Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Desamparados

For one person, living is cheaper in Desamparados: $1,689 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in Desamparados
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Desamparados Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Desamparados

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,689

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Desamparados

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $1,689 in Desamparados.

Barcelona $2,399
Desamparados $1,689

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $2,670 in Desamparados.

Barcelona $3,410
Desamparados $2,670

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $3,651 in Desamparados.

Barcelona $4,421
Desamparados $3,651

Living in Barcelona is roughly 42% more expensive than in Desamparados, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 78% above, Desamparados 25% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$12.26 ₡5,498

46.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$52.4 ₡23.5K

29.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$11.82 ₡5,303

12.35%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$4.69 ₡2,101

-30.70%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$2.39 ₡1,072

25.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.98 ₡889

-5.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$3.60 ₡1,617

6.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$4.68 ₡2,097

-4.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$2.42 ₡1,087

-46.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$2.71 ₡1,217

-24.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$2.13 ₡954

-19.25%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$3.88 ₡1,740

22.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$12.07 ₡5,412

38.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$10.56 ₡4,736

-15.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$14.00 ₡6,279

42.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$4.90 ₡2,200

-39.18%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.75 ₡785

16.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$3.61 ₡1,617

-24.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$3.24 ₡1,454

-17.28%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$3.49 ₡1,564

-39.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$3.33 ₡1,493

-37.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.05 ₡469

38.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$2.86 ₡1,283

-68.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$5.63 ₡2,524

23.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$15.39 ₡6,903

-49.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.26 ₡1,015

-35.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$2.84 ₡1,273

-9.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$1.32 ₡594

126.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$2.25 ₡1,008

38.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.76 ₡788

-18.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$7.44 ₡3,337

350.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.54 ₡692

16.23%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$21.5K ₡9.6M

61.10%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$30.9K ₡13.9M

-2.72%

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

$178 €158

$97.5 ₡43.7K

82.37%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$34.11 ₡15.3K

-60.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$56.3 ₡25.2K

-38.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$69.1 ₡31.0K

-22.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$7.96 ₡3,571

38.94%

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

$957 €851

$919 ₡412.2K

4.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$14.9K ₡6.7M

11.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$76.9 ₡34.5K

14.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$60.9 ₡27.3K

-35.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$133 ₡59.5K

-22.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$121 ₡54.4K

0.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$854 ₡383.1K

93.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$613 ₡275.0K

112.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$2,068 ₡927.3K

23.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$1,243 ₡557.3K

54.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

8.62

-61.95%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Desamparados: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Desamparados

$613 36.3% 52.9% $688

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Desamparados

$375 22.2% 17.3% $55

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Desamparados

$235 13.9% 13.1% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Desamparados

$188 11.1% 16.9% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Desamparados

$176 10.4% 11.3% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Desamparados

$85 5% 12.8% $9.7

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Desamparados

$16 * 1% 65.6% $31

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 $1,653 in Barcelona and $854 in Desamparados. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $52.0 in Desamparados. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $375, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇷 Desamparados

🕒 Local time

14:34 2:34 PM

06:34 6:34 AM

8 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

38,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Desamparados 8,970 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Desamparados

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 Desamparados: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Desamparados differ by about 42% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $1,689 including rent). Desamparados is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,599 in Barcelona and $2,533 in Desamparados 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $854 in Desamparados. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $919 in Desamparados. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Desamparados – a meal for two runs $52.0 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,689 in Desamparados versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Desamparados but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Desamparados 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 Desamparados are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Desamparados gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.