Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Burgas

For one person, living is cheaper in Burgas: $1,232 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 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
60

Cost of Living Index in Burgas
Learn more

Burgas Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Burgas

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,232

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Burgas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,232 in Burgas.

Barcelona $2,453
Burgas $1,232

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,825 in Burgas.

Barcelona $3,509
Burgas $1,825

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,419 in Burgas.

Barcelona $4,564
Burgas $2,419

Living in Barcelona is roughly 99% more expensive than in Burgas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Burgas is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$13.35 BGN 23.37

31.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$43.72 BGN 76.5

54.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$11.55 BGN 20.21

17.14%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.37 BGN 5.90

-5.34%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.06 BGN 1.86

174.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.79 BGN 1.38

139.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.04 BGN 3.57

96.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.78 BGN 4.87

62.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.69 BGN 2.96

-22.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.99 BGN 1.74

104.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.01 BGN 3.51

-7.96%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.23 BGN 5.66

49.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$9.86 BGN 17.26

69.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$8.81 BGN 15.42

3.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$11.58 BGN 20.26

69.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.34 BGN 4.09

27.35%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.05 BGN 3.58

-1.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.05 BGN 3.58

31.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.55 BGN 4.47

9.80%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.67 BGN 2.92

25.15%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.42 BGN 2.48

45.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.93 BGN 1.64

56.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.88 BGN 1.54

6.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$3.56 BGN 6.23

92.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$6.81 BGN 11.92

15.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.03 BGN 1.81

36.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.91 BGN 3.34

32.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.87 BGN 1.52

260.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$33.96 BGN 59.4

-25.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.75 BGN 3.07

70.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.76 BGN 1.33

96.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$12.09 BGN 21.16

176.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.67 BGN 2.92

7.78%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$30.3K BGN 53.0K

9.49%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$23.5K BGN 41.2K

34.71%

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

$180 €162

$103 BGN 180

74.95%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$14.39 BGN 25.18

-3.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$11.76 BGN 20.59

186.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$37.79 BGN 66.1

36.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$14.31 BGN 25.04

11.53%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$8.74 BGN 15.29

25.74%

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

$917 €821

$230 BGN 402

299.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$14.7K BGN 25.7K

12.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$58.0 BGN 102

49.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$29.82 BGN 52.2

29.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$70.8 BGN 124

49.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$74.7 BGN 131

60.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$569 BGN 995

198.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$448 BGN 784

202.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$803 BGN 1,404

224.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$612 BGN 1,072

236.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$2,581 BGN 4,516

167.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$1,888 BGN 3,304

171.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$1,002 BGN 1,754

120.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.25

0.92%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Burgas: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Burgas

$448 36.4% 66.9% $907

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Burgas

$246 20% 23.6% $76

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Burgas

$205 16.7% 23.4% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Burgas

$129 10.5% 43.3% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Burgas

$105 8.5% 33.5% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Burgas

$55 4.5% 24.8% $18

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Burgas

$43 3.5% 11.3% $5.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $569 in Burgas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $44 in Burgas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $246 per month, with Burgas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇧🇬 Burgas

🕒 Local time

13:12 1:12 PM

14:12 2:12 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

189,741

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Burgas 2,090 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Burgas

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 Burgas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,232 in Burgas, so Burgas is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.2 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 $569 in Burgas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $230 in Burgas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,232 in Burgas versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Burgas but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Burgas the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Burgas is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Barcelona, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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

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