Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Badulla

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $547 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $22,800 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
26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
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Badulla Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$547

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Badulla

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $547 in Badulla.

Barcelona $2,443
Badulla $547

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $883 in Badulla.

Barcelona $3,519
Badulla $883

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $1,219 in Badulla.

Barcelona $4,595
Badulla $1,219

Living in Barcelona is roughly 347% more expensive than in Badulla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Badulla is 60% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.75

$3.84 LKR 1,276

359.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$24.93 LKR 8,290

170.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.14

$7.54 LKR 2,507

80.50%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$2.47 LKR 823

25.51%

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

$3.00 €2.68

$0.68 LKR 227

341.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.27 LKR 90.6

614.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.43

$2.26 LKR 752

69.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.89

$3.02 LKR 1,006

44.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.62 LKR 539

-22.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$0.57 LKR 190

271.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.61 LKR 203

222.95%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.25

$1.65 LKR 548

188.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.22

$15.15 LKR 5,037

12.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.99

$3.70 LKR 1,230

142.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.42

$7.60 LKR 2,528

171.71%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.82

$6.61 LKR 2,198

-52.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.89 LKR 296

121.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$4.27 LKR 1,421

-37.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.26 LKR 420

128.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$1.09 LKR 362

88.99%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$0.79 LKR 261

175.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.22 LKR 405

25.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$0.46 LKR 152

110.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.21

$10.15 LKR 3,374

-31.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$13.31 LKR 4,427

-40.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.91 LKR 634

-25.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$2.85 LKR 947

-5.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.84

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$0.41 LKR 136

651.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.33 LKR 111

348.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.32

$0.87 LKR 288

3678.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.37 LKR 454

36.50%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$42.8K LKR 14.2M

-23.00%

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

$31.9K €28.5K

$46.1K LKR 15.3M

-30.70%

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

$183 €163

$56.2 LKR 18.7K

225.12%

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

$14.24 €12.70

$4.32 LKR 1,437

229.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.83

$20.66 LKR 6,872

67.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.87

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.62

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.87

$4.39 LKR 1,460

151.94%

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

$944 €842

$40.51 LKR 13.5K

2229.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$17.5K LKR 5.8M

27.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.2

$18.24 LKR 6,067

380.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.59

$17.37 LKR 5,778

123.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

34.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$41.18 LKR 13.7K

185.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,514

$76.3 LKR 25.4K

2122.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,192

$44.38 LKR 14.8K

2912.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,401

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,853

$89.8 LKR 29.9K

2211.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,382

$4,570 LKR 1.5M

56.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,530

$747 LKR 248.4K

580.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,999

$222 LKR 73.7K

911.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

12.5

-74.48%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Badulla: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Badulla

$44 8.1% 96.7% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Badulla

$237 43.3% 27.8% $91

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Badulla

$104 19.1% 61% $163

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Badulla

$81 14.9% 64.9% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Badulla

$69 12.7% 55.7% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Badulla

$8.8 * 1.6% 88.1% $65

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Badulla

$2.1 * 0.4% 95.8% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $76 in Badulla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 10 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $25 in Badulla for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $237 per month, with Badulla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇱🇰 Badulla

🕒 Local time

10:42 10:42 AM

15:12 3:12 PM

4 h 30 min ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

110,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 373 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Badulla 8,570 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Badulla

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 Badulla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Badulla is about 78% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 10 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $76 in Badulla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $41 in Badulla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Badulla – a meal for two runs $25 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $547 in Badulla versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla 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.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Badulla are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Badulla wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.