Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Brissago

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $3,504 in Brissago, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
166

Cost of Living Index in Brissago
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Brissago Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Brissago

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,504

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Brissago

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $3,504 in Brissago.

Barcelona $2,381
Brissago $3,504

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $5,141 in Brissago.

Barcelona $3,406
Brissago $5,141

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $6,777 in Brissago.

Barcelona $4,431
Brissago $6,777

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 32% less than in Brissago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Brissago 159% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €16.01

$29.38 CHF 24.32

-39.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €59.2

$123 CHF 102

-46.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.25

$15.55 CHF 12.87

-11.96%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.74

$6.77 CHF 5.61

-54.80%

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

$3.07 €2.75

$6.33 CHF 5.24

-51.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.74

$7.21 CHF 5.97

-73.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.46

$9.14 CHF 7.57

-57.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.12

$7.99 CHF 6.61

-42.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$2.12 CHF 1.75

-38.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.88

$3.00 CHF 2.48

-30.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.63

$3.14 CHF 2.60

-41.72%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.14

$7.88 CHF 6.53

-41.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.53

$24.67 CHF 20.42

-29.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.30

$29.66 CHF 24.55

-68.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.74

$39.72 CHF 32.88

-50.08%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.70

$4.03 CHF 3.34

-25.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.82

$2.00 CHF 1.65

1.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$2.76 CHF 2.28

-3.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.57

$4.76 CHF 3.94

-39.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.93

$1.66 CHF 1.37

30.12%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$2.07 CHF 1.72

3.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$2.30 CHF 1.90

-36.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.35 CHF 1.12

-34.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.20

$11.12 CHF 9.20

-37.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €7.00

$12.14 CHF 10.05

-35.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.19 CHF 1.81

-36.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.35

$2.99 CHF 2.48

-12.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.60

$4.69 CHF 3.88

-37.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.78

$92.5 CHF 76.6

-72.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.68

$8.06 CHF 6.67

-62.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.29

$4.57 CHF 3.79

-68.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.70

$108 CHF 89.0

-69.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.29 CHF 1.89

-18.78%

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

$32.3K €28.9K

$39.6K CHF 32.8K

-18.32%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$39.2K CHF 32.5K

-19.14%

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

$183 €164

$279 CHF 231

-34.60%

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

$13.61 €12.18

$28.26 CHF 23.39

-51.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.46

$56.1 CHF 46.44

-41.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.93

$79.8 CHF 66.0

-31.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.78

$42.62 CHF 35.27

-61.24%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €10.05

$24.22 CHF 20.04

-53.63%

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

$954 €854

$3,145 CHF 2,603

-69.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.9K

$30.8K CHF 25.5K

-46.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €77.0

$141 CHF 117

-38.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.99

$61.7 CHF 51.1

-36.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.8

$154 CHF 128

-32.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$197 CHF 163

-39.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,517

$1,807 CHF 1,496

-6.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,142

$1,563 CHF 1,293

-18.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,304

$2,635 CHF 2,181

-2.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,720

$2,281 CHF 1,888

-15.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,515

$18.9K CHF 15.6K

-61.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,482

$10.9K CHF 9,050

-54.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,992

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.46

33.33%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Brissago: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Brissago

$1.6K 44.6% 22.4% $286

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Brissago

$579 16.5% 78.2% $254

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Brissago

$479 13.7% 77.7% $209

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Brissago

$364 10.4% 58.7% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Brissago

$249 7.1% 59.4% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Brissago

$128 3.7% 66.1% $51

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Brissago

$142 4.1% 201% $95

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,807 in Brissago. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66 in Barcelona vs $123 in Brissago for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $579 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇭 Brissago

🕒 Local time

01:45 1:45 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,800

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Barcelona Brissago 740 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Brissago

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 Brissago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Brissago differ by about 47% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $3,504 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,571 in Barcelona and $5,256 in Brissago 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $1,807 in Brissago. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $3,145 in Brissago. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 78% higher in Brissago. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,381 in Barcelona versus $3,504 in Brissago, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Brissago. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelona 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 Brissago 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Brissago. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.