Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Balzan

For one person, living is cheaper in Balzan: $1,939 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 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
92

Cost of Living Index in Balzan
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Balzan Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Balzan

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,939

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Balzan

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

A single person spends $2,453 per month in Barcelona vs $1,939 in Balzan, rent included.

Barcelona $2,453
Balzan $1,939

A couple spends around $3,509 per month in Barcelona vs $2,927 in Balzan, rent included.

Barcelona $3,509
Balzan $2,927

A family of three spends $4,564 per month in Barcelona vs $3,915 in Balzan, rent included.

Barcelona $4,564
Balzan $3,915

Barcelona costs about 27% more than Balzan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Barcelona and Balzan sit above the global median – Barcelona by 80%, Balzan by 42%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$18.68 €16.74

-5.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$91.1 €81.6

-25.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$12.10 €10.84

11.82%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.09 €2.77

3.24%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.93 €1.73

50.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.03 €0.92

83.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$3.26 €2.92

23.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.45 €2.19

84.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.25 €1.12

4.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.97 €0.87

108.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.52 €3.16

-47.44%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$4.30 €3.85

12.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$10.30 €9.23

62.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$9.10 €8.15

0.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$12.40 €11.11

58.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.64 €2.37

12.88%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.04 €1.83

-0.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.68 €1.51

60.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.15 €1.03

143.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.86 €0.77

143.02%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.91 €0.81

127.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.85 €0.76

71.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.99 €0.89

-5.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$6.09 €5.46

12.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$6.02 €5.40

31.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.07 €0.96

31.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.49 €1.34

70.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$3.01 €2.70

4.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.23 €2.00

34.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.76 €1.58

-15.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$32.03 €28.70

4.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.52 €1.37

18.42%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$27.5K €24.6K

20.80%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$32.2K €28.9K

-1.61%

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

$180 €162

$154 €138

17.04%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$19.90 €17.83

-30.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$28.97 €25.96

16.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$73.6 €65.9

-29.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$11.40 €10.22

-3.60%

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

$917 €821

$280 €251

227.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$12.1K €10.9K

35.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$58.0 €52.0

49.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$69.1 €61.9

-44.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$110 €98.6

-3.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$130 €117

-8.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$1,132 €1,015

50.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$950 €851

42.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$1,804 €1,616

44.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$1,522 €1,364

35.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$4,057 €3,635

70.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$2,876 €2,577

78.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$1,000 €897

120.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.05

-19.01%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Balzan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Balzan

$950 49% 29.9% $405

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Balzan

$245 12.6% 23.8% $77

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Balzan

$256 13.2% 4.5% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Balzan

$203 10.5% 10.9% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Balzan

$165 8.5% 4.6% $7.3

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Balzan

$96 5% 31.1% $23

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Balzan

$23 * 1.2% 52.4% $25

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,699 in Barcelona versus $1,132 in Balzan. 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 2.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67 in Barcelona versus $91 in Balzan. Groceries tell a different story – $322 in Barcelona vs $245 in Balzan – so Balzan wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇹 Balzan

🕒 Local time

01:50 1:50 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

4,700

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Balzan 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Balzan

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 Balzan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona, $1,939 in Balzan – Balzan comes out roughly 21% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,679 per month in Barcelona and $2,908 in Balzan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Balzan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,132 there versus $1,699 in Barcelona.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67 in Barcelona and $91 in Balzan. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 31% more in Barcelona, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$3,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,939 in Balzan, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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