Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Ilmenau

For one person, living is cheaper in Ilmenau: $2,053 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 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
99

Cost of Living Index in Ilmenau
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Ilmenau Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Ilmenau

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,053

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Ilmenau

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,053 in Ilmenau.

Barcelona $2,453
Ilmenau $2,053

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,519 in Ilmenau.

Barcelona $3,509
Ilmenau $2,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,986 in Ilmenau.

Barcelona $4,564
Ilmenau $2,986

Living in Barcelona is roughly 19% more expensive than in Ilmenau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Ilmenau 51% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$11.31 €10.16

55.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$67.1 €60.3

0.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$11.04 €9.92

22.55%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$3.42 €3.07

-6.73%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$4.07 €3.66

-28.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$7.61 €6.83

-75.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$4.51 €4.05

-11.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$4.95 €4.44

-8.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.12 €1.01

16.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.11 €1.89

-4.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.30 €2.96

-43.94%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$3.21 €2.89

50.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$14.17 €12.73

18.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$10.28 €9.24

-11.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$17.89 €16.07

9.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.86 €2.57

4.20%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.46 €1.32

38.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$3.55 €3.19

-23.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$3.82 €3.43

-26.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.09 €1.88

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.36 €1.22

52.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.62 €1.46

-9.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.87 €0.78

8.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$9.34 €8.39

-26.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$6.26 €5.62

26.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.14 €1.02

23.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.52 €1.37

67.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$65.8 €59.1

-61.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$5.26 €4.73

-43.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$4.24 €3.81

-64.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$44.24 €39.75

-24.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.13 €1.92

-15.49%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$32.8K €29.5K

1.06%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$37.4K €33.6K

-15.27%

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

$180 €162

$671 €603

-73.10%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$27.51 €24.71

-49.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$34.26 €30.77

-1.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$49.08 €44.09

4.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$13.16 €11.82

-16.49%

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

$917 €823

$455 €409

101.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$92.4 €83.0

-5.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$31.93 €28.68

20.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$121 €108

-12.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$113 €102

5.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$474 €426

258.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$438 €394

209.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$849 €763

206.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$3,184 €2,860

-30.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.95

-16.96%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ilmenau: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Ilmenau

$438 21.4% 67.7% $917

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Ilmenau

$309 15.1% 3.8% $12

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Ilmenau

$244 11.9% 9% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Ilmenau

$733 35.7% 221% $505

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Ilmenau

$161 7.9% 2.1% $3.2

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Ilmenau

$75 3.7% 2.6% $1.9

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Ilmenau

$92 * 4.5% 90.3% $44

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 $474 in Ilmenau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilmenau pays 44% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $67 in Ilmenau. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $309, with Ilmenau cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇩🇪 Ilmenau

🕒 Local time

00:12 12:12 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

39,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Ilmenau 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Ilmenau

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 Ilmenau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,053 in Ilmenau, so Ilmenau is about 16% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 31% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $474 in Ilmenau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $455 in Ilmenau. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Barcelona runs roughly 61% less than in Ilmenau. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Ilmenau gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Ilmenau are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.