Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Kiruna

For one person, living is cheaper in Kiruna: $1,742 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 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
84

Cost of Living Index in Kiruna
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Kiruna Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Kiruna

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,742

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Kiruna

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,742 in Kiruna.

Barcelona $2,453
Kiruna $1,742

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,892 in Kiruna.

Barcelona $3,509
Kiruna $2,892

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $4,043 in Kiruna.

Barcelona $4,564
Kiruna $4,043

Living in Barcelona is roughly 41% more expensive than in Kiruna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Kiruna 28% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$13.69 SEK 136

28.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$127 SEK 1,258

-46.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$10.03 SEK 99.6

34.90%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$4.51 SEK 44.82

-29.27%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$2.59 SEK 25.72

12.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$2.24 SEK 22.20

-15.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$9.79 SEK 97.3

-59.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$6.39 SEK 63.4

-29.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.71 SEK 17.00

-23.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.75 SEK 27.31

-26.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.41 SEK 33.86

-45.75%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$4.05 SEK 40.18

19.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$12.35 SEK 123

35.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$12.00 SEK 119

-24.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$17.56 SEK 174

11.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$3.08 SEK 30.59

-3.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.52 SEK 25.03

-19.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.92 SEK 29.01

-7.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$4.32 SEK 42.91

-35.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.54 SEK 15.30

35.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.62 SEK 16.04

27.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$2.30 SEK 22.88

-36.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.45 SEK 14.40

-35.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$7.03 SEK 69.8

-2.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$9.89 SEK 98.2

-20.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.00 SEK 19.89

-29.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$2.29 SEK 22.73

10.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$3.25 SEK 32.27

-3.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$78.8 SEK 783

-67.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$5.98 SEK 59.4

-50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.73 SEK 17.14

-13.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$59.5 SEK 591

-43.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.20 SEK 21.85

-18.18%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$33.5K SEK 332.9K

-0.98%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$32.9K SEK 327.2K

-3.79%

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

$180 €162

$103 SEK 1,027

74.53%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$25.42 SEK 252

-45.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$40.39 SEK 401

-16.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$38.00 SEK 377

35.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$25.84 SEK 257

-38.24%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$16.00 SEK 159

-31.31%

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

$917 €823

$160 SEK 1,592

471.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$5,005 SEK 49.7K

229.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$96.9 SEK 962

-10.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$39.55 SEK 393

-2.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$91.1 SEK 905

16.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$144 SEK 1,427

-16.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$818 SEK 8,126

107.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$598 SEK 5,934

126.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,347 SEK 13.4K

93.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$1,092 SEK 10.8K

88.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$4,058 SEK 40.3K

70.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$2,839 SEK 28.2K

80.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$3,257 SEK 32.3K

-32.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-18.00%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kiruna: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Kiruna

$598 34.3% 55.9% $758

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Kiruna

$357 20.5% 10.9% $35

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Kiruna

$275 15.8% 2.6% $6.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Kiruna

$169 9.7% 25.8% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Kiruna

$167 9.6% 5.7% $9.1

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Kiruna

$70 4% 4.8% $3.5

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Kiruna

$106 6.1% 120% $58

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $818 in Kiruna. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kiruna pays 47% 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 $127 in Kiruna for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $357 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇪 Kiruna

🕒 Local time

21:33 9:33 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

22,454

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 SEK = 10.07 USD

100 SEK = 9.05 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Kiruna 3,150 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Kiruna

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 Kiruna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,742 in Kiruna, so Kiruna is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 32% 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 $818 in Kiruna. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $160 in Kiruna. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Kiruna 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 Kiruna are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.