Brits are paying double for beer at home compared to Benidorm. New 2026 data reveals

With UK pints now averaging £5.50 and Benidorm’s bars still serving cold ones for under €2.50, the Costa Blanca’s favourite resort is still one of Europe’s best value drinking destinations. But for how long?

For decades, Benidorm has been Britain’s favourite bolt hole. Two weeks of guaranteed sunshine, a full English on every corner and, most importantly, a cold beer at a price that would make drinkers back home jealous. New data shows just how dramatic that price gap has become, with UK pints hitting record highs while Benidorm’s bars continue to offer some of the best value in Europe.

The average cost of a pint across the United Kingdom has now reached £5.50 in 2026, up six per cent from £5.17 in 2024. In London it is worse still, with drinkers routinely paying £6.10 or more. In Benidorm, meanwhile, a cold cerveza or caña on the strip can still be found for €1.80 to €2.50 in a local bar. In many of the British friendly pubs that line the Old Town and Levante Beach areas, a pint rarely tops €3.50.

Britain’s runaway prices

The swell in UK beer prices shows little sign of slowing. Research by UK Debt Expert found that even a pint of Guinness now averages £5.41 across the UK, a 15 per cent jump from just a year ago, when the national average stood at £4.71. Since 2023, the average cost of a pint of Guinness has risen by 30.4 per cent.

It is not just the black stuff. Craft favourites Camden Hells and BrewDog Punk IPA now average £6.34 a pint nationally, while Peroni, Asahi and Birra Moretti have all crossed the £6 mark. Brewers are driving costs higher from the top down. Heineken UK pushed through a 2.7 per cent wholesale price increase from February 2026, citing higher employer taxes, energy costs and packaging requirements.

Some places have been hit particularly hard. Swindon saw Guinness prices leap from £3.48 in 2023 to £5.20 in 2026, a 49 per cent rise. Stoke on Trent and Leeds were not far behind, with increases of 45 per cent and 43 per cent respectively over the same period.

Benidorm. Still a bargain

Against that backdrop, Benidorm looks like a different world. The resort’s famous combination of fierce bar competition, high tourist footfall and Spain’s comparatively low alcohol duty structure keeps prices well below anything a British pub can offer. A caña in a local Spanish bar typically costs €1.80 to €2.50, while a full pint in one of Benidorm’s many British style pubs, the kind serving Carling on tap, generally sits between €3 and €4. That is a fraction of what the same drink costs back home.

Spain benefits structurally from lower alcohol tax rates that keep bar prices more affordable than in northern Europe, and that advantage is not going away. Add in the volume of bars competing for the same tourist euro on Benidorm’s strips and squares, and the pressure to keep prices low remains strong.

The year on year rise

Spain is not entirely immune to inflation. Eurozone hospitality prices rose by 3.9 per cent annually in 2025, and local bars in Spanish cities reported small price adjustments due to higher supplier costs and energy bills. Benidorm’s relentless competition between venues has helped cushion those increases for holidaymakers, but regulars and long term residents will have noticed their favourite tipple costing a little more than it did two or three years ago.

What it means for holidaymakers

The maths still firmly favours the Costa Blanca. At £5.50 a pint in the UK, a couple enjoying four rounds on a Friday night is spending over £40 before they have even had a starter. In Benidorm, that same evening out, four rounds with sun on your back and sea air included, could cost as little as €20 between two people. With 239 British pubs closing in just the first quarter of 2024 alone, the question facing many drinkers is not simply where the beer is cheaper, but whether there will be anywhere left to drink back home at all.

For now, Benidorm’s answer to the great pint divide remains the same it has always been. Pull up a chair, order a caña and let Britain worry about itself.
Salud.