Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Grimstad

For one person, living is cheaper in Grimstad: $2,179 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
104

Cost of Living Index in Grimstad
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Grimstad Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Grimstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,179

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Grimstad

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,179 in Grimstad.

Barcelona $2,453
Grimstad $2,179

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,734 in Grimstad.

Barcelona $3,509
Grimstad $3,734

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $5,290 in Grimstad.

Barcelona $4,564
Grimstad $5,290

Living in Barcelona is roughly 13% more expensive than in Grimstad.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Grimstad 60% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$21.29 NOK 198

-17.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$79.4 NOK 737

-14.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$15.38 NOK 143

-12.03%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$4.87 NOK 45.25

-34.50%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$4.20 NOK 38.99

-30.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$3.41 NOK 31.65

-44.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$11.76 NOK 109

-65.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$10.54 NOK 97.9

-57.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.65 NOK 24.59

-50.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.74 NOK 34.70

-45.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.24 NOK 30.07

-42.90%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$3.60 NOK 33.41

34.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$12.94 NOK 120

29.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$14.43 NOK 134

-36.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$24.57 NOK 228

-20.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.17 NOK 20.19

37.33%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.47 NOK 22.93

-18.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$3.57 NOK 33.20

-24.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$4.38 NOK 40.72

-36.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.73 NOK 25.37

-23.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$2.92 NOK 27.12

-29.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$3.25 NOK 30.18

-55.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.86 NOK 17.25

-49.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$19.23 NOK 179

-64.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$16.29 NOK 151

-51.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.52 NOK 32.71

-59.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$4.28 NOK 39.77

-40.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$5.27 NOK 48.95

-40.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$92.6 NOK 860

-72.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$12.16 NOK 113

-75.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.84 NOK 17.09

-19.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$72.4 NOK 673

-53.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.36 NOK 21.89

-23.73%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$50.2K NOK 466.2K

-33.85%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$45.0K NOK 418.5K

-29.62%

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

$180 €162

$314 NOK 2,913

-42.46%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$34.50 NOK 321

-59.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$55.8 NOK 518

-39.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$43.72 NOK 406

17.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$16.41 NOK 152

-33.03%

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

$917 €823

$242 NOK 2,251

278.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$15.9K NOK 148.1K

3.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$94.8 NOK 881

-8.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$53.1 NOK 494

-27.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$106 NOK 985

-0.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$163 NOK 1,510

-26.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$902 NOK 8,382

88.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$545 NOK 5,062

148.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,988 NOK 18.5K

30.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$1,825 NOK 17.0K

13.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$4,724 NOK 43.9K

46.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$3,502 NOK 32.5K

46.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$4,577 NOK 42.5K

-51.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.9

-33.06%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Grimstad: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Grimstad

$545 25% 59.8% $810

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Grimstad

$446 20.5% 38.5% $124

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Grimstad

$385 17.7% 43.8% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Grimstad

$404 18.5% 77.2% $176

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Grimstad

$187 8.6% 18.7% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Grimstad

$77 3.5% 4.1% $3

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Grimstad

$135 6.2% 179% $87

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $902 in Grimstad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Grimstad pays about 2.1 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $79 in Grimstad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $446 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇳🇴 Grimstad

🕒 Local time

23:42 11:42 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

25,093

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 NOK = 10.76 USD

100 NOK = 9.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.29 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.34 NOK (100 NOK = 9.67 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Grimstad 1,940 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Grimstad

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 Grimstad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

On paper, salaries run 52% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $902 in Grimstad. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $242 in Grimstad. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 28% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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 Grimstad are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.