Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Cusco

For one person, living is cheaper in Cusco: $690 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,200 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Cusco
Learn more

Cusco Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Cusco

🇵🇪 Peru

$690

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Cusco

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $690 in Cusco.

Barcelona $2,453
Cusco $690

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,105 in Cusco.

Barcelona $3,509
Cusco $1,105

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,519 in Cusco.

Barcelona $4,564
Cusco $1,519

Living in Barcelona is roughly 255% more expensive than in Cusco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Cusco is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$2.01 PEN 6.97

775.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$20.14 PEN 69.7

235.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$6.38 PEN 22.08

112.07%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.17 PEN 7.51

47.00%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.74 PEN 2.55

293.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.33 PEN 1.13

472.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.79 PEN 6.20

124.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$4.29 PEN 14.86

5.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.29 PEN 4.48

1.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.33 PEN 8.06

-13.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.28 PEN 4.42

44.53%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.51 PEN 12.15

37.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$4.91 PEN 16.99

240.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$4.39 PEN 15.18

107.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$7.41 PEN 25.66

165.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.67 PEN 9.26

11.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.77 PEN 2.67

162.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.47 PEN 5.08

83.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$0.91 PEN 3.13

207.69%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.00 PEN 3.45

109.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.06 PEN 3.67

95.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.53 PEN 1.84

175.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.74 PEN 2.56

27.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$5.68 PEN 19.65

38.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.86 PEN 6.46

-24.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$4.17 PEN 14.44

-39.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.28 PEN 0.96

1021.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.76 PEN 6.08

69.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.92 PEN 6.64

-22.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$2.88 PEN 9.96

1058.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.56 PEN 5.40

15.38%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$28.5K PEN 98.5K

11.40%

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

$180 €162

$29.26 PEN 101

516.58%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$14.44 PEN 50.0

-4.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$43.40 PEN 150

-22.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$29.55 PEN 102

74.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$4.43 PEN 15.34

148.08%

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

$917 €821

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$37.57 PEN 130

131.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$33.55 PEN 116

14.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$53.9 PEN 187

96.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$73.3 PEN 254

63.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$218 PEN 756

677.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$192 PEN 666

604.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$535 PEN 1,852

386.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$426 PEN 1,474

384.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$3,237 PEN 11.2K

113.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,882 PEN 6,516

172.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$430 PEN 1,489

414.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cusco: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Cusco

$192 27.9% 85.8% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Cusco

$188 27.2% 41.7% $134

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Cusco

$83 12% 69% $185

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Cusco

$87 12.6% 61.8% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Cusco

$89 12.9% 43.5% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Cusco

$38 5.6% 47.7% $35

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Cusco

$12 * 1.8% 74.3% $36

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $218 in Cusco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 5.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $20 in Cusco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $188 per month, with Cusco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇵🇪 Cusco

🕒 Local time

06:19 6:19 AM

00:19 12:19 AM

6 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

428,450

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 PEN = 0.289 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Cusco 9,720 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Cusco

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 Cusco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $690 in Cusco, so Cusco is about 72% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 5.1 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 $218 in Cusco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cusco – a meal for two runs $20 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,453 per month in Barcelona versus $690 in Cusco – Cusco is about 72% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $690 in Cusco versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cusco but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Cusco 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.

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