Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Meppen, Niedersachsen

For one person, living is cheaper in Meppen, Niedersachsen: $1,937 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
95

Cost of Living Index in Meppen, Niedersachsen
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Meppen, Niedersachsen Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Meppen, Niedersachsen

🇩🇪 Germany

$1,937

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Meppen, Niedersachsen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,937 in Meppen, Niedersachsen.

Barcelona $2,381
Meppen, Niedersachsen $1,937

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $2,919 in Meppen, Niedersachsen.

Barcelona $3,406
Meppen, Niedersachsen $2,919

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $3,900 in Meppen, Niedersachsen.

Barcelona $4,431
Meppen, Niedersachsen $3,900

Living in Barcelona is roughly 23% more expensive than in Meppen, Niedersachsen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Meppen, Niedersachsen 43% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$13.19 €11.74

35.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$86.2 €76.7

-23.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$10.97 €9.75

24.79%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.38 €3.00

-9.47%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$3.27 €2.91

-6.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$2.73 €2.43

-28.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$5.96 €5.31

-35.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$5.47 €4.87

-15.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.26 €1.12

3.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.09 €1.86

0.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$3.27 €2.91

-44.04%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$3.04 €2.71

51.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$9.18 €8.17

89.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$10.52 €9.36

-11.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$10.02 €8.91

97.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$3.25 €2.89

-7.38%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.09 €1.86

-2.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.25 €2.00

17.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$4.01 €3.57

-28.43%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.35 €1.20

60.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.26 €1.12

70.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.54 €1.37

-4.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.54 €0.48

62.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$7.69 €6.84

-9.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$5.49 €4.88

42.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.04 €0.93

33.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$1.09 €0.97

141.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$3.49 €3.11

-16.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$67.2 €59.7

-62.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$5.05 €4.49

-40.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$3.42 €3.05

-57.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$38.38 €34.14

-13.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.16 €1.93

-13.89%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$32.7K €29.1K

-1.13%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$38.7K €34.4K

-18.08%

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

$183 €163

$385 €342

-52.50%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$22.26 €19.80

-38.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$40.79 €36.28

-19.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$39.36 €35.01

38.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$25.92 €23.06

-36.27%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$14.88 €13.23

-24.53%

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

$954 €849

$470 €418

102.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$9,407 €8,367

76.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$89.5 €79.6

-3.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$55.3 €49.16

-29.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$78.5 €69.9

32.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$156 €139

-23.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$771 €686

119.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$638 €568

99.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,240 €1,103

107.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,142 €1,016

68.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$4,886 €4,346

49.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$3,317 €2,950

51.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.95

-16.96%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Meppen, Niedersachsen: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Meppen, Niedersachsen

$638 33% 50% $638

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Meppen, Niedersachsen

$264 13.6% 18.7% $61

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Meppen, Niedersachsen

$244 12.6% 9.6% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Meppen, Niedersachsen

$448 23.1% 95.3% $219

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Meppen, Niedersachsen

$171 8.8% 9.1% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Meppen, Niedersachsen

$69 3.6% 10.4% $8

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Meppen, Niedersachsen

$103 5.3% 118% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $771 in Meppen, Niedersachsen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $86.0 in Meppen, Niedersachsen. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $264, with Meppen, Niedersachsen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇩🇪 Meppen, Niedersachsen

🕒 Local time

00:10 12:10 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

35,935

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Meppen, Niedersachsen 1,320 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Meppen, Niedersachsen

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 Meppen, Niedersachsen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Meppen, Niedersachsen differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,937 including rent). Meppen, Niedersachsen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,571 in Barcelona and $2,906 in Meppen, Niedersachsen 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $771 in Meppen, Niedersachsen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $470 in Meppen, Niedersachsen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,937 in Meppen, Niedersachsen versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Meppen, Niedersachsen but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Meppen, Niedersachsen 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 Meppen, Niedersachsen 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 Meppen, Niedersachsen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.