Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Medias

For one person, living is cheaper in Medias: $1,102 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Medias
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Medias Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Medias

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,102

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Medias

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,102 in Medias.

Barcelona $2,443
Medias $1,102

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,683 in Medias.

Barcelona $3,519
Medias $1,683

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,263 in Medias.

Barcelona $4,595
Medias $2,263

Living in Barcelona is roughly 122% more expensive than in Medias, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Medias is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.71

$11.14 RON 53.0

58.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.0

$51.8 RON 246

30.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$7.35 RON 34.94

85.17%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$3.70 RON 17.59

-16.22%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$2.46 RON 11.68

21.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.71

$2.25 RON 10.71

-14.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$3.20 RON 15.20

20.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$3.27 RON 15.55

33.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.23 RON 5.83

1.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.43 RON 6.77

48.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.73 RON 8.24

13.87%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$3.59 RON 17.05

32.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.19

$8.65 RON 41.13

97.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$6.69 RON 31.82

33.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.38

$12.89 RON 61.3

60.20%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$1.48 RON 7.02

113.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.48 RON 7.04

33.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.55 RON 7.35

70.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$2.58 RON 12.28

11.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$0.77 RON 3.66

167.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.75 RON 3.57

190.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.80 RON 3.78

91.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.75 RON 3.57

29.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$6.21 RON 29.50

12.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

$7.54 RON 35.85

4.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.23 RON 5.83

15.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.80 RON 8.56

49.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.94

$0.70 RON 3.32

372.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.79

$23.96 RON 114

6.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.74

$0.66 RON 3.14

366.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.68 RON 3.23

117.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.25

$6.60 RON 31.35

398.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.38 RON 6.56

35.51%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$29.0K RON 137.9K

13.61%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$25.2K RON 120.0K

26.54%

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

$183 €163

$180 RON 857

1.37%

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

$14.24 €12.67

$7.25 RON 34.47

96.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.76

$9.26 RON 43.99

273.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.76

$37.03 RON 176

38.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.58

$20.31 RON 96.6

-19.35%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$6.12 RON 29.10

80.72%

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

$944 €840

$438 RON 2,082

115.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$7,770 RON 36.9K

186.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.0

$52.3 RON 249

67.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.51

$35.51 RON 169

9.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.0

$73.5 RON 349

42.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$90.8 RON 432

29.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,510

$389 RON 1,850

335.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

$292 RON 1,389

357.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,396

$602 RON 2,862

347.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,848

$453 RON 2,152

358.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,367

$2,039 RON 9,690

250.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,520

$1,480 RON 7,036

243.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,995

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

7.23

-55.88%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Medias: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Medias

$292 26.5% 78.1% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Medias

$222 20.2% 32.2% $106

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Medias

$197 17.9% 26.2% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Medias

$197 17.9% 15% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Medias

$113 10.3% 27.7% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Medias

$49 4.5% 33% $24

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Medias

$31 2.8% 37.6% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $389 in Medias. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $52 in Medias for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $222 per month, with Medias cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Medias

🕒 Local time

02:49 2:49 AM

03:49 3:49 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

53,564

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Medias 1,850 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Medias

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 Medias: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,102 in Medias, so Medias is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $1,653 in Medias 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $389 in Medias. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $438 in Medias. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 48% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,102 in Medias versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Medias but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Medias 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 Medias are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Medias gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.