Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Cugir

For one person, living is cheaper in Cugir: $866 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,900 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Cugir
Learn more

Cugir Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Cugir

🇷🇴 Romania

$866

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Cugir

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $866 in Cugir.

Barcelona $2,443
Cugir $866

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,273 in Cugir.

Barcelona $3,519
Cugir $1,273

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $1,680 in Cugir.

Barcelona $4,595
Cugir $1,680

Living in Barcelona is roughly 182% more expensive than in Cugir, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Cugir is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.71

$5.71 RON 27.13

209.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.0

$21.29 RON 101

216.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$7.28 RON 34.61

86.95%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$1.50 RON 7.13

106.67%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$1.37 RON 6.50

118.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.71

$1.16 RON 5.52

66.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$1.43 RON 6.81

168.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$2.13 RON 10.14

104.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.25 RON 5.94

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.19 RON 5.68

78.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.77 RON 8.41

11.30%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$2.66 RON 12.63

78.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.19

$7.30 RON 34.69

133.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$4.69 RON 22.27

91.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.38

$10.39 RON 49.40

98.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$1.67 RON 7.92

89.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.77 RON 8.44

11.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.72 RON 8.16

54.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.40 RON 6.64

105.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$0.80 RON 3.78

157.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.87 RON 4.12

150.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.20 RON 5.70

27.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.81 RON 3.86

19.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$5.22 RON 24.79

33.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

$5.75 RON 27.35

37.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.23 RON 5.86

15.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.74 RON 8.28

54.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.94

$0.71 RON 3.39

366.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.79

$21.52 RON 102

19.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.74

$0.54 RON 2.56

470.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.54 RON 2.57

174.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.25

$5.26 RON 25.02

524.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.37 RON 6.51

36.50%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$28.2K RON 133.9K

17.04%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$25.2K RON 119.9K

26.64%

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

$183 €163

$122 RON 581

49.67%

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

$14.24 €12.67

$8.30 RON 39.47

71.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.76

$7.09 RON 33.69

387.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.76

$32.70 RON 155

57.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.58

$22.90 RON 109

-28.47%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$5.28 RON 25.08

109.47%

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

$944 €840

$156 RON 742

504.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$3,898 RON 18.5K

471.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.0

$31.54 RON 150

178.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.51

$8.46 RON 40.22

358.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.0

$70.1 RON 333

49.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$73.4 RON 349

60.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,510

$420 RON 1,997

303.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

$277 RON 1,316

382.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,396

$684 RON 3,249

293.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,848

$422 RON 2,007

391.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,367

$2,155 RON 10.2K

232.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,520

$1,188 RON 5,647

327.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,995

$531 RON 2,525

321.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

7.35

-56.60%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cugir: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Cugir

$277 32% 79.3% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Cugir

$191 22.1% 41.6% $136

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Cugir

$107 12.4% 59.9% $160

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Cugir

$138 15.9% 40.6% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Cugir

$83 9.5% 47.4% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Cugir

$43 5% 41.2% $30

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Cugir

$28 3.2% 44% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $420 in Cugir. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $21 in Cugir for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $191 per month, with Cugir cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Cugir

🕒 Local time

02:50 2:50 AM

03:50 3:50 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

28,780

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Cugir 1,770 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Cugir

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 Cugir: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $866 in Cugir, so Cugir is about 65% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 4.2 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $420 in Cugir. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $156 in Cugir. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 71% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $866 in Cugir versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cugir but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Cugir 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.

Expats usually find Cugir gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.