Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Cluj-Napoca

For one person, living is cheaper in Cluj-Napoca: $1,423 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Cluj-Napoca
Learn more

Cluj-Napoca Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,423

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Cluj-Napoca

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 Cluj-Napoca actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca.

Barcelona $2,453
Cluj-Napoca $1,423

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,126 in Cluj-Napoca.

Barcelona $3,509
Cluj-Napoca $2,126

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,830 in Cluj-Napoca.

Barcelona $4,564
Cluj-Napoca $2,830

Living in Barcelona is roughly 72% more expensive than in Cluj-Napoca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Cluj-Napoca 5% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$12.58 RON 60.1

39.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$54.8 RON 262

23.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$9.59 RON 45.85

41.08%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.78 RON 18.05

-15.61%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$2.30 RON 11.01

26.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$2.22 RON 10.62

-14.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$3.32 RON 15.85

20.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$4.20 RON 20.06

7.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.60 RON 7.66

-18.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.44 RON 6.89

40.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.69 RON 8.09

9.47%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.76 RON 17.95

28.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$9.07 RON 43.33

84.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$7.14 RON 34.11

27.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$11.46 RON 54.7

71.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.39 RON 6.62

114.39%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.58 RON 7.55

27.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.88 RON 8.99

43.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.37 RON 11.32

18.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.92 RON 4.40

127.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.90 RON 4.29

130.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.90 RON 4.32

62.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.01 RON 4.81

-6.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$6.42 RON 30.68

7.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$7.41 RON 35.42

6.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.25 RON 5.95

12.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.73 RON 8.27

46.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.76 RON 3.63

313.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$44.23 RON 211

-42.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$0.84 RON 3.99

255.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.96 RON 4.60

55.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$8.27 RON 39.51

303.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.94 RON 9.26

-7.22%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$28.3K RON 135.4K

17.17%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$24.7K RON 118.2K

28.13%

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

$180 €162

$151 RON 721

19.59%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$8.44 RON 40.32

63.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$9.16 RON 43.79

267.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$47.36 RON 226

8.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$22.01 RON 105

-27.49%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$9.35 RON 44.70

17.54%

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

$917 €821

$577 RON 2,758

58.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$9,450 RON 45.2K

74.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$87.1 RON 416

-0.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$44.26 RON 211

-12.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$98.8 RON 472

7.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$107 RON 510

12.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$668 RON 3,193

154.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$536 RON 2,560

152.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,227 RON 5,861

112.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$807 RON 3,859

155.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$4,568 RON 21.8K

51.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$3,342 RON 16.0K

53.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$1,241 RON 5,928

78.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.65

-50.68%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Cluj-Napoca

$536 37.7% 60.5% $820

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Cluj-Napoca

$230 16.2% 28.5% $92

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Cluj-Napoca

$218 15.3% 18.7% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Cluj-Napoca

$168 11.8% 26.1% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Cluj-Napoca

$152 10.7% 4% $6.3

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Cluj-Napoca

$66 4.6% 10.1% $7.4

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Cluj-Napoca

$53 3.7% 9.2% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $668 in Cluj-Napoca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 78% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $55 in Cluj-Napoca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $230 per month, with Cluj-Napoca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🕒 Local time

01:56 1:56 AM

02:56 2:56 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

324,576

💱 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 Cluj-Napoca 1,810 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Cluj-Napoca

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 Cluj-Napoca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca, so Cluj-Napoca is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 78% 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $668 in Cluj-Napoca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $577 in Cluj-Napoca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% 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 Cluj-Napoca are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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