Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arequipa and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Arequipa: $709 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Arequipa
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Arequipa Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Arequipa

🇵🇪 Peru

$709

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $709 per month in Arequipa vs $2,381 in Barcelona, rent included.

Arequipa $709
Barcelona $2,381

A couple spends around $1,117 per month in Arequipa vs $3,406 in Barcelona, rent included.

Arequipa $1,117
Barcelona $3,406

A family of three spends $1,524 per month in Arequipa vs $4,431 in Barcelona, rent included.

Arequipa $1,524
Barcelona $4,431

Arequipa is about 70% cheaper than Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Arequipa sits 48% below the global median, while Barcelona is 76% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.46 PEN 11.87

$17.89 €15.92

-80.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.89 PEN 95.8

$66.2 €58.9

-57.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.93 PEN 20.37

$13.69 €12.18

-56.68%

Cappuccino

$2.42 PEN 8.31

$3.06 €2.72

-20.92%

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

$0.81 PEN 2.78

$3.07 €2.73

-73.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 PEN 1.33

$1.94 €1.73

-79.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.09 PEN 7.16

$3.87 €3.44

-45.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.27 PEN 14.68

$4.61 €4.10

-7.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 PEN 4.61

$1.30 €1.16

3.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 PEN 4.66

$2.10 €1.87

-35.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 PEN 4.99

$1.83 €1.62

-20.77%

Eggs

$2.29 PEN 7.85

$4.62 €4.11

-50.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.25 PEN 21.47

$17.36 €15.44

-64.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.59 PEN 15.75

$9.28 €8.25

-50.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.33 PEN 25.16

$19.83 €17.64

-63.04%

Apples (1kg)

$1.76 PEN 6.03

$3.01 €2.68

-41.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 PEN 4.05

$2.03 €1.81

-41.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.13 PEN 3.88

$2.65 €2.36

-57.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.99 PEN 3.41

$2.87 €2.55

-65.51%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 PEN 2.29

$2.16 €1.92

-68.98%

Onion (1kg)

$0.67 PEN 2.31

$2.15 €1.91

-68.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 PEN 1.91

$1.47 €1.31

-61.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 PEN 2.60

$0.88 €0.79

-13.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.13 PEN 17.62

$6.93 €6.16

-25.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.18 PEN 17.80

$7.83 €6.96

-33.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 PEN 9.17

$1.39 €1.24

92.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 PEN 7.90

$2.63 €2.34

-12.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PEN 0.95

$2.91 €2.59

-90.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.02 PEN 6.92

$3.00 €2.66

-32.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.01 PEN 6.92

$1.44 €1.28

39.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.01 PEN 44.68

$33.20 €29.53

-60.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 PEN 5.28

$1.86 €1.65

-17.20%

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

$18.9K PEN 65.0K

$32.3K €28.8K

-41.48%

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

$25.1K PEN 86.3K

$31.7K €28.2K

-20.71%

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

$23.36 PEN 80.2

$183 €163

-87.22%

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

$10.26 PEN 35.24

$13.61 €12.11

-24.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.44 PEN 80.5

$32.93 €29.29

-28.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.08 PEN 86.1

$54.7 €48.65

-54.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.00 PEN 27.47

$16.52 €14.70

-51.57%

Cinema Ticket

$7.35 PEN 25.24

$11.23 €9.99

-34.55%

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

$75.3 PEN 258

$954 €849

-92.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,598 PEN 22.7K

$16.6K €14.8K

-60.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.74 PEN 164

$86.0 €76.5

-44.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.42 PEN 90.7

$39.11 €34.78

-32.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.6 PEN 232

$104 €92.2

-34.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.5 PEN 198

$119 €106

-51.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$347 PEN 1,192

$1,695 €1,508

-79.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$237 PEN 813

$1,276 €1,135

-81.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 PEN 2,471

$2,576 €2,291

-72.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$419 PEN 1,439

$1,922 €1,710

-78.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,963 PEN 6,740

$7,281 €6,477

-73.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$989 PEN 3,397

$5,010 €4,456

-80.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$619 PEN 2,125

$2,227 €1,981

-72.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

357.32%

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

Last update for Arequipa: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Arequipa

$237 33.4%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 439% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Arequipa

$174 24.5%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 86.9% $151

Eating Out

Arequipa

$98 13.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 174% $171

Clothing & Footwear

Arequipa

$90 12.7%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 74.3% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arequipa

$57 8.1%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 302% $172

Sport & Entertainment

Arequipa

$40 5.6%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 94% $37

Getting Around

Arequipa

$13 * 1.9%

Barcelona

$47 2% 258% $34

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $347 in Arequipa versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 260% higher in Barcelona, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28.00 in Arequipa versus $66.0 in Barcelona. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $174 vs $325 – making Arequipa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Arequipa

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

19:18 7:18 PM

02:18 2:18 AM

7 h ahead of Arequipa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,062

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Arequipa Barcelona 9,910 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Arequipa
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

Arequipa vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona costs about 236% more than Arequipa, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,063 per month in Arequipa and $3,571 in Barcelona. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Arequipa, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28.00 in Arequipa and $66.0 in Barcelona. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 87% more in Barcelona, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Arequipa, where all-in costs run around $709, than in Barcelona at $2,381. In Arequipa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Barcelona it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Arequipa costs $709 versus $2,381 in Barcelona. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Arequipa. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Barcelona makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.