Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Caracas

For one person, living is cheaper in Caracas: $1,338 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Caracas
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Caracas Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Caracas

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$1,338

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Caracas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,338 in Caracas.

Barcelona $2,381
Caracas $1,338

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $2,235 in Caracas.

Barcelona $3,406
Caracas $2,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $3,133 in Caracas.

Barcelona $4,431
Caracas $3,133

Living in Barcelona is roughly 78% more expensive than in Caracas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Caracas is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$10.98 VES 9,642

62.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$67.1 VES 58.9K

-1.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$11.16 VES 9,796

22.67%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.55 VES 3,114

-13.80%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$1.52 VES 1,332

101.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.30 VES 1,144

49.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$2.06 VES 1,805

87.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$3.05 VES 2,680

51.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$2.64 VES 2,313

-50.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.31 VES 2,032

-9.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.85 VES 1,624

-1.08%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$4.64 VES 4,076

-0.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$10.35 VES 9,083

67.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$9.20 VES 8,074

0.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$11.64 VES 10.2K

70.36%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$7.43 VES 6,525

-59.49%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.04 VES 1,794

-0.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.20 VES 1,931

20.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$2.38 VES 2,087

20.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.24 VES 1,965

-3.57%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$2.23 VES 1,958

-3.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.62 VES 1,424

-9.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$2.41 VES 2,119

-63.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$4.71 VES 4,132

47.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$11.84 VES 10.4K

-33.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.42 VES 1,246

-2.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.09 VES 1,839

25.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.51 VES 448

470.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$30.43 VES 26.7K

-16.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$5.08 VES 4,459

-40.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.83 VES 2,483

-49.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$14.80 VES 13.0K

124.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.88 VES 772

111.36%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$24.7K VES 21.7M

30.79%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$39.7K VES 34.8M

-20.06%

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

$183 €163

$21.94 VES 19.3K

733.00%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$11.99 VES 10.5K

13.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$37.39 VES 32.8K

-11.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$65.9 VES 57.8K

-16.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$17.83 VES 15.7K

-7.35%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$6.53 VES 5,735

71.98%

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

$954 €849

$158 VES 138.4K

505.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$6,066 VES 5.3M

173.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$81.6 VES 71.6K

5.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$51.2 VES 45.0K

-23.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$136 VES 119.2K

-23.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$131 VES 115.2K

-9.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$604 VES 529.9K

180.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$425 VES 373.1K

200.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,103 VES 968.0K

133.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$861 VES 755.7K

123.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$1,464 VES 1.3M

397.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$683 VES 599.8K

633.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$303 VES 266.1K

634.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-85.09%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Caracas: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Caracas

$425 31.8% 66.7% $851

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Caracas

$339 25.4% 4.3% $14

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Caracas

$192 14.3% 28.9% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Caracas

$71 5.3% 68.9% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Caracas

$180 13.5% 15.1% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Caracas

$79 5.9% 2.3% $1.8

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Caracas

$52 3.9% 9.3% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $604 in Caracas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 635% 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: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $67.0 in Caracas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $339 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇻🇪 Caracas

🕒 Local time

15:16 3:16 PM

09:16 9:16 AM

6 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

3,274,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 VES = 1.14 USD

1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 878 VES (1,000 VES = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 987 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Caracas 7,500 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Caracas

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 Caracas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Caracas differ by about 78% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,338 including rent). Caracas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 635% higher in Barcelona, 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $604 in Caracas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $158 in Caracas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,338 in Caracas versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Caracas but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Caracas 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 Caracas 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 Caracas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 78% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.