Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Giurgiu

For one person, living is cheaper in Giurgiu: $1,090 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Giurgiu
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Giurgiu Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Giurgiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,090

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Giurgiu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,090 in Giurgiu.

Barcelona $2,453
Giurgiu $1,090

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,650 in Giurgiu.

Barcelona $3,509
Giurgiu $1,650

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,211 in Giurgiu.

Barcelona $4,564
Giurgiu $2,211

Living in Barcelona is roughly 125% more expensive than in Giurgiu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Giurgiu is 20% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$10.90 RON 52.4

61.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$51.7 RON 248

30.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$7.13 RON 34.26

89.76%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$3.64 RON 17.52

-12.36%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$2.38 RON 11.45

22.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$2.16 RON 10.36

-12.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$3.05 RON 14.67

31.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$3.31 RON 15.93

36.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.54 RON 7.42

-14.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.37 RON 6.57

47.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.77 RON 8.50

4.52%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$3.46 RON 16.63

39.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$8.74 RON 42.02

91.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$6.99 RON 33.60

30.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$12.63 RON 60.7

55.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.47 RON 7.09

102.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.55 RON 7.46

30.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.64 RON 7.90

64.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$2.62 RON 12.59

6.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.75 RON 3.62

178.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$0.88 RON 4.23

135.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.86 RON 4.13

69.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.76 RON 3.63

23.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$5.96 RON 28.64

15.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$7.29 RON 35.02

8.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.23 RON 5.90

14.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.81 RON 8.68

40.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.72 RON 3.45

336.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$21.71 RON 104

17.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$0.67 RON 3.21

346.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.66 RON 3.18

125.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$6.59 RON 31.68

406.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.85 RON 8.90

-2.70%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$28.0K RON 134.6K

18.55%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$24.9K RON 119.5K

27.44%

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

$180 €162

$181 RON 870

-0.35%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$7.98 RON 38.35

73.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$9.25 RON 44.44

264.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$40.24 RON 193

28.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$21.63 RON 104

-26.21%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$9.37 RON 45.05

17.29%

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

$917 €823

$442 RON 2,123

107.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$6,801 RON 32.7K

142.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$51.3 RON 247

69.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$35.48 RON 171

8.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$74.6 RON 358

41.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$88.3 RON 425

35.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$365 RON 1,753

365.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$273 RON 1,312

396.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$553 RON 2,658

370.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$383 RON 1,842

438.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$1,958 RON 9,409

253.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$1,372 RON 6,595

273.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$911 RON 4,376

142.80%

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 Giurgiu: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Giurgiu

$273 25.1% 79.9% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Giurgiu

$226 20.8% 29.7% $96

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Giurgiu

$192 17.7% 28.2% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Giurgiu

$198 18.2% 13% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Giurgiu

$112 10.3% 28.9% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Giurgiu

$59 5.4% 19.8% $15

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Giurgiu

$29 2.6% 41.1% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $365 in Giurgiu. 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 $52 in Giurgiu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $226 per month, with Giurgiu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Giurgiu

🕒 Local time

00:46 12:46 AM

01:46 1:46 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

61,353

💱 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 Giurgiu 1,960 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Giurgiu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,090 in Giurgiu, so Giurgiu is about 56% cheaper – 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 $365 in Giurgiu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $442 in Giurgiu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,090 in Giurgiu versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Giurgiu but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Giurgiu 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 Giurgiu are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Giurgiu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.