16.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.62 £7.93

$13.53 €12.12

-21.51%

Cappuccino

$4.95 £3.70

$3.19 €2.86

55.17%

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

$1.89 £1.41

$2.91 €2.61

-35.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 £1.28

$1.89 €1.70

-8.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.63 £4.21

$4.01 €3.59

40.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.66 £4.23

$4.53 €4.06

24.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.28

$1.31 €1.17

31.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 £1.14

$2.02 €1.81

-24.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.87 £1.39

$1.85 €1.66

1.08%

Eggs

$4.17 £3.12

$4.83 €4.33

-13.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.50 £6.35

$16.74 €15.00

-49.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 £6.44

$9.12 €8.17

-5.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.67 £10.21

$19.64 €17.60

-30.40%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 £2.47

$2.98 €2.67

10.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 £1.09

$2.02 €1.81

-28.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.30

$2.70 €2.42

14.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 £2.09

$2.80 €2.51

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 £0.87

$2.09 €1.87

-44.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.29

$2.07 €1.85

-16.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.46 €1.31

-17.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 £0.76

$0.94 €0.84

8.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.34 £17.44

$6.87 €6.16

239.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.05 £7.51

$7.89 €7.07

27.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.74 £2.04

$1.41 €1.26

94.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 £2.26

$2.54 €2.27

18.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.37 £2.52

$3.14 €2.82

7.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$105 £78.7

$25.45 €22.80

314.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.68 £2.75

$2.99 €2.68

23.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.49 €1.34

19.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.73 £14.74

$33.37 €29.91

-40.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 £1.49

$1.80 €1.61

11.11%

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

$37.8K £28.3K

$33.2K €29.7K

14.00%

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

$40.0K £29.9K

$31.7K €28.4K

26.31%

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

$235 £175

$180 €162

30.04%

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

$22.46 £16.78

$13.84 €12.40

62.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.13 £32.97

$33.70 €30.20

30.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.61 £35.57

$51.5 €46.16

-7.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$13.27 £9.91

$10.99 €9.85

20.75%

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

$1,049 £784

$917 €821

14.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.0 £58.3

$87.0 €78.0

-10.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.24 £28.57

$38.51 €34.51

-0.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.3 £48.05

$106 €94.8

-39.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 £66.2

$120 €107

-25.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,644 £1,228

$1,699 €1,523

-3.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,321 £987

$1,355 €1,214

-2.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,008 £2,247

$2,603 €2,332

15.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,354 £1,758

$2,062 €1,848

14.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,268 £2,441

$2,211 €1,981

47.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.51

3.28

67.99%

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

Last update for Stevenage: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stevenage

$1.3K 51%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 2.6% $35

Eating Out

Stevenage

$361 13.9%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 25.8% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stevenage

$301 11.6%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 24.3% $73

Groceries & Markets

Stevenage

$282 10.9%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 14.3% $40

Getting Around

Stevenage

$131 5.1%

Barcelona

$48 2% 63.1% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Stevenage

$121 4.7%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 30.4% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Stevenage

$74 2.9%

Barcelona

$74 3% 0.9% $0.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,644 in Stevenage and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stevenage pays 48% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $79 in Stevenage vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $282 vs $322, with Stevenage cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Stevenage

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

10:19 10:19 AM

11:19 11:19 AM

1 h ahead of Stevenage

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

89,663

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Stevenage Barcelona 1,180 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Stevenage
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

Stevenage vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,591 in Stevenage and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Barcelona is about 5% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 48% higher in Stevenage, 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: $1,644 in Stevenage versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,049 in Stevenage versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Stevenage pay roughly 12% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Barcelona gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Barcelona wins on affordability, Stevenage on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.