Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Maracaibo

For one person, living is cheaper in Maracaibo: $784 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Maracaibo
Learn more

Maracaibo Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Maracaibo

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$784

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Maracaibo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $784 in Maracaibo.

Barcelona $2,453
Maracaibo $784

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,297 in Maracaibo.

Barcelona $3,509
Maracaibo $1,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,811 in Maracaibo.

Barcelona $4,564
Maracaibo $1,811

Living in Barcelona is roughly 213% more expensive than in Maracaibo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Maracaibo is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$10.33 VES 9,166

70.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$39.75 VES 35.3K

69.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$8.77 VES 7,780

54.28%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.75 VES 2,443

16.00%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.15 VES 1,020

153.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.31 VES 1,159

44.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.21 VES 1,964

81.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.08 VES 2,730

47.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.97 VES 1,745

-33.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.11 VES 1,875

-4.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.07 VES 953

72.90%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.78 VES 3,352

27.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$6.55 VES 5,813

155.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.38 VES 5,664

42.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$7.37 VES 6,537

166.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$4.82 VES 4,281

-38.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.36 VES 1,203

48.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.56 VES 1,386

73.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.36 VES 1,206

105.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.23 VES 1,096

69.92%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.74 VES 1,544

18.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.02 VES 903

43.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.98 VES 1,758

-52.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$2.93 VES 2,599

134.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$9.08 VES 8,060

-13.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.09 VES 968

29.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.62 VES 2,326

-3.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.47 VES 416

568.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$42.53 VES 37.7K

-40.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$4.08 VES 3,624

-26.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.95 VES 1,730

-23.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$17.66 VES 15.7K

88.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.74 VES 657

143.24%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$15.2K VES 13.4M

119.03%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$27.6K VES 24.5M

14.89%

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

$180 €162

$62.5 VES 55.4K

188.84%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$7.45 VES 6,609

85.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$25.27 VES 22.4K

33.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$33.17 VES 29.4K

55.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$28.71 VES 25.5K

-44.41%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$4.89 VES 4,335

124.74%

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

$917 €821

$148 VES 131.1K

520.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$7,133 VES 6.3M

131.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$27.31 VES 24.2K

218.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$32.34 VES 28.7K

19.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$61.9 VES 54.9K

70.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$56.7 VES 50.3K

111.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$159 VES 141.3K

967.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$95.2 VES 84.4K

1324.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$301 VES 267.0K

764.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$196 VES 174.2K

950.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$765 VES 678.8K

803.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$508 VES 450.4K

910.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$215 VES 190.9K

927.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-83.60%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Maracaibo: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Maracaibo

$95 12.1% 93% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Maracaibo

$243 31% 24.5% $79

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Maracaibo

$169 21.6% 36.9% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Maracaibo

$95 12.1% 58.2% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Maracaibo

$80 10.2% 49.2% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Maracaibo

$43 5.5% 41.6% $31

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Maracaibo

$58 7.4% 20.2% $9.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $159 in Maracaibo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 10 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $40 in Maracaibo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $243 per month, with Maracaibo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇻🇪 Maracaibo

🕒 Local time

07:19 7:19 AM

02:19 2:19 AM

5 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

2,000,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 VES = 1.13 USD

1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 887 VES (1,000 VES = 1.13 USD). 1 EUR = 991 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Maracaibo 7,880 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Maracaibo

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 Maracaibo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $784 in Maracaibo, so Maracaibo is about 68% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 10 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 $159 in Maracaibo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $148 in Maracaibo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $784 in Maracaibo versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Maracaibo but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Maracaibo 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 – Maracaibo wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.