Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Calafat

For one person, living is cheaper in Calafat: $1,016 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Calafat
Learn more

Calafat Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Calafat

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,016

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Calafat

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,016 in Calafat.

Barcelona $2,443
Calafat $1,016

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,499 in Calafat.

Barcelona $3,519
Calafat $1,499

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $1,982 in Calafat.

Barcelona $4,595
Calafat $1,982

Living in Barcelona is roughly 141% more expensive than in Calafat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Calafat is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.71

$7.35 RON 34.96

140.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.0

$38.38 RON 182

75.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$7.21 RON 34.26

88.77%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$2.14 RON 10.15

44.86%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$1.44 RON 6.83

108.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.71

$0.87 RON 4.12

121.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$1.08 RON 5.12

255.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$1.83 RON 8.72

138.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.12 RON 5.31

11.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$0.76 RON 3.63

178.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.35 RON 6.40

45.93%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$2.33 RON 11.07

104.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.19

$6.69 RON 31.81

155.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$6.35 RON 30.16

41.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.38

$6.24 RON 29.64

230.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$1.01 RON 4.80

212.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.49 RON 7.08

32.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.28 RON 6.06

107.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.44 RON 6.85

100.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$0.60 RON 2.86

243.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.75 RON 3.57

190.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.69 RON 3.28

121.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.71 RON 3.38

36.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$5.31 RON 25.22

31.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

$6.27 RON 29.80

25.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$0.88 RON 4.16

61.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.45 RON 6.91

85.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.94

$0.75 RON 3.55

341.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.79

$22.34 RON 106

14.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.74

$0.53 RON 2.53

481.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.51 RON 2.42

190.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.25

$9.77 RON 46.44

236.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.51 RON 7.16

23.84%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$25.5K RON 121.0K

29.47%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$25.5K RON 121.2K

25.24%

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

$183 €163

$214 RON 1,018

-14.65%

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

$14.24 €12.67

$7.55 RON 35.90

88.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.76

$6.33 RON 30.07

445.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.76

$37.82 RON 180

35.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.58

$19.06 RON 90.6

-14.06%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$7.40 RON 35.17

49.46%

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

$944 €840

$412 RON 1,960

128.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$8,151 RON 38.7K

173.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.0

$63.5 RON 302

38.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.51

$42.04 RON 200

-7.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.0

$84.2 RON 400

24.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$83.5 RON 397

40.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,510

$380 RON 1,806

346.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

$294 RON 1,399

354.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,396

$617 RON 2,931

336.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,848

$468 RON 2,223

344.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,367

$1,910 RON 9,080

274.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,520

$1,190 RON 5,658

326.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,995

$812 RON 3,860

176.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

-46.83%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Calafat: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Calafat

$294 29% 78% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Calafat

$165 16.2% 49.7% $163

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Calafat

$124 12.3% 53.4% $143

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Calafat

$228 22.5% 1.5% $3.5

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Calafat

$123 12.1% 21.6% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Calafat

$53 5.2% 28.5% $21

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Calafat

$28 2.8% 42.4% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $380 in Calafat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $38 in Calafat for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $165 per month, with Calafat cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Calafat

🕒 Local time

02:50 2:50 AM

03:50 3:50 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

18,500

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Calafat 1,720 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Calafat

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 Calafat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,016 in Calafat, so Calafat is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.8 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $380 in Calafat. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $412 in Calafat. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 99% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,016 in Calafat versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Calafat but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Calafat 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 Calafat are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Calafat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.