Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Galati

For one person, living is cheaper in Galati: $1,190 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Galati
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Galati Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Galati

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Galati

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,190 in Galati.

Barcelona $2,453
Galati $1,190

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,683 in Galati.

Barcelona $3,509
Galati $1,683

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,176 in Galati.

Barcelona $4,564
Galati $2,176

Living in Barcelona is roughly 106% more expensive than in Galati, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Galati is 13% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$10.62 RON 51.1

65.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$41.85 RON 201

61.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$7.37 RON 35.41

83.58%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$2.52 RON 12.11

26.59%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$2.10 RON 10.11

38.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.86 RON 8.95

1.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$2.06 RON 9.92

94.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$3.18 RON 15.27

42.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.19 RON 5.72

10.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.70 RON 3.35

188.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.77 RON 8.51

4.52%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$3.40 RON 16.36

42.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$7.49 RON 36.00

123.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$5.91 RON 28.39

54.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$8.54 RON 41.03

129.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.29 RON 6.18

131.01%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.61 RON 7.73

25.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.51 RON 7.26

78.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$1.76 RON 8.46

59.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.96 RON 4.60

117.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.01 RON 4.83

104.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.80 RON 3.86

82.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.67 RON 3.21

40.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$5.84 RON 28.06

17.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$5.31 RON 25.53

48.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.95 RON 4.56

48.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.18 RON 5.68

115.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.77 RON 3.68

307.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$26.96 RON 130

-5.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$0.60 RON 2.90

398.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.70 RON 3.37

112.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$7.10 RON 34.14

370.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.71 RON 8.23

5.26%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$28.5K RON 136.8K

16.60%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$24.7K RON 118.5K

28.52%

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

$180 €162

$146 RON 701

23.64%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$7.61 RON 36.58

81.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$7.70 RON 37.00

337.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$36.70 RON 176

40.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$34.89 RON 168

-54.26%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$6.24 RON 30.01

76.12%

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

$917 €823

$601 RON 2,890

52.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$4,839 RON 23.3K

240.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$97.2 RON 467

-10.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$31.71 RON 152

21.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$60.9 RON 293

73.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$83.6 RON 402

43.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$514 RON 2,472

230.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$471 RON 2,263

187.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$778 RON 3,737

234.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$550 RON 2,645

274.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$1,723 RON 8,281

301.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$1,324 RON 6,364

287.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$911 RON 4,379

142.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

7.2

-54.44%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Galati: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Galati

$471 39.6% 65.3% $884

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Galati

$182 15.3% 43.5% $140

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Galati

$170 14.3% 36.6% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Galati

$161 13.5% 29.3% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Galati

$123 10.3% 22.1% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Galati

$49 4.1% 33.1% $24

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Galati

$34 2.9% 29.6% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $514 in Galati. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $42 in Galati for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $182 per month, with Galati cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Galati

🕒 Local time

18:43 6:43 PM

19:43 7:43 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

249,432

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Galati 2,130 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Galati

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 Galati: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Galati differ by about 106% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $1,190 including rent). Galati is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.4 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 $514 in Galati. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $601 in Galati. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 77% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,190 in Galati versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Galati but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Galati 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 Galati 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 – Galati wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.