Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Békéscsaba

For one person, living is cheaper in Békéscsaba: $1,125 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Békéscsaba
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Békéscsaba Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Békéscsaba

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,125

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Békéscsaba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,125 in Békéscsaba.

Barcelona $2,381
Békéscsaba $1,125

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,647 in Békéscsaba.

Barcelona $3,406
Békéscsaba $1,647

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $2,169 in Békéscsaba.

Barcelona $4,431
Békéscsaba $2,169

Living in Barcelona is roughly 112% more expensive than in Békéscsaba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Békéscsaba is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$9.00 Ft 2,906

98.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$45.36 Ft 14.7K

45.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$5.51 Ft 1,779

148.46%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.22 Ft 718

37.84%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$1.38 Ft 446

122.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.88 Ft 286

120.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$1.10 Ft 354

251.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$1.22 Ft 395

277.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.20 Ft 387

8.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.47 Ft 475

42.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.19 Ft 706

-16.44%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$3.23 Ft 1,044

43.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$9.88 Ft 3,193

75.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$6.75 Ft 2,182

37.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$14.52 Ft 4,692

36.57%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$1.94 Ft 628

55.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.04 Ft 659

-0.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.58 Ft 509

67.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$2.86 Ft 924

0.35%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.00 Ft 323

116.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.01 Ft 326

112.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.06 Ft 344

38.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.48 Ft 155

83.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$7.97 Ft 2,575

-13.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$3.08 Ft 995

154.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.05 Ft 338

32.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.13 Ft 690

23.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$1.27 Ft 410

129.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$2.73 Ft 883

9.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.33 Ft 431

8.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$6.28 Ft 2,028

428.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.85 Ft 599

0.54%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$28.7K Ft 9.3M

12.79%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$34.6K Ft 11.2M

-8.36%

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

$183 €163

$174 Ft 56.1K

5.29%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$23.76 Ft 7,675

-42.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$21.51 Ft 6,949

53.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$33.92 Ft 11.0K

61.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$9.47 Ft 3,058

18.59%

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

$954 €849

$548 Ft 176.9K

74.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$17.1K Ft 5.5M

-2.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$99.1 Ft 32.0K

-13.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$31.41 Ft 10.1K

24.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$61.5 Ft 19.9K

68.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$118 Ft 38.2K

0.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$425 Ft 137.5K

298.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$338 Ft 109.3K

277.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$557 Ft 179.9K

362.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$435 Ft 140.6K

341.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$1,526 Ft 493.1K

377.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,197 Ft 386.7K

318.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$1,398 Ft 451.8K

59.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.45

-49.15%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Békéscsaba: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Békéscsaba

$338 30.1% 73.5% $938

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Békéscsaba

$229 20.3% 29.7% $96

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Békéscsaba

$132 11.8% 51% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Békéscsaba

$219 19.5% 4.6% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Békéscsaba

$140 12.4% 10.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Békéscsaba

$53 4.7% 31.5% $24

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Békéscsaba

$14 * 1.3% 69.4% $33

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 $1,695 in Barcelona and $425 in Békéscsaba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 59% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $45.00 in Békéscsaba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $229 per month, with Békéscsaba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇭🇺 Békéscsaba

🕒 Local time

16:53 4:53 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

54,460

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Békéscsaba 1,620 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Békéscsaba

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 Békéscsaba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Békéscsaba differ by about 112% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,125 including rent). Békéscsaba is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 59% higher in Barcelona, 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $425 in Békéscsaba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $548 in Békéscsaba. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Békéscsaba – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,125 in Békéscsaba versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Békéscsaba but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Békéscsaba 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 Békéscsaba 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 Békéscsaba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 112% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.