Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Nagano

For one person, living is cheaper in Nagano: $1,231 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Nagano
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Nagano Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Nagano

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,231

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Nagano

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,231 in Nagano.

Barcelona $2,381
Nagano $1,231

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,891 in Nagano.

Barcelona $3,406
Nagano $1,891

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $2,550 in Nagano.

Barcelona $4,431
Nagano $2,550

Living in Barcelona is roughly 93% more expensive than in Nagano, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Nagano is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$6.45 ¥1,019

177.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$40.32 ¥6,370

64.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$5.13 ¥810

166.86%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.37 ¥532

-9.20%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$1.06 ¥167

189.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.80 ¥126

142.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$2.59 ¥409

49.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$3.06 ¥483

50.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.45 ¥228

-10.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.64 ¥260

28.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$3.57 ¥564

-48.74%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$1.99 ¥315

132.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$10.32 ¥1,630

68.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$6.17 ¥975

50.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$14.40 ¥2,275

37.71%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$5.82 ¥919

-48.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.69 ¥425

-24.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.84 ¥448

-6.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$4.06 ¥642

-29.31%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.50 ¥396

-13.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$2.54 ¥401

-15.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.25 ¥197

17.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.76 ¥121

15.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$3.68 ¥582

88.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$6.21 ¥982

26.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.82 ¥287

-23.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.01 ¥317

30.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$1.31 ¥207

122.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$51.2 ¥8,082

-50.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$3.17 ¥501

-5.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.70 ¥427

-46.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$20.17 ¥3,187

64.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.05 ¥166

77.14%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$21.6K ¥3.4M

49.74%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$15.5K ¥2.4M

104.88%

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

$183 €163

$130 ¥20.6K

40.42%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$23.91 ¥3,778

-43.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$12.76 ¥2,016

158.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$53.1 ¥8,387

3.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$12.71 ¥2,008

-11.64%

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

$954 €849

$622 ¥98.3K

53.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$14.9K ¥2.4M

11.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$61.8 ¥9,759

39.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$36.29 ¥5,733

7.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$62.0 ¥9,797

67.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$100 ¥15.8K

18.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$557 ¥88.0K

204.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$375 ¥59.2K

240.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,142 ¥180.4K

125.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$648 ¥102.4K

196.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$4,188 ¥661.7K

73.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,974 ¥311.9K

153.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$627 ¥99.0K

255.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.64

24.24%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Nagano: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Nagano

$375 30.4% 70.6% $901

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Nagano

$287 23.3% 11.6% $38

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Nagano

$134 10.9% 50.3% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Nagano

$167 13.6% 27.2% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Nagano

$117 9.5% 25.1% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Nagano

$79 6.4% 1.7% $1.4

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Nagano

$73 5.9% 54.5% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $557 in Nagano. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 255% 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: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $40.00 in Nagano for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $287 per month, with Nagano cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇯🇵 Nagano

🕒 Local time

05:52 5:52 AM

12:52 12:52 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

372,760

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Nagano 10,250 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Nagano

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 Nagano: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Nagano differ by about 93% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,231 including rent). Nagano is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 255% higher in Barcelona, 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $557 in Nagano. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $622 in Nagano. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,231 in Nagano versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nagano but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Nagano 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 Nagano 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 Nagano gentler on the wallet – expenses run 93% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.