Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Kista

For one person, living is cheaper in Kista: $1,724 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 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 Kista
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Kista Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Kista

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,724

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Kista

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,724 in Kista.

Barcelona $2,453
Kista $1,724

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,694 in Kista.

Barcelona $3,509
Kista $2,694

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,664 in Kista.

Barcelona $4,564
Kista $3,664

Living in Barcelona is roughly 42% more expensive than in Kista, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Kista 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$13.46 SEK 134

30.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$75.2 SEK 746

-10.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$10.13 SEK 101

33.56%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$4.56 SEK 45.29

-30.04%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$2.68 SEK 26.57

8.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$2.19 SEK 21.73

-13.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$6.96 SEK 69.2

-42.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$7.00 SEK 69.5

-35.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.64 SEK 16.29

-20.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.75 SEK 27.30

-26.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.44 SEK 34.14

-46.22%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$4.01 SEK 39.83

20.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$12.21 SEK 121

37.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$12.11 SEK 120

-24.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$17.14 SEK 170

14.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$3.03 SEK 30.06

-1.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.52 SEK 25.01

-19.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.90 SEK 28.81

-6.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$4.36 SEK 43.34

-35.78%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.61 SEK 16.03

29.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.62 SEK 16.12

27.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$2.28 SEK 22.67

-35.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.45 SEK 14.42

-35.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$7.27 SEK 72.3

-5.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$9.93 SEK 98.6

-20.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.94 SEK 19.31

-27.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$2.30 SEK 22.81

10.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$3.25 SEK 32.30

-3.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$78.1 SEK 775

-67.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$6.10 SEK 60.6

-50.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.69 SEK 16.75

-11.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$58.9 SEK 585

-43.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.79 SEK 17.78

0.56%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$32.7K SEK 324.9K

1.45%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$33.8K SEK 335.9K

-6.28%

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

$180 €162

$104 SEK 1,031

73.84%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$25.86 SEK 257

-46.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$39.31 SEK 390

-14.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$37.24 SEK 370

38.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$26.02 SEK 258

-38.66%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$16.08 SEK 160

-31.65%

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

$917 €823

$159 SEK 1,583

474.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$5,088 SEK 50.5K

223.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$98.4 SEK 977

-11.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$40.15 SEK 399

-4.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$91.7 SEK 910

15.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$140 SEK 1,393

-14.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$795 SEK 7,893

113.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$598 SEK 5,937

126.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,370 SEK 13.6K

89.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$1,001 SEK 9,945

105.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$3,976 SEK 39.5K

73.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$2,847 SEK 28.3K

80.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.37

-2.67%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kista: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Kista

$598 34.7% 55.9% $757

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Kista

$355 20.6% 10.2% $33

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Kista

$261 15.1% 2.5% $6.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Kista

$169 9.8% 25.9% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Kista

$167 9.7% 5.5% $8.7

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Kista

$69 4% 5.6% $4.1

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Kista

$106 6.1% 118% $57

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $795 in Kista. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $75 in Kista for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $355 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇪 Kista

🕒 Local time

21:29 9:29 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

10,254

💱 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

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Kista 2,280 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Kista

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 Kista: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,724 in Kista, so Kista is about 30% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $2,587 in Kista 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $795 in Kista. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $159 in Kista. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,724 in Kista versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kista but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Kista 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 Kista are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.