Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Ilheus

For one person, living is cheaper in Ilheus: $786 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Barcelona, Spain
Ilheus, Brazil
Barcelona
🇪🇸 Spain
$2,453
/mo nomad
Ilheus
🇧🇷 Brazil
$786
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Ilheus

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $786 in Ilheus.

  • Barcelona $2,453
  • Ilheus $786

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,283 in Ilheus.

  • Barcelona $3,509
  • Ilheus $1,283

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,779 in Ilheus.

  • Barcelona $4,564
  • Ilheus $1,779

Living in Barcelona is roughly 212% more expensive than in Ilheus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Ilheus is 42% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Barcelona
Ilheus
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.59 €15.80
$3.91 R$20.90
349.87%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$67.5 €60.6
$29.88 R$160
125.87%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.53 €12.15
$7.47 R$39.93
81.12%
Cappuccino
$3.19 €2.87
$1.86 R$9.92
71.51%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.91 €2.62
$1.16 R$6.19
150.86%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.89 €1.70
$0.84 R$4.47
125.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.01 €3.60
$1.73 R$9.25
131.79%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.53 €4.07
$3.16 R$16.88
43.35%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
Ilheus
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.31 €1.17
$1.05 R$5.61
24.76%
White Bread (500g)
$2.02 €1.81
$1.61 R$8.61
25.47%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.85 €1.66
$1.22 R$6.52
51.64%
Eggs
$4.83 €4.34
$2.00 R$10.71
141.50%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$16.74 €15.03
$17.98 R$96.1
-6.90%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.12 €8.19
$3.92 R$20.98
132.65%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$19.64 €17.64
$7.37 R$39.41
166.49%
Apples (1kg)
$2.98 €2.68
$2.10 R$11.24
41.90%
Banana (1kg)
$2.02 €1.81
$1.18 R$6.31
71.19%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.70 €2.43
$1.14 R$6.09
136.84%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.80 €2.52
$1.50 R$8.00
86.67%
Potato (1kg)
$2.09 €1.87
$1.18 R$6.32
77.12%
Onion (1kg)
$2.07 €1.86
$0.99 R$5.32
109.09%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.46 €1.31
$0.77 R$4.10
89.61%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.94 €0.84
$0.65 R$3.45
44.62%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.87 €6.17
$2.30 R$12.28
198.70%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.89 €7.08
$6.96 R$37.19
13.36%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.41 €1.26
$1.10 R$5.89
28.18%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.54 €2.28
$1.97 R$10.51
28.93%
🚌 Getting Around
Barcelona
Ilheus
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.14 €2.82
$0.95 R$5.06
230.53%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$25.45 €22.86
$41.11 R$220
-38.09%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.99 €2.69
$1.08 R$5.79
176.85%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.49 €1.34
$0.94 R$5.01
58.51%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$33.37 €29.98
$6.78 R$36.23
392.18%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.80 €1.61
$1.13 R$6.06
59.29%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$33.2K €29.8K
$20.8K R$111.2K
59.57%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.7K €28.5K
$32.7K R$174.7K
-3.00%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
Ilheus
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$180 €162
$70.8 R$379
154.82%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.84 €12.43
$11.71 R$62.6
18.19%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$33.70 €30.27
$19.59 R$105
72.03%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
Ilheus
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.5 €46.27
$24.68 R$132
108.71%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.96 €14.34
$23.71 R$127
-32.69%
Cinema Ticket
$10.99 €9.88
$6.50 R$34.73
69.08%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Barcelona
Ilheus
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$917 €823
$273 R$1,460
235.65%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$16.5K €14.8K
$6,926 R$37.0K
137.94%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
Ilheus
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$87.0 €78.2
$51.2 R$274
70.08%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.51 €34.59
$40.88 R$219
-5.80%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$106 €95.1
$86.8 R$464
21.89%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$120 €108
$64.4 R$344
86.01%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
Ilheus
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,699 €1,527
$209 R$1,118
712.48%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,355 €1,217
$183 R$980
639.82%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,603 €2,338
$530 R$2,834
391.11%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,062 €1,853
$407 R$2,178
406.19%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$6,915 €6,211
$1,468 R$7,851
370.91%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$5,128 €4,606
$1,234 R$6,600
315.39%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Barcelona
Ilheus
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,211 €1,986
$564 R$3,018
291.66%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.28
11
-70.18%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ilheus: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
$1.4K
Ilheus
$183 86.5% $1.2K
Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
$322
Ilheus
$204 36.5% $117
Eating Out
Barcelona
$268
Ilheus
$99 63.1% $169
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
$228
Ilheus
$102 55.2% $126
Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
$158
Ilheus
$109 30.7% $49
Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
$74
Ilheus
$38 48.7% $36
Getting Around
Barcelona
$48
Ilheus
$51 4.5% $2.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $209 in Ilheus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $30 in Ilheus for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $204 per month, with Ilheus cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇪🇸 Barcelona
🇧🇷 Ilheus
🕒 Local time
18:41 6:41 PM
14:41 2:41 PM
4 h behind Barcelona
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,660,122
178,649
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

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

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Barcelona Ilheus 7,550 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Barcelona
  • Ilheus

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 Ilheus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Barcelona and in Ilheus?
Barcelona and Ilheus differ by about 212% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $786 including rent). Ilheus is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Barcelona or Ilheus?
Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.9 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Barcelona and in Ilheus?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $209 in Ilheus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Barcelona and Ilheus?
Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $273 in Ilheus. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more doable on $1,200 per month?
At $786 in Ilheus versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Ilheus but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ilheus the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Barcelona and Ilheus?
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.
How do I decide between Barcelona and Ilheus?
It comes down to priorities – Ilheus wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.

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