Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Drobeta-Turnu Severin

For one person, living is cheaper in Drobeta-Turnu Severin: $885 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,700 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 Drobeta-Turnu Severin
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Drobeta-Turnu Severin Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

🇷🇴 Romania

$885

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Drobeta-Turnu Severin

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 Drobeta-Turnu Severin actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $885 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin.

Barcelona $2,443
Drobeta-Turnu Severin $885

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,483 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin.

Barcelona $3,519
Drobeta-Turnu Severin $1,483

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,081 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin.

Barcelona $4,595
Drobeta-Turnu Severin $2,081

Living in Barcelona is roughly 176% more expensive than in Drobeta-Turnu Severin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Drobeta-Turnu Severin is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.69

$8.34 RON 39.60

111.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €59.9

$41.68 RON 198

61.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.09

$7.24 RON 34.38

87.98%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.75

$3.20 RON 15.19

-3.13%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$2.09 RON 9.94

43.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.71

$1.80 RON 8.54

7.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.41

$3.07 RON 14.58

25.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.87

$3.92 RON 18.60

11.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.37 RON 6.51

-8.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.11 RON 5.27

90.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.38 RON 6.55

42.75%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.23

$3.47 RON 16.50

37.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.16

$7.98 RON 37.89

113.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.96

$5.80 RON 27.54

54.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.34

$7.80 RON 37.05

164.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$1.19 RON 5.64

165.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.56 RON 7.42

26.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.48 RON 7.04

79.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.56

$2.53 RON 12.02

13.83%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$0.71 RON 3.37

190.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.61 RON 2.88

257.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.04 RON 4.92

47.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.87 RON 4.15

11.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.19

$6.02 RON 28.58

15.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.01

$7.16 RON 33.99

10.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$0.91 RON 4.34

56.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.38 RON 6.55

94.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.94

$0.63 RON 2.97

425.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.75

$22.28 RON 106

14.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.74

$0.89 RON 4.24

246.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.87 RON 4.15

70.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.20

$9.31 RON 44.19

253.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.88 RON 8.91

-0.53%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$28.6K RON 135.8K

15.26%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$25.3K RON 120.1K

26.28%

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

$183 €162

$116 RON 551

57.67%

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

$14.24 €12.65

$8.90 RON 42.27

60.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.70

$12.27 RON 58.2

181.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.68

$32.17 RON 153

59.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.55

$21.19 RON 101

-22.70%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.83

$6.66 RON 31.61

66.07%

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

$944 €838

$435 RON 2,066

116.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$10.2K RON 48.6K

117.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €77.9

$101 RON 478

-12.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.44

$38.50 RON 183

0.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €92.9

$86.8 RON 412

20.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$89.8 RON 426

31.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,507

$385 RON 1,828

340.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,187

$170 RON 808

685.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,391

$603 RON 2,861

346.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,845

$458 RON 2,177

353.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,356

$1,630 RON 7,739

338.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,512

$1,544 RON 7,329

229.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,991

$914 RON 4,339

145.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

7.02

-54.56%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Drobeta-Turnu Severin: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$170 19.2% 87.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$194 21.9% 40.8% $134

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$166 18.7% 38% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$137 15.5% 40.8% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$142 16.1% 9.4% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$45 5.1% 38.2% $28

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$30 3.4% 39.1% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $385 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.5 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $42 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $194 per month, with Drobeta-Turnu Severin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Drobeta-Turnu Severin

🕒 Local time

15:11 3:11 PM

16:11 4:11 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

92,617

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Barcelona Drobeta-Turnu Severin 1,700 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Barcelona vs Drobeta-Turnu Severin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $885 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin, so Drobeta-Turnu Severin is about 64% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.5 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 $385 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $435 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 69% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $885 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Drobeta-Turnu Severin but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Drobeta-Turnu Severin 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 Drobeta-Turnu Severin are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Drobeta-Turnu Severin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 64% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.