Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Ilion

For one person, living is cheaper in Ilion: $1,564 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 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
75

Cost of Living Index in Ilion
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Ilion Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Ilion

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,564

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Ilion

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,564 in Ilion.

Barcelona $2,453
Ilion $1,564

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,458 in Ilion.

Barcelona $3,509
Ilion $2,458

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,351 in Ilion.

Barcelona $4,564
Ilion $3,351

Living in Barcelona is roughly 57% more expensive than in Ilion, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Ilion 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$13.18 €11.85

33.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$59.3 €53.2

13.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$8.96 €8.05

51.00%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$4.17 €3.75

-23.50%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$2.42 €2.17

20.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.57 €0.51

231.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$5.69 €5.11

-29.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$5.45 €4.89

-16.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.60 €1.44

-18.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.41 €1.27

43.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.57 €2.31

-28.02%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$5.14 €4.62

-6.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.04

$12.17 €10.93

37.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$10.38 €9.32

-12.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$18.74 €16.84

4.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.21 €1.99

34.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.00 €1.80

1.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.37 €1.23

97.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$2.15 €1.93

30.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.10 €0.99

90.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.11 €1.00

86.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.90 €0.81

62.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.14 €1.03

-17.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$5.46 €4.90

25.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.09

$7.87 €7.07

0.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.73 €1.55

-18.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$3.21 €2.88

-20.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.35 €1.21

132.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$49.57 €44.54

-48.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$4.34 €3.90

-31.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.99 €0.89

50.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.99

$16.56 €14.88

101.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.62

$2.26 €2.03

-20.35%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$27.4K €24.6K

21.23%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$24.4K €21.9K

29.79%

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

$180 €162

$199 €179

-9.24%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$25.82 €23.20

-46.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.28

$27.73 €24.91

21.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.28

$50.4 €45.30

2.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$25.60 €23.00

-37.66%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$9.75 €8.76

12.72%

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

$917 €824

$475 €427

92.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$4,757 €4,274

246.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$83.6 €75.1

4.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.60

$38.56 €34.65

-0.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$103 €92.2

3.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$107 €96.4

11.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$591 €531

187.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,218

$496 €445

173.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,339

$1,190 €1,070

118.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$976 €877

111.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,213

$3,693 €3,318

87.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,607

$2,904 €2,609

76.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$1,278 €1,148

73.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.4

-25.45%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ilion: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Ilion

$496 31.7% 63.4% $860

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Ilion

$299 19.1% 7.2% $23

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Ilion

$234 15% 12.8% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Ilion

$252 16.1% 10.7% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Ilion

$149 9.6% 5.4% $8.6

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Ilion

$70 4.5% 4.9% $3.6

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Ilion

$64 4.1% 32.6% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $591 in Ilion. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 73% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $59 in Ilion for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $299 per month, with Ilion cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇷 Ilion

🕒 Local time

19:47 7:47 PM

20:47 8:47 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

84,793

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Ilion 1,870 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Ilion

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 Ilion: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Ilion differ by about 57% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $1,564 including rent). Ilion is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 73% 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 $591 in Ilion. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $475 in Ilion. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,564 in Ilion versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ilion but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ilion 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 Ilion 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 – Ilion wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.