Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Lund

For one person, living is cheaper in Lund: $1,754 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Lund
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Lund Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Lund

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,754

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Lund

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $1,754 in Lund.

Barcelona $2,399
Lund $1,754

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $2,901 in Lund.

Barcelona $3,410
Lund $2,901

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $4,049 in Lund.

Barcelona $4,421
Lund $4,049

Living in Barcelona is roughly 37% more expensive than in Lund, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 78% above, Lund 30% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$12.84 SEK 127

39.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$89.1 SEK 883

-23.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$11.91 SEK 118

11.50%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$4.78 SEK 47.40

-32.01%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$2.80 SEK 27.72

7.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$2.04 SEK 20.18

-8.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$7.74 SEK 76.7

-50.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$6.82 SEK 67.5

-34.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.69 SEK 16.76

-23.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$2.55 SEK 25.28

-20.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$3.40 SEK 33.66

-49.41%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$4.54 SEK 45.03

5.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$12.29 SEK 122

36.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$11.47 SEK 114

-22.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$15.45 SEK 153

28.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$3.09 SEK 30.62

-3.56%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$2.58 SEK 25.60

-21.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.80 SEK 27.71

-2.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$4.64 SEK 45.94

-42.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.70 SEK 16.82

23.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.42 SEK 14.08

46.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.58 SEK 25.55

-43.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$1.53 SEK 15.18

-41.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$7.85 SEK 77.8

-11.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$11.04 SEK 109

-29.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.84 SEK 18.26

-21.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$2.67 SEK 26.47

-3.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$3.17 SEK 31.46

-5.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$63.7 SEK 631

-60.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$5.06 SEK 50.1

-38.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.06 SEK 10.52

35.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$40.70 SEK 403

-17.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.73 SEK 17.11

3.47%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$32.5K SEK 322.1K

6.54%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$32.9K SEK 326.2K

-8.66%

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

$178 €158

$78.3 SEK 776

127.23%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$28.05 SEK 278

-52.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$41.44 SEK 411

-15.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$37.30 SEK 370

42.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$27.43 SEK 272

-41.63%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$14.73 SEK 146

-24.92%

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

$957 €851

$157 SEK 1,553

510.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$79.6 SEK 789

10.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$56.9 SEK 563

-30.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$101 SEK 996

2.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$120 SEK 1,192

0.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$827 SEK 8,194

99.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$671 SEK 6,647

94.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$1,746 SEK 17.3K

46.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$1,388 SEK 13.7K

37.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$6,176 SEK 61.2K

17.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$3,468 SEK 34.4K

46.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$2,918 SEK 28.9K

-21.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.03

8.25%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lund: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Lund

$671 38.2% 48.5% $631

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Lund

$353 20.2% 10.4% $33

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Lund

$268 15.3% 0.9% $2.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Lund

$148 8.4% 34.6% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Lund

$161 9.2% 1.5% $2.4

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Lund

$67 3.8% 11.4% $8.6

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Lund

$87 5% 82.9% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $827 in Lund. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lund pays 28% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $89.0 in Lund for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $353 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇪 Lund

🕒 Local time

01:46 1:46 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

82,800

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Lund 1,780 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Lund

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 Lund: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Lund differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $1,754 including rent). Lund is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 28% lower in Lund. 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $827 in Lund. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $157 in Lund. 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.

At $1,754 in Lund versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lund but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Lund 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 Lund are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Lund gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.