Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Cascais

For one person, living is cheaper in Cascais: $2,351 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
112

Cost of Living Index in Cascais
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Cascais Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Cascais

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Cascais

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,351 in Cascais.

Barcelona $2,453
Cascais $2,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,777 in Cascais.

Barcelona $3,509
Cascais $3,777

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $5,204 in Cascais.

Barcelona $4,564
Cascais $5,204

Living in Barcelona is roughly 4% more expensive than in Cascais, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Cascais 73% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$15.86 €14.21

10.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$44.62 €39.99

51.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$9.49 €8.50

42.57%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.69 €2.41

18.59%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$2.16 €1.94

34.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$2.21 €1.98

-14.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$3.30 €2.96

21.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$5.49 €4.92

-17.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.30 €2.06

-12.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.64 €1.47

12.80%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.32 €2.97

45.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$10.79 €9.67

55.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$7.02 €6.29

29.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$15.08 €13.52

30.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.84 €2.54

4.93%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.51 €1.35

33.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.55 €2.28

5.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.25 €2.01

24.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.56 €1.40

33.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$2.29 €2.05

-9.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.71 €1.53

-14.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.06 €0.95

-11.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$5.70 €5.11

20.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$7.73 €6.93

2.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.27 €1.14

11.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$4.42 €3.96

-42.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$2.19 €1.96

43.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$45.02 €40.34

-43.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.21 €1.98

35.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.06 €1.85

-12.62%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$34.2K €30.6K

-2.92%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$38.0K €34.0K

-16.57%

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

$180 €162

$134 €120

35.10%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$24.90 €22.31

-44.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$56.0 €50.2

-39.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$42.84 €38.39

20.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$11.36 €10.18

40.49%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.12 €6.38

54.35%

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

$917 €821

$839 €752

9.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$18.6K €16.7K

-11.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$77.5 €69.4

12.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$37.50 €33.60

2.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$105 €93.9

0.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$136 €122

-12.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$1,859 €1,666

-8.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$1,358 €1,217

-0.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$4,213 €3,776

-38.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$3,032 €2,717

-31.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$7,644 €6,850

-9.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$5,128 €4,596

-0.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$2,246 €2,013

-1.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.67

-10.63%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cascais: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Cascais

$1.4K 57.8% 0.2% $2.5

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Cascais

$273 11.6% 15.3% $49

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Cascais

$233 9.9% 13.2% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Cascais

$214 9.1% 5.9% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Cascais

$160 6.8% 1.4% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Cascais

$57 2.4% 22.3% $16

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Cascais

$56 * 2.4% 15.5% $7.5

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,859 in Cascais. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $45 in Cascais for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $273 per month, with Cascais cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇵🇹 Cascais

🕒 Local time

07:28 7:28 AM

06:28 6:28 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

214,158

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Cascais 1,030 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Cascais

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 Cascais: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,351 in Cascais, so Cascais is about 4% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $3,526 in Cascais to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $1,859 in Cascais. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $839 in Cascais. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Cascais are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.