Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Craiova

For one person, living is cheaper in Craiova: $1,217 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,800 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Craiova
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Craiova Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Craiova

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,217

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Craiova

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,217 in Craiova.

Barcelona $2,453
Craiova $1,217

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,869 in Craiova.

Barcelona $3,509
Craiova $1,869

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,520 in Craiova.

Barcelona $4,564
Craiova $2,520

Living in Barcelona is roughly 102% more expensive than in Craiova, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Craiova is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$7.14 RON 34.11

146.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$41.37 RON 198

63.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$7.45 RON 35.60

81.61%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.71 RON 12.96

17.71%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$2.23 RON 10.63

30.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.77 RON 8.45

6.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.24 RON 10.70

79.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.51 RON 16.78

29.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.27 RON 6.08

3.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.82 RON 3.92

146.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.42 RON 6.76

30.28%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.26 RON 15.56

48.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$7.21 RON 34.47

132.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.47 RON 30.92

40.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$11.49 RON 54.9

70.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$0.95 RON 4.53

213.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.50 RON 7.15

34.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.45 RON 6.93

86.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.80 RON 8.61

55.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.76 RON 3.65

175.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.89 RON 4.27

132.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.73 RON 3.50

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.77 RON 3.66

22.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$6.59 RON 31.47

4.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$6.34 RON 30.29

24.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.20 RON 5.75

17.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.46 RON 6.99

73.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.88 RON 4.19

256.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$25.16 RON 120

1.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$0.61 RON 2.93

390.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.65 RON 3.09

129.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$6.37 RON 30.46

423.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.90 RON 9.10

-5.26%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$28.9K RON 138.0K

14.95%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$25.8K RON 123.5K

22.70%

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

$180 €162

$216 RON 1,034

-16.65%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$9.24 RON 44.18

49.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$11.57 RON 55.3

191.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$38.59 RON 184

33.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$21.52 RON 103

-25.84%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.28 RON 34.77

50.96%

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

$917 €821

$411 RON 1,962

123.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$8,047 RON 38.5K

104.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$62.9 RON 301

38.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$50.6 RON 242

-23.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$82.8 RON 396

27.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$103 RON 494

15.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$532 RON 2,541

219.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$418 RON 2,000

223.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$910 RON 4,346

186.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$829 RON 3,961

148.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$2,703 RON 12.9K

155.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$1,988 RON 9,498

157.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$914 RON 4,368

141.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.84

-52.05%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Craiova: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Craiova

$418 34.4% 69.1% $937

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Craiova

$194 16% 39.6% $127

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Craiova

$146 12% 45.4% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Craiova

$237 19.5% 4.1% $9.3

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Craiova

$135 11.1% 14.6% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Craiova

$53 4.4% 27.7% $20

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Craiova

$33 2.7% 32.9% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $532 in Craiova. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $41 in Craiova for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $194 per month, with Craiova cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Craiova

🕒 Local time

06:47 6:47 AM

07:47 7:47 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

269,506

💱 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 Craiova 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Craiova

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 Craiova: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,217 in Craiova, so Craiova is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.4 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $532 in Craiova. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $411 in Craiova. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Craiova – a meal for two runs $41 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Craiova is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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

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