Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,045 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,045

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Lima

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,045 in Lima.

Barcelona $2,453
Lima $1,045

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,668 in Lima.

Barcelona $3,509
Lima $1,668

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,292 in Lima.

Barcelona $4,564
Lima $2,292

Living in Barcelona is roughly 135% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Lima is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$4.25 PEN 14.73

313.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$35.07 PEN 122

92.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$7.04 PEN 24.40

92.19%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.30 PEN 11.45

-3.33%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.11 PEN 3.85

162.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.62 PEN 2.15

204.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.64 PEN 9.16

51.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$4.41 PEN 15.30

2.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.62 PEN 5.63

-19.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.59 PEN 8.98

-22.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.32 PEN 4.57

40.15%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.95 PEN 10.22

63.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$9.59 PEN 33.25

74.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$5.70 PEN 19.77

60.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$9.95 PEN 34.50

97.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.94 PEN 6.74

53.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.03 PEN 3.57

96.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.44 PEN 4.98

87.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.53 PEN 5.29

83.01%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.90 PEN 3.12

132.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.89 PEN 3.09

132.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.87 PEN 3.03

67.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.88 PEN 3.05

6.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$5.64 PEN 19.56

21.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$9.56 PEN 33.15

-17.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.92 PEN 6.67

-26.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.16 PEN 10.94

-19.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.72 PEN 2.49

336.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$32.28 PEN 112

-21.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$3.56 PEN 12.34

-16.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.99 PEN 6.90

-25.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$7.83 PEN 27.13

326.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.65 PEN 5.71

9.09%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$21.7K PEN 75.3K

52.79%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$28.3K PEN 97.9K

12.20%

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

$180 €162

$67.7 PEN 235

166.52%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$15.71 PEN 54.5

-11.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$26.76 PEN 92.8

25.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$32.50 PEN 113

58.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$19.68 PEN 68.2

-18.90%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.39 PEN 25.61

48.71%

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

$917 €821

$309 PEN 1,071

196.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$13.0K PEN 45.1K

26.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$53.9 PEN 187

61.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$35.93 PEN 125

7.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$81.5 PEN 283

29.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$79.5 PEN 276

50.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$734 PEN 2,544

131.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$373 PEN 1,294

263.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,287 PEN 4,460

102.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$764 PEN 2,647

170.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$2,434 PEN 8,437

184.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$1,359 PEN 4,709

277.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$666 PEN 2,307

232.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

8.78

-62.64%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Lima

$373 35.7% 72.5% $982

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Lima

$229 21.9% 28.8% $93

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Lima

$124 11.8% 53.8% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Lima

$110 10.5% 51.7% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Lima

$113 10.8% 28.5% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Lima

$47 4.5% 35.7% $26

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Lima

$49 4.7% 0.4% $0.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $734 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $35 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $229 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

07:07 7:07 AM

01:07 1:07 AM

6 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 PEN = 0.289 USD

1 PEN = 0.258 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Lima 10,010 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Lima

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 Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,045 in Lima, so Lima is about 57% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.3 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $734 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $309 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,045 in Lima versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Lima 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.

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