Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Durres

For one person, living is cheaper in Durres: $1,128 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Durres
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Durres Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Durres

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,128

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Durres

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,128 in Durres.

Barcelona $2,453
Durres $1,128

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,732 in Durres.

Barcelona $3,509
Durres $1,732

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,336 in Durres.

Barcelona $4,564
Durres $2,336

Living in Barcelona is roughly 117% more expensive than in Durres, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Durres is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.71

$10.48 ALL 849

67.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.3

$37.19 ALL 3,013

81.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.08

$10.37 ALL 840

30.47%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$2.07 ALL 168

54.11%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$2.12 ALL 172

37.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$1.07 ALL 86.9

76.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$3.06 ALL 248

31.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.05

$4.44 ALL 359

2.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.08 ALL 168

-37.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.03 ALL 83.4

96.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$2.29 ALL 185

-19.21%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.32

$3.86 ALL 312

25.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.95

$12.69 ALL 1,028

31.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$7.78 ALL 631

17.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.54

$15.02 ALL 1,217

30.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$1.20 ALL 97.4

148.33%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.43 ALL 197

-16.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$1.56 ALL 126

73.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$1.32 ALL 107

112.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$0.90 ALL 73.1

132.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.95 ALL 77.2

117.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.22 ALL 99.1

19.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.71 ALL 57.4

32.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.14

$4.43 ALL 359

55.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$10.99 ALL 890

-28.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.49 ALL 121

-5.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$2.08 ALL 169

22.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.81

$0.48 ALL 38.50

554.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.73

$19.58 ALL 1,586

29.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$3.65 ALL 296

-18.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$2.50 ALL 202

-40.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.81

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.20 ALL 178

-18.18%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$16.0K ALL 1.3M

106.93%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$25.6K ALL 2.1M

23.87%

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

$180 €161

$90.2 ALL 7,310

99.92%

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

$13.84 €12.36

$18.02 ALL 1,460

-23.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.10

$16.33 ALL 1,323

106.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.01

$41.02 ALL 3,323

25.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.26

$61.3 ALL 4,963

-73.95%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.82

$7.52 ALL 610

46.14%

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

$917 €819

$189 ALL 15.3K

385.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$4,673 ALL 378.6K

252.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$38.78 ALL 3,142

124.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.39

$41.46 ALL 3,358

-7.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.5

$89.1 ALL 7,216

18.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$162 ALL 13.1K

-26.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,518

$451 ALL 36.5K

277.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,211

$321 ALL 26.0K

322.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,325

$703 ALL 57.0K

270.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,842

$463 ALL 37.5K

345.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,176

$1,993 ALL 161.5K

246.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,580

$1,302 ALL 105.5K

293.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,975

$977 ALL 79.1K

126.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.25

-37.52%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Durres: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Durres

$321 28.5% 76.3% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Durres

$263 23.3% 18.4% $59

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Durres

$177 15.7% 34% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Durres

$125 11.1% 45.3% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Durres

$149 13.2% 5.7% $8.9

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Durres

$56 5% 23.7% $17

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Durres

$38 3.3% 22.4% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $451 in Durres. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $37 in Durres for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $263 per month, with Durres cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇦🇱 Durres

🕒 Local time

06:27 6:27 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

175,110

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Durres 1,440 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Durres

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 Durres: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,128 in Durres, so Durres is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.3 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 $451 in Durres. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $189 in Durres. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Durres 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.

Expats usually find Durres gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.