Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Alice Springs

For one person, living is cheaper in Alice Springs: $1,798 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Alice Springs
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Alice Springs Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Alice Springs

🇦🇺 Australia

$1,798

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Alice Springs

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 Alice Springs actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,798 in Alice Springs.

Barcelona $2,381
Alice Springs $1,798

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $2,720 in Alice Springs.

Barcelona $3,406
Alice Springs $2,720

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $3,641 in Alice Springs.

Barcelona $4,431
Alice Springs $3,641

Living in Barcelona is roughly 32% more expensive than in Alice Springs, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Alice Springs 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$17.27 A$24.85

3.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$83.0 A$119

-20.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$10.70 A$15.40

27.94%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.28 A$6.16

-28.50%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.87 A$4.13

6.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$2.82 A$4.06

-31.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$6.48 A$9.33

-40.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$9.54 A$13.72

-51.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.43 A$2.05

-9.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.10 A$3.03

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.78 A$2.57

2.81%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$5.10 A$7.33

-9.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$10.17 A$14.63

70.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$8.29 A$11.94

11.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$14.50 A$20.87

36.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$3.84 A$5.53

-21.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$3.00 A$4.32

-32.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.63 A$3.78

0.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$6.85 A$9.86

-58.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.49 A$3.58

-13.25%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$2.28 A$3.28

-5.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$2.43 A$3.50

-39.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$2.36 A$3.40

-62.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$28.22 A$40.60

-75.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$13.77 A$19.82

-43.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$3.22 A$4.64

-56.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$5.59 A$8.04

-52.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$2.79 A$4.02

4.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$68.9 A$99.1

-63.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$4.84 A$6.97

-38.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.55 A$2.24

-7.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$27.74 A$39.92

19.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.35 A$1.94

37.78%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$37.6K A$54.1K

-14.01%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$23.0K A$33.0K

38.04%

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

$183 €163

$213 A$306

-14.01%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$28.21 A$40.59

-51.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$45.86 A$66.0

-28.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$56.9 A$81.9

-3.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$17.95 A$25.83

-7.97%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$13.94 A$20.06

-19.44%

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

$954 €849

$1,941 A$2,793

-50.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$20.6K A$29.6K

-19.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$73.1 A$105

17.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$12.03 A$17.31

225.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$138 A$198

-24.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$120 A$173

-1.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$1,405 A$2,022

20.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$518 A$746

146.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,267 A$1,823

103.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$765 A$1,101

151.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$4,502 A$6,478

61.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$4,696 A$6,757

6.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$4,301 A$6,189

-48.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.9

-44.41%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Alice Springs: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Alice Springs

$518 28.8% 59.4% $758

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Alice Springs

$365 20.3% 12.4% $40

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Alice Springs

$296 16.5% 9.8% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Alice Springs

$287 15.9% 25% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Alice Springs

$154 8.6% 1.3% $2.1

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Alice Springs

$85 4.7% 9.9% $7.6

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Alice Springs

$93 5.2% 95.9% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,405 in Alice Springs. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alice Springs pays 93% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $83.0 in Alice Springs for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $365 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇦🇺 Alice Springs

🕒 Local time

03:27 3:27 AM

11:57 11:57 AM

8 h 30 min ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

24,855

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Alice Springs 15,150 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Alice Springs

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 Alice Springs: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alice Springs wins on cost – living expenses run 32% lower than in Barcelona. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Alice Springs the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 93% lower in Alice Springs. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $1,405 in Alice Springs. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 12% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Alice Springs – a meal for two runs $83.0 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,798 in Alice Springs versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Alice Springs but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Alice Springs the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Alice Springs delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,798 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Alice Springs hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Alice Springs 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 Alice Springs gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.