Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Buzau

For one person, living is cheaper in Buzau: $979 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,700 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Buzau
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Buzau Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Buzau

🇷🇴 Romania

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Buzau

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $979 in Buzau.

Barcelona $2,453
Buzau $979

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,447 in Buzau.

Barcelona $3,509
Buzau $1,447

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,916 in Buzau.

Barcelona $4,564
Buzau $1,916

Living in Barcelona is roughly 151% more expensive than in Buzau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Buzau is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$10.50 RON 50.4

67.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$24.73 RON 119

172.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$6.34 RON 30.41

113.41%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.95 RON 9.35

63.59%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.92 RON 9.21

51.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.45 RON 6.95

30.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.71 RON 8.21

134.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.70 RON 8.18

166.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.66 RON 7.98

-21.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.28 RON 6.12

57.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.43 RON 6.87

29.37%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.03 RON 14.54

59.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$7.26 RON 34.80

130.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.39 RON 30.64

42.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$10.93 RON 52.4

79.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$0.96 RON 4.58

210.42%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.70 RON 8.14

18.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.10 RON 5.25

145.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.21 RON 5.81

131.40%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.64 RON 3.07

226.56%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.78 RON 3.76

165.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.49 RON 2.36

197.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.67 RON 3.20

40.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$6.29 RON 30.14

9.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$6.34 RON 30.40

24.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.79 RON 3.80

78.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.45 RON 6.96

75.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.60 RON 2.89

423.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$21.71 RON 104

17.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$0.53 RON 2.56

464.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.52 RON 2.51

186.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$6.19 RON 29.69

439.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.65 RON 7.89

9.09%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$18.9K RON 90.8K

75.22%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$21.1K RON 101.2K

50.23%

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

$180 €162

$121 RON 579

49.53%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$7.70 RON 36.92

79.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$7.63 RON 36.59

341.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$32.68 RON 157

57.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$17.61 RON 84.5

-9.37%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.94 RON 33.28

58.36%

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

$917 €821

$293 RON 1,406

212.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$6,804 RON 32.6K

142.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$55.3 RON 265

57.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$59.4 RON 285

-35.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$97.8 RON 469

8.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$82.8 RON 397

44.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$353 RON 1,691

381.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$292 RON 1,400

364.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$605 RON 2,902

330.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$425 RON 2,040

384.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$1,478 RON 7,087

367.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,166 RON 5,590

339.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$854 RON 4,097

158.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.97

-52.94%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Buzau: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Buzau

$292 29.8% 78.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Buzau

$192 19.6% 40.3% $130

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Buzau

$152 15.5% 43.3% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Buzau

$136 13.9% 40.3% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Buzau

$133 13.6% 15.9% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Buzau

$47 4.8% 36.7% $27

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Buzau

$27 2.8% 43.7% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $353 in Buzau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $25 in Buzau for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $192 per month, with Buzau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Buzau

🕒 Local time

05:02 5:02 AM

06:02 6:02 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

115,494

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Buzau 2,030 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Buzau

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 Buzau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $979 in Buzau, so Buzau is about 60% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.6 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 $353 in Buzau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $293 in Buzau. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 67% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $979 in Buzau versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Buzau but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Buzau 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.

Expats usually find Buzau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.