Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Hamrun

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamrun: $1,654 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Hamrun
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Hamrun Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Hamrun

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,654

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Hamrun

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,654 in Hamrun.

Barcelona $2,381
Hamrun $1,654

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $2,564 in Hamrun.

Barcelona $3,406
Hamrun $2,564

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $3,475 in Hamrun.

Barcelona $4,431
Hamrun $3,475

Living in Barcelona is roughly 44% more expensive than in Hamrun, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Hamrun 22% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$12.57 €11.18

42.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$55.0 €48.93

20.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$8.90 €7.92

53.82%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.01 €1.79

52.24%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$1.98 €1.76

55.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.36 €1.21

42.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$1.94 €1.72

99.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$2.27 €2.02

103.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.25 €1.12

4.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.34 €1.19

56.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$4.29 €3.82

-57.34%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$4.33 €3.85

6.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$8.08 €7.19

114.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$10.33 €9.19

-10.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$18.24 €16.23

8.72%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$4.11 €3.65

-26.76%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.83 €2.51

-28.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$3.54 €3.15

-25.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.26 €2.90

-11.96%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.47 €2.19

-12.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.99 €1.77

8.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$2.27 €2.02

-35.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.35 €1.20

-34.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$6.59 €5.87

5.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$8.05 €7.16

-2.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.70 €1.51

-18.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.43 €2.16

8.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$2.53 €2.25

15.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$5.67 €5.05

-47.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.22 €1.97

-35.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$26.95 €23.97

23.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.49 €1.32

24.83%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$37.7K €33.6K

-14.29%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$39.2K €34.8K

-19.08%

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

$183 €163

$102 €90.8

79.12%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$25.76 €22.91

-47.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$27.46 €24.42

19.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$62.9 €56.0

-13.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$10.24 €9.11

9.67%

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

$954 €849

$369 €329

158.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$11.3K €10.0K

47.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$87.6 €77.9

-1.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$40.99 €36.46

-4.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$97.7 €86.9

6.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$78.5 €69.9

51.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$842 €749

101.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$747 €664

70.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,560 €1,388

65.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,361 €1,211

41.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$3,947 €3,511

84.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$2,795 €2,486

79.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.9

13.10%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Hamrun: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Hamrun

$747 45.2% 41.5% $529

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Hamrun

$325 19.7% 0% $0.1

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Hamrun

$179 10.8% 33.6% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Hamrun

$155 9.4% 32.3% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Hamrun

$137 8.3% 12.3% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Hamrun

$83 5% 8.1% $6.2

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Hamrun

$27 * 1.6% 43.2% $20

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 $1,695 in Barcelona and $842 in Hamrun. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $55.0 in Hamrun. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $325, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇹 Hamrun

🕒 Local time

12:19 12:19 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

9,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Hamrun 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Hamrun

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 Hamrun: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Hamrun differ by about 44% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,654 including rent). Hamrun is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,571 in Barcelona and $2,480 in Hamrun to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $842 in Hamrun. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $369 in Hamrun. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Hamrun – a meal for two runs $55.0 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,654 in Hamrun versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Hamrun but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Hamrun 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 Hamrun 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 Hamrun gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.