Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Arzamas

For one person, living is cheaper in Arzamas: $1,117 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Arzamas
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Arzamas Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Arzamas

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,117

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Arzamas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,117 in Arzamas.

Barcelona $2,453
Arzamas $1,117

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,737 in Arzamas.

Barcelona $3,509
Arzamas $1,737

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,357 in Arzamas.

Barcelona $4,564
Arzamas $2,357

Living in Barcelona is roughly 120% more expensive than in Arzamas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Arzamas is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$12.60 ₽1,015

39.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$38.36 ₽3,090

75.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$6.10 ₽491

121.80%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.65 ₽214

20.38%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.08 ₽86.9

169.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.66 ₽52.9

186.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.90 ₽153

111.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.22 ₽260

40.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.30 ₽105

0.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.79 ₽63.8

155.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.57 ₽127

17.83%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.68 ₽136

187.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$9.96 ₽802

68.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$5.69 ₽458

60.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$12.43 ₽1,001

58.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.79 ₽144

66.48%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.79 ₽144

12.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.58 ₽127

70.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.03 ₽244

-7.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.77 ₽61.9

171.43%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.54 ₽43.79

283.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.31 ₽105

11.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.73 ₽59.0

28.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$2.69 ₽216

155.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$8.28 ₽667

-4.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.20 ₽97.0

17.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.06 ₽166

23.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.51 ₽40.90

515.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$26.27 ₽2,115

-3.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.27 ₽183

31.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.34 ₽27.10

338.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$5.64 ₽454

491.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.92 ₽74.5

95.65%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$60.6K ₽4.9M

-45.21%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$41.2K ₽3.3M

-23.03%

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

$180 €162

$143 ₽11.5K

26.47%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$7.06 ₽568

96.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$7.59 ₽611

344.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$36.06 ₽2,904

42.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$25.44 ₽2,049

-37.26%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.94 ₽559

58.36%

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

$917 €821

$373 ₽30.1K

145.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$7,263 ₽584.9K

126.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$76.4 ₽6,156

13.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$51.3 ₽4,128

-24.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$116 ₽9,369

-9.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$113 ₽9,109

5.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$303 ₽24.4K

459.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$328 ₽26.4K

312.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$497 ₽40.0K

424.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$596 ₽48.0K

246.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$2,238 ₽180.2K

208.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,752 ₽141.1K

192.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

21.45

-84.71%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Arzamas: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Arzamas

$328 29.4% 75.8% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Arzamas

$215 19.2% 33.2% $107

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Arzamas

$174 15.6% 35.1% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Arzamas

$157 14.1% 31% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Arzamas

$161 14.4% 1.7% $2.7

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Arzamas

$50 4.5% 32.1% $24

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Arzamas

$32 2.9% 33.5% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $303 in Arzamas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $38 in Arzamas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $215 per month, with Arzamas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇺 Arzamas

🕒 Local time

04:21 4:21 AM

06:21 6:21 AM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

103,396

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 RUB = 1.24 USD

100 RUB = 1.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 RUB (100 RUB = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 89.92 RUB (100 RUB = 1.11 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Arzamas 3,380 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Arzamas

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 Arzamas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,117 in Arzamas, so Arzamas is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $1,676 in Arzamas to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $303 in Arzamas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $2,453 per month in Barcelona versus $1,117 in Arzamas – Arzamas is about 54% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Barcelona runs roughly 3% less than in Arzamas. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,117 in Arzamas versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Arzamas but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Arzamas the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.