Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Bursa

For one person, living is cheaper in Bursa: $1,047 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Bursa
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Bursa Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Bursa

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,047

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Bursa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,047 in Bursa.

Barcelona $2,453
Bursa $1,047

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,654 in Bursa.

Barcelona $3,509
Bursa $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,260 in Bursa.

Barcelona $4,564
Bursa $2,260

Living in Barcelona is roughly 134% more expensive than in Bursa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Bursa is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.69

$9.79 ₺489

79.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$30.03 ₺1,500

124.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.07

$7.75 ₺387

74.58%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$3.65 ₺182

-12.60%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$1.06 ₺52.9

174.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$0.38 ₺18.75

397.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$2.29 ₺114

75.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.04

$2.93 ₺146

54.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.16

$0.96 ₺48.03

36.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$0.80 ₺40.08

152.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$2.26 ₺113

-18.14%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.31

$2.28 ₺114

111.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.93

$10.26 ₺513

63.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$4.90 ₺245

86.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.52

$18.96 ₺947

3.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$1.66 ₺83.2

79.52%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.96 ₺97.9

3.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$1.04 ₺52.2

159.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$1.30 ₺64.9

115.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$0.58 ₺28.87

260.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.39 ₺19.69

430.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.73 ₺36.57

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.72 ₺35.95

30.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.13

$2.07 ₺103

231.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$14.15 ₺707

-44.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.25

$2.08 ₺104

-32.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$2.25 ₺112

12.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.80

$0.98 ₺49.06

220.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.70

$36.23 ₺1,810

-29.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$1.03 ₺51.3

190.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.87 ₺43.24

71.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.78

$6.89 ₺344

384.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.60

$1.37 ₺68.4

31.39%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$44.3K ₺2.2M

-25.06%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$38.9K ₺1.9M

-18.58%

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

$180 €161

$75.9 ₺3,795

137.57%

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

$13.84 €12.35

$10.92 ₺545

26.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.06

$14.81 ₺740

127.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €45.96

$61.2 ₺3,056

-15.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.24

$23.04 ₺1,151

-30.73%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.81

$5.88 ₺294

86.90%

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

$917 €818

$548 ₺27.4K

67.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$10.9K ₺544.2K

51.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$44.43 ₺2,220

95.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.35

$34.51 ₺1,724

11.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.4

$78.4 ₺3,917

34.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$92.6 ₺4,627

29.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,516

$401 ₺20.0K

323.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,209

$310 ₺15.5K

336.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,322

$723 ₺36.1K

259.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,840

$607 ₺30.3K

239.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,169

$1,191 ₺59.5K

480.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,575

$1,217 ₺60.8K

321.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,972

$1,028 ₺51.4K

114.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

42.67

-92.31%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bursa: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Bursa

$310 29.6% 77.1% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Bursa

$236 22.5% 26.7% $86

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Bursa

$168 16.1% 37.2% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Bursa

$102 9.7% 55.4% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Bursa

$112 10.7% 28.8% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Bursa

$73 7% 0.8% $0.6

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Bursa

$46 4.4% 6.1% $3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $401 in Bursa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.1 times 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: $67 in Barcelona vs $30 in Bursa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $236 per month, with Bursa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇷 Bursa

🕒 Local time

14:10 2:10 PM

16:10 4:10 PM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

3,238,618

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 TRY = 2 USD

100 TRY = 1.79 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Bursa 2,260 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Bursa

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 Bursa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,047 in Bursa, so Bursa is about 57% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.1 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 $401 in Bursa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $548 in Bursa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,047 in Bursa versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bursa but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Bursa 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 Bursa are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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