Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Kongsberg

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $2,733 in Kongsberg, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. The total is higher in Kongsberg despite lower rent and utilities.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
131

Cost of Living Index in Kongsberg
Learn more

Kongsberg Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Kongsberg

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,733

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Kongsberg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,733 in Kongsberg.

Barcelona $2,453
Kongsberg $2,733

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $4,003 in Kongsberg.

Barcelona $3,509
Kongsberg $4,003

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $5,273 in Kongsberg.

Barcelona $4,564
Kongsberg $5,273

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 10% less than in Kongsberg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Kongsberg 101% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.69

$21.54 NOK 200

-18.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$74.6 NOK 691

-9.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.07

$16.41 NOK 152

-17.55%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$5.31 NOK 49.18

-39.92%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$4.51 NOK 41.78

-35.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$3.35 NOK 31.09

-43.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$12.01 NOK 111

-66.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.04

$10.81 NOK 100

-58.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.16

$2.60 NOK 24.09

-49.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$3.19 NOK 29.58

-36.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$4.75 NOK 44.05

-61.05%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.31

$5.14 NOK 47.68

-6.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.93

$10.90 NOK 101

53.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$12.75 NOK 118

-28.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.52

$18.75 NOK 174

4.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$3.21 NOK 29.73

-7.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.77 NOK 25.64

-27.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$3.47 NOK 32.17

-22.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$5.07 NOK 47.02

-44.77%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$2.63 NOK 24.38

-20.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$2.64 NOK 24.42

-21.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$3.18 NOK 29.49

-54.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$2.53 NOK 23.48

-62.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.13

$17.99 NOK 167

-61.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$16.42 NOK 152

-51.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.25

$3.64 NOK 33.76

-61.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$3.91 NOK 36.20

-35.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.80

$3.17 NOK 29.37

-0.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.70

$95.9 NOK 889

-73.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$12.11 NOK 112

-75.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.83 NOK 17.00

-18.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.78

$32.51 NOK 301

2.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.60

$2.39 NOK 22.17

-24.69%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$49.5K NOK 458.4K

-32.89%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$45.5K NOK 421.5K

-30.29%

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

$180 €161

$318 NOK 2,950

-43.32%

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

$13.84 €12.35

$28.53 NOK 264

-51.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.06

$54.4 NOK 505

-38.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €45.96

$48.00 NOK 445

7.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.24

$58.5 NOK 543

-72.73%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.81

$20.59 NOK 191

-46.62%

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

$917 €818

$245 NOK 2,269

274.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$3,922 NOK 36.3K

320.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$94.0 NOK 872

-7.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.35

$55.1 NOK 511

-30.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.4

$134 NOK 1,244

-21.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$159 NOK 1,473

-24.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,516

$1,075 NOK 9,965

58.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,209

$1,078 NOK 9,994

25.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,322

$1,973 NOK 18.3K

31.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,840

$1,749 NOK 16.2K

17.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,169

$6,377 NOK 59.1K

8.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,575

$4,352 NOK 40.3K

17.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,972

$3,667 NOK 34.0K

-39.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.94

-33.60%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kongsberg: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Kongsberg

$1.1K 39.5% 20.4% $277

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Kongsberg

$437 16% 35.8% $115

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Kongsberg

$398 14.6% 48.7% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Kongsberg

$401 14.7% 76% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Kongsberg

$199 7.3% 26% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Kongsberg

$89 3.3% 21.3% $16

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Kongsberg

$130 4.8% 168% $81

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,075 in Kongsberg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kongsberg pays 66% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $75 in Kongsberg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $437 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇳🇴 Kongsberg

🕒 Local time

16:15 4:15 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

28,878

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 NOK = 10.79 USD

100 NOK = 9.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.27 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.34 NOK (100 NOK = 9.67 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Kongsberg 2,090 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Kongsberg

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 Kongsberg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,733 in Kongsberg, so Barcelona is about 10% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 40% 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 $1,075 in Kongsberg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $245 in Kongsberg. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Kongsberg. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Kongsberg are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Barcelona wins on affordability, Kongsberg on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.