Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Ben Arous

For one person, living is cheaper in Ben Arous: $692 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,100 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Ben Arous
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Ben Arous Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Ben Arous

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Ben Arous

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $692 in Ben Arous.

Barcelona $2,453
Ben Arous $692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,093 in Ben Arous.

Barcelona $3,509
Ben Arous $1,093

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,494 in Ben Arous.

Barcelona $4,564
Ben Arous $1,494

Living in Barcelona is roughly 255% more expensive than in Ben Arous, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Ben Arous is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$5.29 TND 15.91

232.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$19.75 TND 59.4

241.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$4.88 TND 14.68

177.25%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.18 TND 3.55

170.34%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.65 TND 1.95

347.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.25 TND 0.75

656.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.62 TND 4.86

147.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.98 TND 5.93

128.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.48 TND 1.43

172.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.10 TND 0.30

1920.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.62 TND 4.85

14.20%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.41 TND 4.24

242.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$10.39 TND 31.21

61.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$5.86 TND 17.61

55.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$16.99 TND 51.0

15.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.66 TND 4.97

79.52%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$4.44 TND 13.35

-54.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$0.94 TND 2.82

187.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$0.75 TND 2.26

273.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.85 TND 2.54

145.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.65 TND 1.97

218.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.48 TND 1.43

204.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.31 TND 0.92

203.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.52 TND 10.56

95.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$6.61 TND 19.86

19.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.96 TND 2.89

46.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.23 TND 3.69

106.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.38 TND 1.15

726.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$13.41 TND 40.30

89.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$0.29 TND 0.86

931.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.29 TND 0.86

413.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$1.83 TND 5.51

1723.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.80 TND 2.40

125.00%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$39.3K TND 118.0K

-15.51%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$22.7K TND 68.1K

39.78%

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

$180 €162

$54.1 TND 163

233.54%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$10.23 TND 30.74

35.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$20.21 TND 60.7

66.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$32.52 TND 97.7

58.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$16.90 TND 50.8

-5.56%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$5.03 TND 15.10

118.49%

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

$917 €821

$62.2 TND 187

1374.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$1,924 TND 5,779

756.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$43.82 TND 132

98.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$61.2 TND 184

-37.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$86.3 TND 259

22.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$46.70 TND 140

156.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$208 TND 624

718.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$152 TND 458

788.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$379 TND 1,140

586.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$269 TND 808

666.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$909 TND 2,731

660.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$419 TND 1,260

1122.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$249 TND 747

789.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

10.5

-68.76%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ben Arous: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Ben Arous

$152 22% 88.7% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Ben Arous

$202 29.2% 37.3% $120

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Ben Arous

$87 12.6% 67.6% $181

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Ben Arous

$85 12.2% 62.9% $143

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Ben Arous

$107 15.5% 32.2% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Ben Arous

$43 6.2% 42.1% $31

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Ben Arous

$17 2.4% 65.6% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $208 in Ben Arous. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 8.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $20 in Ben Arous for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $202 per month, with Ben Arous cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇳 Ben Arous

🕒 Local time

05:04 5:04 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

88,322

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 TND = 0.333 USD

1 TND = 0.298 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Ben Arous 860 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Ben Arous

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 Ben Arous: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $692 in Ben Arous, so Ben Arous is about 72% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 8.9 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $208 in Ben Arous. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $62 in Ben Arous. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 60% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $692 in Ben Arous versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Ben Arous but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ben Arous 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 Ben Arous are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Ben Arous gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.