Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and George

For one person, living is cheaper in George: $1,105 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in George
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George Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

George

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,105

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in George

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $1,105 in George.

Barcelona $2,399
George $1,105

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,834 in George.

Barcelona $3,410
George $1,834

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $2,563 in George.

Barcelona $4,421
George $2,563

Living in Barcelona is roughly 117% more expensive than in George, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, George is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$10.87 R 179

65.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$41.26 R 680

64.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$4.81 R 79.3

176.09%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$2.10 R 34.66

54.76%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$1.06 R 17.47

183.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.77 R 12.63

142.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$2.72 R 44.76

41.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$3.20 R 52.8

40.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.13 R 18.55

14.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.04 R 17.20

96.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.43 R 23.63

20.28%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$2.80 R 46.05

70.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$8.36 R 138

100.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$5.45 R 89.8

63.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$6.66 R 110

198.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$1.61 R 26.49

85.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.47 R 24.19

38.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.54 R 25.33

77.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.73 R 28.44

54.91%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.63 R 26.89

28.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.42 R 23.41

46.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.25 R 20.53

16.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.97 R 15.99

-8.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$3.18 R 52.4

118.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$4.72 R 77.8

64.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.22 R 20.09

18.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.73 R 28.48

48.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$1.54 R 25.37

94.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$27.77 R 457

-9.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$0.58 R 9.50

437.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.47 R 7.67

206.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$8.38 R 138

299.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.22 R 20.03

46.72%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$29.7K R 488.9K

16.71%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$29.4K R 483.7K

2.42%

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

$178 €158

$121 R 1,995

46.91%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$17.44 R 287

-23.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$45.19 R 745

-22.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$29.75 R 490

78.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$10.64 R 175

50.47%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$6.08 R 100

81.91%

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

$957 €851

$137 R 2,263

596.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$5,187 R 85.5K

219.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$71.5 R 1,177

23.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$37.94 R 625

4.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$112 R 1,845

-8.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$85.8 R 1,413

41.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$422 R 6,956

291.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$365 R 6,010

256.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$773 R 12.7K

230.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$929 R 15.3K

106.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$871 R 14.4K

736.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$652 R 10.7K

678.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$1,364 R 22.5K

67.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

10.92

-69.96%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for George: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

George

$365 33% 72% $937

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

George

$186 16.8% 41.9% $134

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

George

$154 13.9% 43% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

George

$184 16.6% 18.7% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

George

$138 12.5% 12.7% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

George

$42 3.8% 44.4% $33

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

George

$37 3.3% 22.4% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $422 in George. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 67% 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: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $41.00 in George for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $186 per month, with George cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇿🇦 George

🕒 Local time

09:23 9:23 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

188,580

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona George 8,630 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
George

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 George: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and George differ by about 117% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $1,105 including rent). George is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 67% 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $422 in George. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $137 in George. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 72% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,105 in George versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in George but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes George 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 George 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 George gentler on the wallet – expenses run 117% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.