Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Kingston

For one person, living is cheaper in Kingston: $2,224 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 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
108

Cost of Living Index in Kingston
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Kingston Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Kingston

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,224

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Kingston

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,405 in Barcelona versus $2,224 in Kingston.

Barcelona $2,405
Kingston $2,224

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,477 in Barcelona versus $3,051 in Kingston.

Barcelona $3,477
Kingston $3,051

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,550 in Barcelona versus $3,879 in Kingston.

Barcelona $4,550
Kingston $3,879

Living in Barcelona is roughly 8% more expensive than in Kingston, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 79% above, Kingston 66% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.98 €16.05

$14.71 CA$20.97

22.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.2

$62.7 CA$89.3

7.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.37 €11.93

$11.17 CA$15.92

19.70%

Cappuccino

$3.34 €2.98

$3.51 CA$5.00

-4.84%

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

$2.95 €2.64

$2.01 CA$2.87

46.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.31 CA$1.86

45.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.88 €3.46

$5.87 CA$8.37

-33.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.08

$6.27 CA$8.93

-27.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$2.04 CA$2.90

-37.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 €1.75

$2.44 CA$3.48

-19.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$3.29 CA$4.69

-46.81%

Eggs

$4.89 €4.36

$2.90 CA$4.14

68.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.47 €15.59

$10.27 CA$14.64

70.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.06 €8.09

$11.31 CA$16.12

-19.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.18 €18.01

$9.99 CA$14.24

102.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 €2.75

$2.89 CA$4.12

6.57%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.14 CA$1.63

78.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 €2.32

$3.51 CA$5.00

-25.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$3.55 CA$5.06

-23.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$3.30 CA$4.71

-34.85%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$2.24 CA$3.19

-1.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.38

$2.61 CA$3.72

-41.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$1.58 CA$2.26

-41.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.09 €6.32

$13.40 CA$19.10

-47.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 €6.81

$12.16 CA$17.33

-37.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

$2.17 CA$3.09

-31.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

$3.28 CA$4.68

-16.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 €2.63

$2.48 CA$3.54

18.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.91 €23.13

$56.2 CA$80.0

-53.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 €2.80

$3.07 CA$4.37

1.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.50 CA$2.14

-3.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.17 €30.49

$31.06 CA$44.27

10.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.14 CA$1.63

57.02%

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

$34.7K €31.0K

$27.6K CA$39.3K

25.85%

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

$30.3K €27.0K

$18.7K CA$26.7K

61.92%

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

$181 €161

$120 CA$171

50.47%

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

$13.56 €12.10

$38.49 CA$54.9

-64.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.12 €31.34

$63.2 CA$90.1

-44.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.2 €47.44

$28.06 CA$40.00

89.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 €14.33

$8.84 CA$12.60

81.56%

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 €10.14

$10.41 CA$14.84

9.22%

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

$939 €838

$514 CA$733

82.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.7

$51.7 CA$73.7

70.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.77 €35.49

$32.55 CA$46.39

22.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$79.7 CA$114

29.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €107

$85.3 CA$122

40.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$1,535 CA$2,188

10.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 €1,161

$1,181 CA$1,684

10.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$2,287 CA$3,260

12.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,941 €1,732

$1,544 CA$2,201

25.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,470 €6,666

$3,384 CA$4,824

120.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,195 €4,636

$2,449 CA$3,491

112.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,299 €2,052

$2,979 CA$4,246

-22.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.61

-28.85%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Last update for Kingston: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54%

Kingston

$1.2K 53.3% 9.2% $119

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.5%

Kingston

$326 14.7% 0.2% $0.6

Eating Out

Barcelona

$272 11.3%

Kingston

$248 11.2% 8.6% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.5%

Kingston

$222 10% 3.3% $7.6

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Kingston

$112 5.1% 29% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$76 3.2%

Kingston

$49 2.2% 35.6% $27

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Kingston

$77 3.5% 59.4% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,535 in Kingston. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kingston pays 30% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67.0 in Barcelona vs $63.0 in Kingston. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $326, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇦 Kingston

🕒 Local time

08:22 8:22 AM

02:22 2:22 AM

6 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

123,363

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Kingston 6,170 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Kingston

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 Kingston: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Kingston differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($2,405 vs $2,224 including rent). Kingston is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 30% lower in Kingston. 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $1,535 in Kingston. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $939 in Barcelona versus $514 in Kingston. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 0% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,224 in Kingston versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Kingston but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Kingston 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 Kingston are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Kingston gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.