Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Karlskrona

For one person, living is cheaper in Karlskrona: $1,636 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 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
79

Cost of Living Index in Karlskrona
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Karlskrona Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Karlskrona

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,636

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Karlskrona

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,636 in Karlskrona.

Barcelona $2,453
Karlskrona $1,636

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,545 in Karlskrona.

Barcelona $3,509
Karlskrona $2,545

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,453 in Karlskrona.

Barcelona $4,564
Karlskrona $3,453

Living in Barcelona is roughly 50% more expensive than in Karlskrona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Karlskrona 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$12.82 SEK 126

37.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$66.2 SEK 649

1.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$8.81 SEK 86.5

53.58%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$4.09 SEK 40.16

-22.00%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.33 SEK 13.07

118.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$2.25 SEK 22.07

-16.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$6.93 SEK 68.0

-42.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$5.00 SEK 49.11

-9.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.46 SEK 14.30

-10.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.67 SEK 26.21

-24.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.66 SEK 35.96

-49.45%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$4.41 SEK 43.23

9.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$11.01 SEK 108

52.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$13.05 SEK 128

-30.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$17.37 SEK 171

13.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.07 SEK 30.10

-2.93%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.32 SEK 22.73

-12.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$3.03 SEK 29.78

-10.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$4.40 SEK 43.20

-36.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.49 SEK 14.67

40.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.49 SEK 14.67

38.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$2.18 SEK 21.37

-33.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.42 SEK 13.98

-33.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$6.99 SEK 68.6

-1.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$12.80 SEK 126

-38.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.04 SEK 20.01

-30.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.63 SEK 16.00

55.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$2.94 SEK 28.84

6.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$70.8 SEK 694

-64.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$13.17 SEK 129

-77.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.06 SEK 20.26

-27.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$80.5 SEK 789

-58.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.77 SEK 17.36

1.69%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$32.7K SEK 321.0K

1.46%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$33.2K SEK 326.1K

-4.62%

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

$180 €162

$51.1 SEK 501

253.05%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$28.03 SEK 275

-50.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$36.39 SEK 357

-7.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$41.03 SEK 403

25.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$16.13 SEK 158

-31.87%

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

$917 €821

$160 SEK 1,573

472.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$97.6 SEK 958

-10.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$20.06 SEK 197

91.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$79.6 SEK 781

32.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$179 SEK 1,757

-33.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$681 SEK 6,679

149.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$576 SEK 5,649

135.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,097 SEK 10.8K

137.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$937 SEK 9,196

120.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$2,929 SEK 28.7K

136.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$2,526 SEK 24.8K

102.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$2,463 SEK 24.2K

-10.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.22

-22.27%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Karlskrona: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Karlskrona

$576 35.2% 57.5% $780

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Karlskrona

$360 22% 11.8% $38

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Karlskrona

$237 14.5% 11.5% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Karlskrona

$116 7.1% 49.3% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Karlskrona

$169 10.4% 7.2% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Karlskrona

$73 4.5% 0.3% $0.2

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Karlskrona

$106 6.5% 119% $58

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $681 in Karlskrona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Karlskrona pays 11% 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 $66 in Karlskrona. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $360, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇪 Karlskrona

🕒 Local time

17:15 5:15 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

35,212

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Karlskrona 1,910 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Karlskrona

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 Karlskrona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,636 in Karlskrona, so Karlskrona is about 33% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 10% 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 $681 in Karlskrona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $160 in Karlskrona. 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 64% less than in Karlskrona. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your 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 Karlskrona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.