Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Oradea

For one person, living is cheaper in Oradea: $975 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,200 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Oradea
Learn more

Oradea Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Oradea

🇷🇴 Romania

$975

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Oradea

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,405 in Barcelona versus $975 in Oradea.

Barcelona $2,405
Oradea $975

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,477 in Barcelona versus $1,443 in Oradea.

Barcelona $3,477
Oradea $1,443

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,550 in Barcelona versus $1,912 in Oradea.

Barcelona $4,550
Oradea $1,912

Living in Barcelona is roughly 147% more expensive than in Oradea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 79% above, Oradea is 27% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.98 €16.05

$8.49 RON 40.15

111.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.2

$42.39 RON 200

59.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.37 €11.93

$7.49 RON 35.42

78.50%

Cappuccino

$3.34 €2.98

$2.61 RON 12.34

27.97%

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

$2.95 €2.64

$1.82 RON 8.61

62.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.70 RON 8.04

11.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.88 €3.46

$2.15 RON 10.17

80.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.08

$3.21 RON 15.21

42.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$1.48 RON 7.00

-14.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 €1.75

$1.02 RON 4.83

92.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.19 RON 5.64

47.06%

Eggs

$4.89 €4.36

$2.85 RON 13.46

71.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.47 €15.59

$8.25 RON 39.03

111.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.06 €8.09

$6.23 RON 29.45

45.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.18 €18.01

$9.05 RON 42.80

122.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 €2.75

$1.06 RON 5.03

190.57%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.48 RON 7.01

37.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 €2.32

$1.45 RON 6.85

79.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$1.40 RON 6.64

93.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$0.86 RON 4.09

150.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$0.88 RON 4.17

151.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.38

$0.70 RON 3.30

120.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$0.82 RON 3.89

13.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.09 €6.32

$5.95 RON 28.12

19.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 €6.81

$5.69 RON 26.93

34.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.04 RON 4.91

43.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.83 RON 8.68

49.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 €2.63

$0.77 RON 3.66

283.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.91 €23.13

$18.97 RON 89.7

36.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 €2.80

$0.75 RON 3.56

317.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.76 RON 3.61

90.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.17 €30.49

$7.27 RON 34.41

370.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.78 RON 8.40

0.56%

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

$34.7K €31.0K

$28.6K RON 135.5K

21.11%

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

$30.3K €27.0K

$25.1K RON 118.6K

20.82%

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

$181 €161

$137 RON 649

31.60%

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

$13.56 €12.10

$6.32 RON 29.90

114.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.12 €31.34

$8.08 RON 38.21

334.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.2 €47.44

$46.21 RON 219

15.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 €14.33

$16.19 RON 76.6

-0.86%

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 €10.14

$7.50 RON 35.46

51.60%

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

$939 €838

$397 RON 1,876

136.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$9,125 RON 43.2K

81.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.7

$60.7 RON 287

45.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.77 €35.49

$37.01 RON 175

7.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$54.1 RON 256

91.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €107

$64.2 RON 304

86.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$401 RON 1,895

323.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 €1,161

$310 RON 1,466

319.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$536 RON 2,534

380.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,941 €1,732

$397 RON 1,876

389.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,470 €6,666

$1,969 RON 9,314

279.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,195 €4,636

$1,925 RON 9,105

169.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,299 €2,052

$895 RON 4,235

156.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

7.1

-53.80%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Last update for Oradea: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54%

Oradea

$310 31.4% 76.2% $991

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.5%

Oradea

$188 19.1% 42% $136

Eating Out

Barcelona

$272 11.3%

Oradea

$153 15.5% 43.8% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.5%

Oradea

$152 15.4% 33.9% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Oradea

$97 9.8% 38.4% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$76 3.2%

Oradea

$61 6.2% 19.4% $15

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Oradea

$27 2.7% 44.6% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $401 in Oradea. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 157% 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: $67.0 in Barcelona vs $42.00 in Oradea for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $188 per month, with Oradea cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Oradea

🕒 Local time

06:53 6:53 AM

07:53 7:53 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

196,367

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Oradea 1,690 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Oradea

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 Oradea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Oradea differ by about 147% in total monthly costs ($2,405 vs $975 including rent). Oradea is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 157% 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 $401 in Oradea. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $939 in Barcelona versus $397 in Oradea. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 72% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $975 in Oradea versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Oradea but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Oradea 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 Oradea 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 Oradea gentler on the wallet – expenses run 147% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.