Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Costa Rica

Name: Costa Rica
Address: CR

For one person, living is cheaper in Costa Rica: $1,735 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Costa Rica
Learn more

Costa Rica Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,735

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Barcelona is 6.6% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 38.6% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Barcelona is 1.5% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 23.5% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.98 €16.05

$11.78 ₡5,312

52.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.2

$55.5 ₡25.0K

21.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.37 €11.93

$10.72 ₡4,831

24.72%

Cappuccino

$3.34 €2.98

$4.49 ₡2,023

-25.61%

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

$2.95 €2.64

$2.33 ₡1,051

26.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.81 ₡815

4.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.88 €3.46

$3.23 ₡1,455

20.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.08

$4.42 ₡1,992

3.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$2.30 ₡1,037

-44.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 €1.75

$3.55 ₡1,600

-44.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$2.71 ₡1,221

-35.42%

Eggs

$4.89 €4.36

$4.05 ₡1,825

20.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.47 €15.59

$9.92 ₡4,473

76.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.06 €8.09

$10.49 ₡4,729

-13.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.18 €18.01

$13.56 ₡6,111

48.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 €2.75

$5.13 ₡2,312

-39.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.68 ₡758

20.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 €2.32

$3.63 ₡1,639

-28.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$3.24 ₡1,463

-16.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$3.40 ₡1,534

-36.76%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$3.09 ₡1,394

-28.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.38

$1.11 ₡501

38.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$2.64 ₡1,192

-64.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.09 €6.32

$5.43 ₡2,446

30.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 €6.81

$15.63 ₡7,048

-51.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

$2.75 ₡1,238

-45.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

$3.27 ₡1,472

-16.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 €2.63

$1.07 ₡480

175.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.91 €23.13

$65.3 ₡29.4K

-60.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 €2.80

$2.18 ₡981

43.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.03 ₡916

-28.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.17 €30.49

$8.82 ₡3,977

287.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.53 ₡688

16.99%

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

$34.7K €31.0K

$32.8K ₡14.8M

5.83%

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

$30.3K €27.0K

$36.0K ₡16.2M

-15.79%

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

$181 €161

$93.4 ₡42.1K

93.45%

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

$13.56 €12.10

$30.19 ₡13.6K

-55.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.12 €31.34

$57.1 ₡25.7K

-38.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.2 €47.44

$65.1 ₡29.3K

-18.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 €14.33

$22.13 ₡9,976

-27.47%

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 €10.14

$8.09 ₡3,645

40.54%

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

$939 €838

$740 ₡333.8K

26.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$12.6K ₡5.7M

31.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.7

$75.5 ₡34.0K

16.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.77 €35.49

$54.6 ₡24.6K

-27.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$127 ₡57.4K

-18.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €107

$107 ₡48.3K

11.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$833 ₡375.3K

103.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 €1,161

$641 ₡289.1K

102.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$1,776 ₡800.8K

45.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,941 €1,732

$1,191 ₡536.9K

62.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,470 €6,666

$2,437 ₡1.1M

206.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,195 €4,636

$1,631 ₡735.2K

218.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,299 €2,052

$1,033 ₡465.8K

122.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

9.56

-65.69%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Last update for Costa Rica: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54%

Costa Rica

$641 36.7% 50.7% $659

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.5%

Costa Rica

$379 21.7% 16.6% $54

Eating Out

Barcelona

$272 11.3%

Costa Rica

$222 12.7% 18.4% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.5%

Costa Rica

$181 10.3% 21.2% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Costa Rica

$164 9.4% 3.9% $6.2

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$76 3.2%

Costa Rica

$81 4.6% 7.1% $5.4

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Costa Rica

$82 4.7% 70.2% $34

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

🕒 Local time

07:54 7:54 AM

23:54 11:54 PM

8 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

5,044,197

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Costa Rica 8,970 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Costa Rica

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

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