Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Acapulco

For one person, living is cheaper in Acapulco: $848 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Acapulco
Learn more

Acapulco Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Acapulco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$848

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Acapulco

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Barcelona and in Acapulco actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,443 per month in Barcelona vs $848 in Acapulco, rent included.

Barcelona $2,443
Acapulco $848

A couple spends around $3,519 per month in Barcelona vs $1,418 in Acapulco, rent included.

Barcelona $3,519
Acapulco $1,418

A family of three spends $4,595 per month in Barcelona vs $1,989 in Acapulco, rent included.

Barcelona $4,595
Acapulco $1,989

Barcelona costs about 188% more than Acapulco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Barcelona sits 81% above the global median, while Acapulco is 37% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.69

$9.20 MX$171

91.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €59.9

$37.33 MX$695

80.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.09

$11.65 MX$217

16.82%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.75

$3.74 MX$69.6

-17.11%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$1.53 MX$28.53

96.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.71

$1.65 MX$30.65

16.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.41

$2.91 MX$54.2

31.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.87

$4.94 MX$92.0

-11.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.56 MX$29.07

-19.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$2.86 MX$53.3

-25.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.64 MX$30.50

20.12%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.23

$1.83 MX$34.03

160.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.16

$6.60 MX$123

158.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.96

$8.26 MX$154

8.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.34

$10.93 MX$203

88.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$4.55 MX$84.7

-30.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.64 MX$30.58

20.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$3.18 MX$59.2

-16.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.56

$3.04 MX$56.5

-5.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$3.34 MX$62.2

-38.32%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$2.93 MX$54.4

-25.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.23 MX$22.94

24.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.82 MX$15.33

18.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.19

$8.31 MX$155

-16.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.01

$6.39 MX$119

23.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.10 MX$20.44

29.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.77 MX$51.5

-2.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.94

$0.85 MX$15.83

289.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.75

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.74

$4.96 MX$92.4

-37.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.20

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.45 MX$27.03

28.97%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$21.2K MX$394.6K

55.47%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$23.9K MX$445.2K

33.53%

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

$183 €162

$39.02 MX$726

368.61%

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

$14.24 €12.65

$14.93 MX$278

-4.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.70

$21.05 MX$392

64.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.68

$18.69 MX$348

175.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.55

$13.62 MX$254

20.26%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.83

$3.82 MX$71.0

189.53%

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

$944 €838

$163 MX$3,042

477.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €77.9

$65.6 MX$1,222

33.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.44

$43.81 MX$815

-11.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €92.9

$107 MX$1,994

-2.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$81.2 MX$1,510

44.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,507

$512 MX$9,526

231.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,187

$146 MX$2,724

813.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,391

$944 MX$17.6K

185.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,845

$325 MX$6,040

539.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,356

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,512

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,991

$447 MX$8,325

401.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

11.6

-72.50%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Acapulco: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Acapulco

$146 17.3% 89.1% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Acapulco

$267 31.5% 18.5% $61

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Acapulco

$191 22.5% 28.6% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Acapulco

$75 8.9% 67.6% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Acapulco

$134 15.8% 14.6% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Acapulco

$26 3.1% 64.2% $47

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Acapulco

$8.4 * 1% 83% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,697 in Barcelona versus $512 in Acapulco. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Barcelona are about 5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67 in Barcelona versus $37 in Acapulco. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $328 vs $267 – making Acapulco the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇽 Acapulco

🕒 Local time

22:41 10:41 PM

15:41 3:41 PM

7 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

658,609

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.888 EUR (1 EUR = 1.13 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Acapulco 9,740 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Acapulco

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

Barcelona vs Acapulco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona costs about 188% more than Acapulco, 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 $3,664 per month in Barcelona and $1,272 in Acapulco. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Acapulco, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $512 there versus $1,697 in Barcelona.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $848 in Acapulco. That makes Acapulco about 65% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $944 per month in Barcelona and $163 in Acapulco. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,443 in Barcelona and $848 in Acapulco. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Acapulco – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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