Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Swansea and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Swansea: $2,196 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

106

Cost of Living Index in Swansea
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Swansea Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Swansea

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,196

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,196 in Swansea versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Swansea $2,196
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,130 in Swansea versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Swansea $3,130
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,065 in Swansea versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Swansea $4,065
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Swansea costs roughly 10% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Swansea 61% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.41 £15.22

$17.59 €15.69

16.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.1 £47.02

$67.5 €60.2

-6.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.81

$13.53 €12.07

-22.62%

Cappuccino

$4.76 £3.55

$3.19 €2.85

49.22%

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

$2.36 £1.76

$2.91 €2.60

-18.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 £0.94

$1.89 €1.69

-33.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.89 £4.39

$4.01 €3.58

46.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.38 £4.76

$4.53 €4.04

40.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 £1.00

$1.31 €1.16

2.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 £1.53

$2.02 €1.80

1.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.85 €1.65

11.35%

Eggs

$3.52 £2.62

$4.83 €4.31

-27.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.78 £5.80

$16.74 €14.93

-53.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.33 £6.21

$9.12 €8.14

-8.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.87 £9.59

$19.64 €17.52

-34.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 £1.73

$2.98 €2.66

-22.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 £0.93

$2.02 €1.80

-38.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.14

$2.70 €2.41

6.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.57 £2.66

$2.80 €2.50

27.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.25 £1.68

$2.09 €1.86

7.66%

Onion (1kg)

$3.05 £2.28

$2.07 €1.85

47.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 £0.95

$1.46 €1.30

-13.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 £1.71

$0.94 €0.84

143.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.23 £17.32

$6.87 €6.13

238.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.63 £7.92

$7.89 €7.04

34.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 £1.74

$1.41 €1.25

65.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 £2.53

$2.54 €2.26

33.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.12 £3.07

$3.14 €2.80

31.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.1 £72.4

$25.45 €22.70

281.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 £2.94

$2.99 €2.67

32.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.68 £2.00

$1.49 €1.33

79.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.33 £24.85

$33.37 €29.78

-0.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.46

$1.80 €1.60

8.33%

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

$38.9K £29.0K

$33.2K €29.6K

17.23%

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

$40.5K £30.2K

$31.7K €28.3K

27.67%

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

$306 £228

$180 €161

69.87%

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

$14.81 £11.04

$13.84 €12.35

7.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.20 £32.21

$33.70 €30.06

28.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.28 £24.81

$51.5 €45.96

-35.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.52 £11.57

$15.96 €14.24

-2.76%

Cinema Ticket

$9.85 £7.34

$10.99 €9.81

-10.37%

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

$1,777 £1,325

$917 €818

93.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.7 £66.8

$87.0 €77.7

3.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.22 £35.95

$38.51 €34.35

25.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 £91.1

$106 €94.4

15.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.6 £61.6

$120 €107

-31.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 £829

$1,699 €1,516

-34.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$891 £664

$1,355 €1,209

-34.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,500 £1,118

$2,603 €2,322

-42.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 £997

$2,062 €1,840

-35.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,563 £2,656

$6,915 €6,169

-48.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,615 £1,949

$5,128 €4,575

-49.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,263 £2,433

$2,211 €1,972

47.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.04

3.28

84.15%

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

Last update for Swansea: October 27, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Swansea

$891 40.6%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 52.1% $464

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Swansea

$364 16.6%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 37.5% $137

Eating Out

Swansea

$309 14.1%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 13.2% $41

Groceries & Markets

Swansea

$293 13.4%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 9.7% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Swansea

$154 7%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 2.5% $3.8

Getting Around

Swansea

$131 6%

Barcelona

$48 2% 63% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Swansea

$53 2.4%

Barcelona

$74 3% 38.7% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,112 in Swansea and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Swansea pays 48% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $63 in Swansea vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $322 per month, with Swansea cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Swansea

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

18:22 6:22 PM

19:22 7:22 PM

1 h ahead of Swansea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

239,000

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 = 0.746 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.832 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Swansea Barcelona 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Swansea
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

Swansea vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,196 in Swansea and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Swansea is about 10% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 48% higher in Swansea, 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: $1,112 in Swansea versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,777 in Swansea versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Swansea 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.