Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Hastings, New Zealand

For one person, living is cheaper in Hastings: $1,776 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 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
86

Cost of Living Index in Hastings
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Hastings Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Hastings

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,776

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Hastings

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,776 in Hastings.

Barcelona $2,453
Hastings $1,776

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,606 in Hastings.

Barcelona $3,509
Hastings $2,606

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,436 in Hastings.

Barcelona $4,564
Hastings $3,436

Living in Barcelona is roughly 38% more expensive than in Hastings, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Hastings 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$11.55 NZ$20.58

52.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$56.3 NZ$100

19.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$9.33 NZ$16.63

45.02%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$3.29 NZ$5.86

-3.04%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$1.82 NZ$3.24

59.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.40 NZ$2.49

35.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$4.43 NZ$7.89

-9.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$5.64 NZ$10.06

-19.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.48 NZ$2.64

-11.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.24 NZ$2.21

62.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.77 NZ$3.16

4.52%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$5.38 NZ$9.59

-10.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$5.72 NZ$10.20

192.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$7.48 NZ$13.33

21.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$11.72 NZ$20.89

67.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.60 NZ$4.64

14.62%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.01 NZ$3.59

0.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$3.11 NZ$5.55

-13.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$3.34 NZ$5.96

-16.17%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.79 NZ$3.19

16.76%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.03 NZ$1.83

100.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.42 NZ$2.53

2.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.97 NZ$1.73

-3.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$17.86 NZ$31.82

-61.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$9.50 NZ$16.92

-16.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.86 NZ$6.88

-63.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$3.02 NZ$5.38

-15.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$2.82 NZ$5.03

11.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$104 NZ$185

-75.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$3.75 NZ$6.69

-20.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.81 NZ$5.01

-46.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$33.06 NZ$58.9

0.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.56 NZ$2.78

15.38%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$28.0K NZ$49.9K

18.49%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$22.8K NZ$40.6K

39.07%

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

$180 €162

$193 NZ$343

-6.34%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$36.75 NZ$65.5

-62.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$58.5 NZ$104

-42.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$27.61 NZ$49.20

86.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$10.35 NZ$18.45

6.18%

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

$917 €823

$684 NZ$1,219

34.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$23.0K NZ$41.0K

-28.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$47.65 NZ$84.9

82.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$37.98 NZ$67.7

1.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$94.1 NZ$168

12.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$90.0 NZ$160

33.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$826 NZ$1,472

105.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$711 NZ$1,267

90.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,567 NZ$2,792

66.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$1,165 NZ$2,076

77.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$4,213 NZ$7,508

64.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$3,293 NZ$5,869

55.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$1,586 NZ$2,827

39.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.83

-51.98%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Hastings: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Hastings

$711 40% 47.6% $644

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Hastings

$269 15.1% 16.4% $53

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Hastings

$206 11.6% 23.1% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Hastings

$288 16.2% 26.3% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Hastings

$121 6.8% 23.2% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Hastings

$48 2.7% 34.3% $25

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Hastings

$133 7.5% 174% $84

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $826 in Hastings. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 39% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $56 in Hastings for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $269 per month, with Hastings cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇳🇿 Hastings

🕒 Local time

19:06 7:06 PM

07:06 7:06 AM

12 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

50,100

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, 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).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Hastings 19,520 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Hastings

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 Hastings: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Hastings differ by about 38% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $1,776 including rent). Hastings is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 39% 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 $826 in Hastings. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $684 in Hastings. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,776 in Hastings versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Hastings but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Hastings 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 Hastings are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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