Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Matamoros

For one person, living is cheaper in Matamoros: $1,090 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Matamoros
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Matamoros Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Matamoros

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,090

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Matamoros

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $1,090 in Matamoros.

Barcelona $2,399
Matamoros $1,090

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,832 in Matamoros.

Barcelona $3,410
Matamoros $1,832

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $2,573 in Matamoros.

Barcelona $4,421
Matamoros $2,573

Living in Barcelona is roughly 120% more expensive than in Matamoros, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Matamoros is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$12.38 MX$229

44.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$37.67 MX$696

80.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$9.06 MX$167

46.58%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$3.29 MX$60.8

-1.22%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$1.47 MX$27.18

104.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.05 MX$19.40

78.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$2.26 MX$41.81

70.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$4.48 MX$82.8

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.63 MX$30.12

-20.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$2.40 MX$44.43

-15.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.70 MX$31.43

1.18%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$2.57 MX$47.54

85.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$9.01 MX$167

86.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$7.82 MX$144

14.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$11.74 MX$217

69.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.70 MX$49.81

10.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.73 MX$31.92

17.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.67 MX$30.82

63.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$2.05 MX$37.92

30.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.17 MX$40.01

-3.23%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$2.09 MX$38.70

-0.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.61 MX$29.73

-9.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$1.22 MX$22.48

-27.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$4.72 MX$87.2

47.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$10.79 MX$199

-27.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.02 MX$37.32

-28.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$3.18 MX$58.8

-19.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.65 MX$12.03

360.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$2.71 MX$50.0

15.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.25 MX$41.49

-36.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$11.47 MX$212

192.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.34 MX$24.72

33.58%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$23.5K MX$435.0K

47.13%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$23.9K MX$441.3K

25.90%

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

$178 €158

$56.2 MX$1,038

216.74%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$25.44 MX$470

-47.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$26.61 MX$492

31.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$32.88 MX$608

61.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$22.40 MX$414

-28.53%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$4.48 MX$82.7

146.87%

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

$957 €851

$223 MX$4,114

329.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$4,650 MX$85.9K

256.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$53.3 MX$986

65.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$38.50 MX$711

2.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$99.1 MX$1,832

3.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$79.4 MX$1,467

53.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$646 MX$11.9K

155.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$337 MX$6,220

286.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$901 MX$16.7K

183.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$826 MX$15.3K

131.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$2,039 MX$37.7K

257.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$1,054 MX$19.5K

381.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

11.3

-70.97%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Matamoros: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Matamoros

$337 30.9% 74.1% $965

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Matamoros

$269 24.7% 15.9% $51

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Matamoros

$196 18% 27.4% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Matamoros

$108 9.9% 52.1% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Matamoros

$122 11.2% 23.2% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Matamoros

$42 3.8% 44.5% $34

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Matamoros

$17 * 1.5% 65.2% $31

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $646 in Matamoros. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $38.00 in Matamoros for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $269 per month, with Matamoros cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇽 Matamoros

🕒 Local time

06:19 6:19 AM

23:19 11:19 PM

7 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

510,739

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Matamoros 8,890 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Matamoros

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 Matamoros: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Matamoros differ by about 120% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $1,090 including rent). Matamoros is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,599 in Barcelona and $1,635 in Matamoros 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $646 in Matamoros. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $223 in Matamoros. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Matamoros – a meal for two runs $38.00 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,090 in Matamoros versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Matamoros but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Matamoros 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 Matamoros 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 Matamoros gentler on the wallet – expenses run 120% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.