Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Cuauhtémoc

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuauhtémoc: $1,191 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Cuauhtémoc
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Cuauhtémoc Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Cuauhtémoc

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,191

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Cuauhtémoc

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,191 in Cuauhtémoc.

Barcelona $2,443
Cuauhtémoc $1,191

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,860 in Cuauhtémoc.

Barcelona $3,519
Cuauhtémoc $1,860

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,530 in Cuauhtémoc.

Barcelona $4,595
Cuauhtémoc $2,530

Living in Barcelona is roughly 105% more expensive than in Cuauhtémoc, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Cuauhtémoc is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.73

$10.82 MX$201

63.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.1

$43.33 MX$804

55.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.13

$8.33 MX$155

63.39%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$3.43 MX$63.7

-9.62%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$1.32 MX$24.55

127.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$1.05 MX$19.44

83.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$2.46 MX$45.68

56.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$4.15 MX$77.0

5.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.58 MX$29.24

-20.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$2.53 MX$46.87

-16.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.69 MX$31.31

16.57%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$2.46 MX$45.66

93.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.20

$8.20 MX$152

108.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.98

$8.13 MX$151

10.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.39

$11.23 MX$208

83.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.82

$2.65 MX$49.13

19.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.48 MX$27.52

33.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.92 MX$35.57

38.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.82 MX$33.81

58.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.98 MX$36.79

4.04%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.80 MX$33.42

21.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.43 MX$26.60

6.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$1.07 MX$19.78

-9.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.21

$4.30 MX$79.7

62.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.03

$10.08 MX$187

-21.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.77 MX$32.91

-19.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$3.03 MX$56.2

-11.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$0.67 MX$12.48

394.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.81

$30.53 MX$567

-16.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$2.63 MX$48.74

17.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.90 MX$35.31

-22.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.28

$10.79 MX$200

204.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.48 MX$27.46

26.35%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$23.4K MX$433.5K

41.11%

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

$31.9K €28.5K

$23.8K MX$441.2K

34.38%

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

$183 €163

$56.6 MX$1,050

223.29%

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

$14.24 €12.69

$22.47 MX$417

-36.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.79

$29.33 MX$544

17.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.81

$31.80 MX$590

61.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.60

$19.76 MX$367

-17.11%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.86

$4.98 MX$92.4

122.09%

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

$944 €841

$212 MX$3,931

345.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$4,464 MX$82.8K

398.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.1

$53.2 MX$988

64.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.54

$39.97 MX$742

-3.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.1

$96.9 MX$1,798

7.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$87.8 MX$1,628

34.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,512

$592 MX$11.0K

186.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,191

$429 MX$7,956

211.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,398

$1,015 MX$18.8K

165.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,850

$747 MX$13.9K

178.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,373

$1,880 MX$34.9K

280.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,524

$1,105 MX$20.5K

359.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,997

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

11.31

-71.79%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cuauhtémoc: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Cuauhtémoc

$429 36% 67.9% $908

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Cuauhtémoc

$259 21.7% 21.1% $69

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Cuauhtémoc

$183 15.4% 31.5% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Cuauhtémoc

$108 9.1% 53.2% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Cuauhtémoc

$125 10.5% 20.3% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Cuauhtémoc

$42 3.5% 43.2% $32

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Cuauhtémoc

$45 3.8% 8.1% $4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $592 in Cuauhtémoc. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $43 in Cuauhtémoc for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $259 per month, with Cuauhtémoc cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇽 Cuauhtémoc

🕒 Local time

03:09 3:09 AM

20:09 8:09 PM

7 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

545,884

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.39 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Cuauhtémoc 9,490 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Cuauhtémoc

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 Cuauhtémoc: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,191 in Cuauhtémoc, so Cuauhtémoc is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $1,786 in Cuauhtémoc 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $592 in Cuauhtémoc. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $212 in Cuauhtémoc. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,191 in Cuauhtémoc versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cuauhtémoc but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Cuauhtémoc 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.