Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sunderland and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Sunderland: $1,845 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

89

Cost of Living Index in Sunderland
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Sunderland Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Sunderland

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,845

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,845 in Sunderland versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Sunderland $1,845
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,755 in Sunderland versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Sunderland $2,755
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,665 in Sunderland versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Sunderland $3,665
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Sunderland costs roughly 23% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sunderland 36% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.54 £13.91

$17.89 €15.92

3.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.2 £52.7

$66.2 €58.9

6.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.87 £6.66

$13.69 €12.18

-35.21%

Cappuccino

$5.02 £3.77

$3.06 €2.72

64.05%

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

$2.32 £1.74

$3.07 €2.73

-24.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.94 €1.73

1.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.63 £3.48

$3.87 €3.44

19.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.30 £3.23

$4.61 €4.10

-6.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.30 €1.16

10.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 £1.03

$2.10 €1.87

-34.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 £1.80

$1.83 €1.62

31.15%

Eggs

$3.52 £2.64

$4.62 €4.11

-23.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.72 £7.29

$17.36 €15.44

-44.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.99 £6.74

$9.28 €8.25

-3.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.35 £10.76

$19.83 €17.64

-27.63%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 £2.44

$3.01 €2.68

8.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 £1.39

$2.03 €1.81

-8.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.92 £2.19

$2.65 €2.36

10.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.79 £2.84

$2.87 €2.55

32.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.79 £1.34

$2.16 €1.92

-17.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 £1.11

$2.15 €1.91

-31.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.47 €1.31

-18.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 £1.13

$0.88 €0.79

70.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.99 £17.25

$6.93 €6.16

231.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 £7.65

$7.83 €6.96

30.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.57 £2.68

$1.39 €1.24

156.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 £2.62

$2.63 €2.34

32.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.08 £1.56

$2.91 €2.59

-28.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$119 £89.6

$25.46 €22.64

369.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 £3.30

$3.00 €2.66

46.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.44 €1.28

7.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.14 £21.11

$33.20 €29.53

-15.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.86 €1.65

12.37%

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

$38.3K £28.8K

$32.3K €28.8K

18.55%

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

$40.5K £30.4K

$31.7K €28.2K

27.72%

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

$248 £186

$183 €163

35.68%

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

$16.93 £12.70

$13.61 €12.11

24.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.31 £31.74

$32.93 €29.29

28.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.70 £30.53

$54.7 €48.65

-25.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.01 £9.01

$16.52 €14.70

-27.30%

Cinema Ticket

$10.66 £8.00

$11.23 €9.99

-5.08%

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

$819 £614

$954 €849

-14.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K £13.2K

$16.6K €14.8K

5.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.1 £68.4

$86.0 €76.5

5.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.14 £35.37

$39.11 €34.78

20.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 £81.4

$104 €92.2

4.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.7 £71.1

$119 €106

-20.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$792 £594

$1,695 €1,508

-53.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$595 £446

$1,276 €1,135

-53.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,356 £1,017

$2,576 €2,291

-47.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$957 £718

$1,922 €1,710

-50.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,663 £2,748

$2,227 €1,981

64.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.15

3.28

57.01%

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

Last update for Sunderland: October 20, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sunderland

$595 32.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 115% $681

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sunderland

$307 16.7%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 25.4% $78

Groceries & Markets

Sunderland

$303 16.4%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 7.2% $22

Eating Out

Sunderland

$284 15.4%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 5.1% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Sunderland

$154 8.3%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 1.7% $2.7

Getting Around

Sunderland

$140 7.6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 66.2% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Sunderland

$62 3.4%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 24.4% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $792 in Sunderland and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sunderland pays 65% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $70.0 in Sunderland vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $303 vs $325, with Sunderland cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Sunderland

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

05:35 5:35 AM

06:35 6:35 AM

1 h ahead of Sunderland

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

275,300

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 22, 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 22, 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

Sunderland Barcelona 1,530 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sunderland
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

Sunderland vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sunderland and Barcelona differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($1,845 vs $2,381 including rent). Sunderland is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 65% higher in Sunderland, 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: $792 in Sunderland versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $819 in Sunderland 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 7% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,845 in Sunderland versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Sunderland but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sunderland 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, Sunderland 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 Sunderland gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.