Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and La Merced

For one person, living is cheaper in La Merced: $558 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $22,600 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
27

Cost of Living Index in La Merced
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La Merced Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

La Merced

🇵🇪 Peru

$558

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in La Merced

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $558 in La Merced.

Barcelona $2,443
La Merced $558

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $910 in La Merced.

Barcelona $3,519
La Merced $910

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $1,263 in La Merced.

Barcelona $4,595
La Merced $1,263

Living in Barcelona is roughly 338% more expensive than in La Merced, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, La Merced is 59% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.69

$4.38 PEN 15.10

303.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €59.9

$34.86 PEN 120

93.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.09

$7.01 PEN 24.19

94.15%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.75

$3.18 PEN 10.97

-2.52%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$1.08 PEN 3.72

177.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.71

$0.65 PEN 2.24

196.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.41

$2.57 PEN 8.86

49.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.87

$4.29 PEN 14.81

1.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.58 PEN 5.44

-20.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$2.07 PEN 7.15

2.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.28 PEN 4.43

53.91%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.23

$2.35 PEN 8.11

102.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.16

$7.33 PEN 25.29

132.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.96

$5.78 PEN 19.94

55.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.34

$8.68 PEN 29.94

137.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$0.92 PEN 3.17

243.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.45 PEN 1.56

337.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$0.30 PEN 1.04

783.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.56

$0.71 PEN 2.46

305.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$0.28 PEN 0.96

635.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.45 PEN 1.55

384.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.36

$0.60 PEN 2.07

155.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.87 PEN 3.01

11.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.19

$5.63 PEN 19.42

23.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.01

$7.33 PEN 25.30

7.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.90 PEN 6.56

-25.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$3.08 PEN 10.61

-12.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.94

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.75

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.74

$3.43 PEN 11.84

-10.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.07 PEN 7.14

-28.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.20

$7.64 PEN 26.37

330.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.64 PEN 5.65

14.02%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$21.7K PEN 75.0K

51.57%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$28.9K PEN 99.8K

10.39%

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

$183 €162

$66.7 PEN 230

174.34%

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

$14.24 €12.65

$15.80 PEN 54.5

-9.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.70

$27.06 PEN 93.4

27.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.68

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.55

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.83

$7.14 PEN 24.63

54.90%

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

$944 €838

$318 PEN 1,096

197.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$12.7K PEN 43.6K

76.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €77.9

$53.3 PEN 184

64.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.44

$35.12 PEN 121

10.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €92.9

$83.7 PEN 289

24.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$79.1 PEN 273

48.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,507

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,187

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,391

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,845

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,356

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,512

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,991

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

8.78

-63.67%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for La Merced: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

La Merced

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

La Merced

$185 33.1% 43.5% $143

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

La Merced

$123 22% 54.1% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

La Merced

$110 19.6% 52.7% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

La Merced

$113 20.3% 28% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

La Merced

$14 * 2.6% 80.6% $59

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

La Merced

$14 * 2.5% 72.1% $36

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $35 in La Merced for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $185 per month, with La Merced cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇵🇪 La Merced

🕒 Local time

00:48 12:48 AM

18:48 6:48 PM

6 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

8,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

1 PEN = 0.29 USD

1 PEN = 0.258 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona La Merced 9,880 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
La Merced

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 La Merced: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $558 in La Merced, so La Merced is about 77% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $837 in La Merced 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.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $318 in La Merced. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in La Merced – a meal for two runs $35 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $558 in La Merced versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in La Merced but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes La Merced 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.