Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Mazatlan

For one person, living is cheaper in Mazatlan: $1,392 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Mazatlan
Learn more

Mazatlan Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Mazatlan

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,392

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Mazatlan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,392 in Mazatlan.

Barcelona $2,453
Mazatlan $1,392

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,002 in Mazatlan.

Barcelona $3,509
Mazatlan $2,002

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,612 in Mazatlan.

Barcelona $4,564
Mazatlan $2,612

Living in Barcelona is roughly 76% more expensive than in Mazatlan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Mazatlan 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$10.56 MX$198

66.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$45.04 MX$846

49.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$8.26 MX$155

63.80%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.34 MX$62.7

-4.49%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.41 MX$26.55

106.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.07 MX$20.05

76.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.98 MX$37.17

102.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.63 MX$49.31

72.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.61 MX$30.22

-18.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.49 MX$46.82

-18.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.34 MX$25.23

38.06%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.65 MX$49.82

82.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$7.85 MX$147

113.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.78 MX$127

34.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$7.75 MX$146

153.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.66 MX$49.99

12.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.58 MX$29.73

27.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.60 MX$29.95

68.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$0.46 MX$8.64

508.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.64 MX$30.84

27.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.30 MX$24.46

59.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.48 MX$27.81

-1.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$3.94 MX$74.1

74.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$15.55 MX$292

-49.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.05 MX$38.58

-31.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.13 MX$58.8

-18.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.73 MX$13.64

330.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$39.65 MX$744

-35.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$3.46 MX$65.0

-13.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.38 MX$44.78

-37.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.46 MX$27.47

23.29%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$21.1K MX$396.6K

57.14%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$24.0K MX$449.7K

32.34%

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

$180 €162

$57.5 MX$1,079

213.81%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$45.40 MX$852

-69.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$41.54 MX$780

-18.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$42.74 MX$802

20.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$4.44 MX$83.3

147.52%

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

$917 €821

$87.0 MX$1,634

953.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$1,967 MX$36.9K

737.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$61.7 MX$1,159

40.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$26.92 MX$505

43.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$109 MX$2,048

-3.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$81.9 MX$1,538

46.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$802 MX$15.1K

111.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$607 MX$11.4K

123.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,247 MX$23.4K

108.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$826 MX$15.5K

149.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$1,520 MX$28.5K

354.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$1,028 MX$19.3K

398.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$520 MX$9,772

324.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

11.6

-71.72%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mazatlan: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Mazatlan

$607 43.6% 55.2% $748

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Mazatlan

$230 * 16.6% 28.4% $92

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Mazatlan

$174 12.5% 34.9% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Mazatlan

$144 10.4% 36.6% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Mazatlan

$126 9% 20.3% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Mazatlan

$52 3.7% 29.8% $22

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Mazatlan

$58 4.2% 19.5% $9.5

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $802 in Mazatlan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $45 in Mazatlan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $230 per month, with Mazatlan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇽 Mazatlan

🕒 Local time

22:05 10:05 PM

14:05 2:05 PM

8 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

441,975

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Mazatlan 9,750 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Mazatlan

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 Mazatlan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,392 in Mazatlan, so Mazatlan is about 43% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 4.2 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 $802 in Mazatlan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $87 in Mazatlan. 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 $1,392 in Mazatlan versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mazatlan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Mazatlan 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 – Mazatlan wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.