Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Guadalupe, Costa Rica

For one person, living is cheaper in Guadalupe: $1,594 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 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
77

Cost of Living Index in Guadalupe
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Guadalupe Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Guadalupe

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,594

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Guadalupe

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,594 in Guadalupe.

Barcelona $2,453
Guadalupe $1,594

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,488 in Guadalupe.

Barcelona $3,509
Guadalupe $2,488

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,382 in Guadalupe.

Barcelona $4,564
Guadalupe $3,382

Living in Barcelona is roughly 54% more expensive than in Guadalupe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Guadalupe 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.71

$10.88 ₡4,891

61.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.3

$33.59 ₡15.1K

100.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.08

$8.69 ₡3,906

55.70%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$3.34 ₡1,504

-4.49%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$2.21 ₡996

31.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$1.88 ₡844

0.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$3.30 ₡1,486

21.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.05

$4.31 ₡1,940

5.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.14 ₡960

-38.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$3.16 ₡1,423

-36.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$2.50 ₡1,123

-26.00%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.32

$3.46 ₡1,554

39.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.95

$9.63 ₡4,332

73.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$10.02 ₡4,506

-8.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.54

$14.08 ₡6,330

39.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$4.98 ₡2,242

-40.16%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.62 ₡729

24.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$4.89 ₡2,198

-44.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$3.78 ₡1,700

-25.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$3.93 ₡1,767

-46.82%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$3.57 ₡1,607

-42.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.07 ₡482

36.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$3.12 ₡1,402

-69.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.14

$4.44 ₡1,994

54.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$19.79 ₡8,901

-60.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.75 ₡1,238

-48.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$3.54 ₡1,594

-28.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.81

$1.36 ₡612

130.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.73

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$2.13 ₡958

40.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.64 ₡736

-9.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.81

$8.53 ₡3,838

291.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.39 ₡624

29.50%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$26.5K ₡11.9M

25.19%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$41.9K ₡18.9M

-24.40%

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

$180 €161

$36.65 ₡16.5K

392.25%

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

$13.84 €12.36

$26.38 ₡11.9K

-47.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.10

$55.1 ₡24.8K

-38.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.01

$68.6 ₡30.9K

-24.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.26

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.82

$7.49 ₡3,369

46.73%

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

$917 €819

$983 ₡441.9K

-6.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$16.9K ₡7.6M

-2.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$70.9 ₡31.9K

22.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.39

$44.32 ₡19.9K

-13.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.5

$129 ₡57.9K

-17.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$100 ₡45.1K

19.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,518

$801 ₡360.1K

112.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,211

$635 ₡285.4K

113.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,325

$1,923 ₡864.9K

35.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,842

$1,250 ₡562.0K

65.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,176

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,580

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,975

$1,214 ₡545.9K

82.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

8.62

-61.95%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Guadalupe: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Guadalupe

$635 39.8% 53.2% $721

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Guadalupe

$392 24.6% 21.9% $70

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Guadalupe

$195 12.2% 27.3% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Guadalupe

$118 7.4% 48.2% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Guadalupe

$155 9.7% 1.9% $3

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Guadalupe

$84 5.2% 13.7% $10

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Guadalupe

$16 * 1% 67.5% $33

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $801 in Guadalupe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 82% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $34 in Guadalupe. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $392, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇷 Guadalupe

🕒 Local time

08:51 8:51 AM

01:51 1:51 AM

7 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

23,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Guadalupe 8,970 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Guadalupe

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 Guadalupe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,594 in Guadalupe, so Guadalupe is about 35% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 82% 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $801 in Guadalupe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $983 in Guadalupe. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Guadalupe – a meal for two runs $34 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,594 in Guadalupe versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Guadalupe but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Guadalupe 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 Guadalupe are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Guadalupe wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.