Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Montana

For one person, living is cheaper in Montana: $829 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Montana
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Montana Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Montana

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$829

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Montana

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $829 in Montana.

Barcelona $2,453
Montana $829

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,329 in Montana.

Barcelona $3,509
Montana $1,329

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,830 in Montana.

Barcelona $4,564
Montana $1,830

Living in Barcelona is roughly 196% more expensive than in Montana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Montana is 39% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$8.92 BGN 15.70

97.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$35.11 BGN 61.8

92.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$9.78 BGN 17.21

38.34%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.44 BGN 2.53

121.53%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.39 BGN 2.45

109.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.12 BGN 1.96

68.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.33 BGN 2.35

201.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.00 BGN 1.76

353.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.68 BGN 2.95

-22.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.06 BGN 1.86

90.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.12 BGN 3.73

-12.74%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.71 BGN 4.76

78.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$9.60 BGN 16.89

74.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.24 BGN 5.70

181.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$12.34 BGN 21.72

59.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.21 BGN 2.14

146.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.84 BGN 3.24

9.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.69 BGN 2.97

59.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.54 BGN 4.47

10.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.71 BGN 1.25

194.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.88 BGN 1.55

135.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.86 BGN 1.52

69.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.52 BGN 0.92

80.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.57 BGN 6.29

92.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$6.04 BGN 10.63

30.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.90 BGN 1.58

56.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.15 BGN 2.03

120.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.84 BGN 1.48

273.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$25.73 BGN 45.28

-1.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$0.61 BGN 1.08

390.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.44 BGN 0.78

238.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$10.40 BGN 18.30

220.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.57 BGN 2.76

14.65%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$19.4K BGN 34.1K

71.12%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$24.2K BGN 42.7K

30.78%

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

$180 €162

$100 BGN 176

80.41%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$18.53 BGN 32.61

-25.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$8.68 BGN 15.28

288.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$31.54 BGN 55.5

63.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$16.76 BGN 29.50

-4.77%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$5.49 BGN 9.66

100.18%

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

$917 €821

$604 BGN 1,063

51.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$5,536 BGN 9,743

197.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$67.0 BGN 118

29.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$41.29 BGN 72.7

-6.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$96.3 BGN 170

9.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$102 BGN 180

16.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$210 BGN 370

708.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$155 BGN 272

777.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$405 BGN 712

543.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$294 BGN 518

601.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$1,341 BGN 2,360

415.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,115 BGN 1,962

359.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$983 BGN 1,729

125.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.1

5.81%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Montana: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Montana

$155 18.7% 88.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Montana

$198 23.9% 38.6% $124

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Montana

$137 16.5% 49% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Montana

$127 15.4% 44.2% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Montana

$138 16.7% 12.5% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Montana

$43 5.1% 42.1% $31

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Montana

$32 3.9% 34.1% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $210 in Montana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.3 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $35 in Montana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $198 per month, with Montana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇧🇬 Montana

🕒 Local time

02:23 2:23 AM

03:23 3:23 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

44,502

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BGN = 0.568 USD

1 BGN = 0.51 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Montana 1,740 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Montana

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 Montana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $829 in Montana, so Montana is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.3 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 $210 in Montana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $604 in Montana. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Montana – a meal for two runs $35 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $829 in Montana versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Montana but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Montana 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 – Montana wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.