Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Darwin

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $3,073 in Darwin, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
148

Cost of Living Index in Darwin
Learn more

Darwin Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Darwin

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,073

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Darwin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,073 in Darwin.

Barcelona $2,453
Darwin $3,073

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $4,118 in Darwin.

Barcelona $3,509
Darwin $4,118

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $5,163 in Darwin.

Barcelona $4,564
Darwin $5,163

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 20% less than in Darwin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Darwin 126% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$22.40 A$31.83

-21.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$90.7 A$129

-25.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$11.36 A$16.14

19.10%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$4.23 A$6.01

-24.59%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$3.46 A$4.91

-15.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$3.01 A$4.28

-37.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$7.57 A$10.75

-47.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$7.57 A$10.76

-40.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.54 A$2.19

-14.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.04 A$4.32

-33.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.20 A$3.13

-15.91%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$4.47 A$6.35

8.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$8.92 A$12.67

87.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$8.31 A$11.81

9.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$8.85 A$12.57

121.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$3.85 A$5.46

-22.60%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.88 A$4.09

-29.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.80 A$3.98

-3.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$5.03 A$7.14

-44.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.55 A$3.62

-18.04%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$2.30 A$3.27

-10.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$2.06 A$2.92

-29.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$2.17 A$3.09

-56.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$45.35 A$64.4

-84.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$12.15 A$17.27

-35.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$10.13 A$14.39

-86.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$7.87 A$11.18

-67.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$48.37 A$68.7

-47.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$3.69 A$5.25

-18.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.35 A$1.91

10.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$48.52 A$68.9

-31.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.33 A$1.89

35.34%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$30.0K A$42.6K

10.78%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$33.4K A$47.4K

-5.04%

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

$180 €162

$215 A$305

-15.90%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$33.49 A$47.58

-58.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$60.9 A$86.6

-44.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$73.0 A$104

-29.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$28.22 A$40.10

-43.44%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$16.99 A$24.14

-35.31%

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

$917 €823

$1,939 A$2,755

-52.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$8,442 A$12.0K

95.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$85.2 A$121

2.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$46.52 A$66.1

-17.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$106 A$150

0.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$138 A$196

-13.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$1,719 A$2,442

-1.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$1,709 A$2,428

-20.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$2,803 A$3,982

-7.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$2,124 A$3,019

-2.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$3,771 A$5,359

83.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$3,536 A$5,024

45.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$4,223 A$6,001

-47.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.14

-46.58%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Darwin: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Darwin

$1.7K 55.6% 26.1% $354

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Darwin

$377 12.3% 17.3% $56

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Darwin

$343 11.2% 28% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Darwin

$309 10.1% 35.5% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Darwin

$169 5.5% 6.9% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Darwin

$107 3.5% 45.5% $33

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Darwin

$59 * 1.9% 21.3% $10

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 $1,719 in Darwin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Darwin pays 91% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $91 in Darwin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $377 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇦🇺 Darwin

🕒 Local time

14:01 2:01 PM

22:31 10:31 PM

8 h 30 min ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

122,207

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Darwin 14,110 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Darwin

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 Darwin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Darwin differ by about 25% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $3,073 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 48% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $1,719 in Darwin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,939 in Darwin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Darwin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,073 in Darwin, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Darwin. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelona 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.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Darwin are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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