Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Montreux

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $3,440 in Montreux, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
166

Cost of Living Index in Montreux
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Montreux Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Montreux

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,440

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Montreux

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,440 in Montreux.

Barcelona $2,453
Montreux $3,440

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $5,245 in Montreux.

Barcelona $3,509
Montreux $5,245

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $7,050 in Montreux.

Barcelona $4,564
Montreux $7,050

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 29% less than in Montreux, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Montreux 153% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$30.54 CHF 25.19

-42.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$125 CHF 103

-45.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$18.32 CHF 15.11

-26.15%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$6.07 CHF 5.01

-47.45%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$4.61 CHF 3.80

-36.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$4.05 CHF 3.34

-53.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$9.70 CHF 8.00

-58.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$9.49 CHF 7.82

-52.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.23 CHF 1.84

-41.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.31 CHF 2.73

-38.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.32 CHF 2.74

-44.28%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$7.09 CHF 5.85

-31.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$24.79 CHF 20.45

-32.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$28.28 CHF 23.32

-67.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$39.88 CHF 32.89

-50.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.65 CHF 3.01

-18.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.66 CHF 1.37

21.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.46 CHF 2.03

9.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$4.60 CHF 3.80

-39.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.86 CHF 1.53

12.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.92 CHF 1.58

7.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.97 CHF 1.63

-25.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.69 CHF 1.39

-44.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$11.00 CHF 9.08

-37.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$12.05 CHF 9.94

-34.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.73 CHF 2.25

-48.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.25 CHF 2.68

-21.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$4.21 CHF 3.47

-25.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$104 CHF 85.4

-75.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$7.47 CHF 6.16

-59.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$3.76 CHF 3.10

-60.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$64.8 CHF 53.4

-48.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.42 CHF 2.00

-25.62%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$38.7K CHF 31.9K

-14.16%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$39.6K CHF 32.7K

-19.98%

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

$180 €162

$288 CHF 238

-37.42%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$37.64 CHF 31.04

-63.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$52.2 CHF 43.03

-35.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$89.6 CHF 73.9

-42.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$45.58 CHF 37.60

-64.98%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$24.18 CHF 19.95

-54.55%

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

$917 €821

$2,443 CHF 2,015

-62.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$35.9K CHF 29.6K

-54.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$135 CHF 111

-35.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$78.7 CHF 64.9

-51.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$168 CHF 139

-37.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$184 CHF 152

-34.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$1,773 CHF 1,462

-4.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$1,473 CHF 1,215

-7.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$2,960 CHF 2,441

-12.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$2,500 CHF 2,062

-17.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$16.4K CHF 13.5K

-57.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$12.5K CHF 10.3K

-58.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$8,161 CHF 6,731

-72.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

1.95

68.21%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Montreux: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Montreux

$1.5K 42.8% 8.7% $118

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Montreux

$575 16.7% 78.8% $254

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Montreux

$474 13.8% 77% $206

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Montreux

$378 11% 65.9% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Montreux

$255 7.4% 61.2% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Montreux

$138 4% 87.7% $64

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Montreux

$147 4.3% 203% $98

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,773 in Montreux. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montreux pays about 3.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $125 in Montreux for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $575 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇭 Montreux

🕒 Local time

07:11 7:11 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

26,208

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Montreux 680 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Montreux

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 Montreux: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $3,440 in Montreux, so Barcelona is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 73% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $1,773 in Montreux. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $2,443 in Montreux. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 79% higher in Montreux. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,440 in Montreux, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Montreux. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelona 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 Montreux are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Montreux. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.