Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Maracay

For one person, living is cheaper in Maracay: $735 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,600 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Maracay
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Maracay Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Maracay

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$735

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Maracay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $735 in Maracay.

Barcelona $2,453
Maracay $735

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,245 in Maracay.

Barcelona $3,509
Maracay $1,245

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,755 in Maracay.

Barcelona $4,564
Maracay $1,755

Living in Barcelona is roughly 234% more expensive than in Maracay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Maracay is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$4.93 VES 4,366

256.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$32.44 VES 28.7K

108.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$7.96 VES 7,056

69.97%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$1.62 VES 1,439

96.91%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$1.21 VES 1,069

140.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.19 VES 1,058

58.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$1.17 VES 1,035

242.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$2.96 VES 2,627

53.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.68 VES 2,371

-51.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.33 VES 2,066

-13.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.03 VES 916

79.61%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$2.72 VES 2,411

77.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$6.55 VES 5,807

155.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$5.59 VES 4,951

63.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$8.14 VES 7,210

141.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$4.10 VES 3,636

-27.32%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.05 VES 1,818

-1.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.15 VES 1,903

25.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$2.27 VES 2,013

23.35%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.32 VES 2,053

-9.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$2.19 VES 1,944

-5.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.62 VES 1,433

-9.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$2.27 VES 2,015

-58.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$2.52 VES 2,231

172.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$9.88 VES 8,750

-20.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.13 VES 1,001

24.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.72 VES 1,525

47.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.48 VES 424

554.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$20.18 VES 17.9K

26.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$3.02 VES 2,675

-0.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.71 VES 2,398

-45.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$9.94 VES 8,808

235.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.69 VES 610

160.87%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$25.0K VES 22.2M

32.66%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$39.3K VES 34.8M

-19.35%

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

$180 €162

$12.72 VES 11.3K

1318.32%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$11.71 VES 10.4K

18.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$38.69 VES 34.3K

-12.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$29.13 VES 25.8K

76.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$15.30 VES 13.6K

4.31%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$3.97 VES 3,516

176.83%

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

$917 €823

$75.3 VES 66.7K

1117.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$5,991 VES 5.3M

175.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$52.4 VES 46.4K

66.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$36.03 VES 31.9K

6.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$82.4 VES 73.0K

28.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$95.0 VES 84.1K

26.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$221 VES 195.6K

669.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$108 VES 96.0K

1150.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$571 VES 505.6K

356.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$274 VES 242.8K

652.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$445 VES 393.9K

1455.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$198 VES 175.7K

2485.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$209 VES 185.4K

956.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

21.5

-84.74%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Maracay: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Maracay

$108 14.8% 92% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Maracay

$264 35.9% 18% $58

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Maracay

$104 14.2% 61.1% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Maracay

$63 8.6% 72.3% $165

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Maracay

$120 16.3% 24.3% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Maracay

$37 5% 49.6% $36

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Maracay

$39 5.3% 20.3% $9.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $221 in Maracay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 11 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $32 in Maracay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $264 per month, with Maracay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇻🇪 Maracay

🕒 Local time

23:06 11:06 PM

18:06 6:06 PM

5 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

425,606

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 886 VES (1,000 VES = 1.13 USD). 1 EUR = 986 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Maracay 7,570 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Maracay

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 Maracay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $735 in Maracay, so Maracay is about 70% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 11 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 $221 in Maracay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $75 in Maracay. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Barcelona. 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.

Expats usually find Maracay gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.