Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Kandana

For one person, living is cheaper in Kandana: $509 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $23,200 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Kandana
Learn more

Kandana Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Kandana

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$509

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Kandana

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $509 in Kandana.

Barcelona $2,443
Kandana $509

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $827 in Kandana.

Barcelona $3,519
Kandana $827

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $1,145 in Kandana.

Barcelona $4,595
Kandana $1,145

Living in Barcelona is roughly 380% more expensive than in Kandana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Kandana is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.71

$3.76 LKR 1,252

369.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.0

$25.18 LKR 8,377

167.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$7.45 LKR 2,477

82.68%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$2.43 LKR 808

27.57%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$0.72 LKR 238

316.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.71

$0.27 LKR 90.6

614.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$2.18 LKR 726

76.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$3.08 LKR 1,025

41.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.58 LKR 526

-20.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$0.54 LKR 178

292.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.75 LKR 248

162.67%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$1.65 LKR 549

188.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.19

$15.19 LKR 5,051

12.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$4.88 LKR 1,622

83.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.38

$7.76 LKR 2,581

166.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$6.73 LKR 2,238

-53.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.82 LKR 273

140.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$4.11 LKR 1,368

-35.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.28 LKR 426

125.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.03 LKR 343

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.82 LKR 271

165.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.24 LKR 413

23.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.46 LKR 152

110.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$10.16 LKR 3,378

-31.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

$13.42 LKR 4,464

-41.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.87 LKR 623

-24.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.97 LKR 988

-9.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.94

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.79

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.74

$0.38 LKR 126

710.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.33 LKR 111

348.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.25

$0.86 LKR 288

3722.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.37 LKR 457

36.50%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$44.2K LKR 14.7M

-25.38%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$45.5K LKR 15.1M

-29.82%

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

$183 €163

$57.5 LKR 19.1K

218.28%

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

$14.24 €12.67

$4.30 LKR 1,430

231.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.76

$20.55 LKR 6,835

68.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.76

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.58

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$4.45 LKR 1,480

148.54%

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

$944 €840

$40.32 LKR 13.4K

2240.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$17.2K LKR 5.7M

29.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.0

$18.24 LKR 6,065

380.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.51

$17.49 LKR 5,817

121.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.0

$79.9 LKR 26.6K

30.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$40.94 LKR 13.6K

187.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,510

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,396

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,848

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,367

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,520

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,995

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

12.5

-74.48%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kandana: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Kandana

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Kandana

$243 47.7% 25.9% $85

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Kandana

$103 20.2% 61.6% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Kandana

$82 16.2% 64.5% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Kandana

$70 13.8% 55.1% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Kandana

$8.9 * 1.8% 87.9% $65

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Kandana

$2.1 * 0.4% 95.8% $47

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $25 in Kandana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $243 per month, with Kandana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇱🇰 Kandana

🕒 Local time

09:21 9:21 AM

13:51 1:51 PM

4 h 30 min ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

15,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 374 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Kandana 8,470 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Kandana

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 Kandana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $509 in Kandana, so Kandana is about 79% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $764 in Kandana 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.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $40 in Kandana. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kandana – a meal for two runs $25 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $509 in Kandana versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kandana but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Kandana 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 Kandana are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.