Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Debrecen

For one person, living is cheaper in Debrecen: $1,431 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 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
69

Cost of Living Index in Debrecen
Learn more

Debrecen Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Debrecen

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,431

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Debrecen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,431 in Debrecen.

Barcelona $2,453
Debrecen $1,431

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,252 in Debrecen.

Barcelona $3,509
Debrecen $2,252

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,073 in Debrecen.

Barcelona $4,564
Debrecen $3,073

Living in Barcelona is roughly 71% more expensive than in Debrecen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Debrecen 5% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$13.63 Ft 4,468

29.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$48.04 Ft 15.7K

40.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$9.47 Ft 3,105

42.87%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.34 Ft 766

36.32%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.59 Ft 521

83.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.05 Ft 346

80.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.82 Ft 596

120.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.23 Ft 731

103.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.25 Ft 409

4.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.50 Ft 493

34.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.40 Ft 786

-22.92%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.60 Ft 1,180

34.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$10.32 Ft 3,382

62.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.97 Ft 2,284

30.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$15.41 Ft 5,050

27.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.04 Ft 670

46.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.23 Ft 731

-9.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.02 Ft 663

33.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.54 Ft 1,159

-20.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.90 Ft 296

132.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.26 Ft 413

64.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.51 Ft 495

-3.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.57 Ft 186

64.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$7.18 Ft 2,354

-4.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$4.17 Ft 1,366

89.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.23 Ft 405

14.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.12 Ft 694

19.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.57 Ft 513

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$26.09 Ft 8,553

-2.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$3.28 Ft 1,075

-8.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.41 Ft 462

5.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$12.34 Ft 4,043

170.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.89 Ft 620

-4.76%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$26.9K Ft 8.8M

23.40%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$34.1K Ft 11.2M

-7.06%

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

$180 €162

$154 Ft 50.5K

17.12%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$26.21 Ft 8,592

-47.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$21.46 Ft 7,034

57.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$54.4 Ft 17.8K

-5.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$7.85 Ft 2,574

103.31%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$9.76 Ft 3,199

12.60%

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

$917 €821

$410 Ft 134.4K

123.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$10.8K Ft 3.5M

52.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$87.7 Ft 28.7K

-0.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$33.34 Ft 10.9K

15.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$85.6 Ft 28.1K

23.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$101 Ft 33.1K

18.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$683 Ft 223.9K

148.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$535 Ft 175.5K

153.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,399 Ft 458.7K

85.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$1,070 Ft 350.6K

92.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$3,252 Ft 1.1M

112.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$2,498 Ft 818.8K

105.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$1,236 Ft 405.1K

78.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.9

-52.46%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Debrecen: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Debrecen

$535 37.4% 60.5% $820

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Debrecen

$250 17.4% 22.4% $72

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Debrecen

$190 13.3% 29.2% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Debrecen

$202 14.1% 11.5% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Debrecen

$138 9.7% 12.4% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Debrecen

$74 5.2% 0.6% $0.4

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Debrecen

$43 3% 11.9% $5.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $683 in Debrecen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 79% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $48 in Debrecen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $250 per month, with Debrecen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇭🇺 Debrecen

🕒 Local time

20:50 8:50 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

201,704

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.05 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 328 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.05 USD). 1 EUR = 366 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Debrecen 1,680 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Debrecen

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 Debrecen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,431 in Debrecen, so Debrecen is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 79% higher in Barcelona, 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 $683 in Debrecen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $410 in Debrecen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Debrecen – a meal for two runs $48 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. Debrecen 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 Debrecen are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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