Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Palmas

For one person, living is cheaper in Palmas: $840 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,400 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 Palmas
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Palmas Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Palmas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$840

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Palmas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $840 in Palmas.

Barcelona $2,453
Palmas $840

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,296 in Palmas.

Barcelona $3,509
Palmas $1,296

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,753 in Palmas.

Barcelona $4,564
Palmas $1,753

Living in Barcelona is roughly 192% more expensive than in Palmas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Palmas is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.71

$4.01 R$21.78

338.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.3

$22.51 R$122

199.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.08

$7.66 R$41.62

76.63%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$1.81 R$9.84

76.24%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$1.63 R$8.84

78.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$0.87 R$4.74

117.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$1.46 R$7.93

174.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.05

$2.72 R$14.78

66.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.04 R$5.64

25.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.38 R$7.51

46.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$2.81 R$15.29

-34.16%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.32

$2.45 R$13.32

97.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.95

$6.39 R$34.72

161.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$2.91 R$15.82

213.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.54

$5.94 R$32.30

230.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$2.19 R$11.88

36.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.62 R$8.83

24.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$1.12 R$6.07

141.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$1.09 R$5.91

156.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$1.12 R$6.07

86.61%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.98 R$5.33

111.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.77 R$4.16

89.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.71 R$3.87

32.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.14

$2.22 R$12.05

209.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$6.39 R$34.72

23.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.17 R$6.34

20.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$1.96 R$10.63

29.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.81

$0.68 R$3.72

361.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.73

$42.40 R$231

-39.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$1.09 R$5.94

174.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.94 R$5.09

58.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.81

$8.23 R$44.73

305.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.12 R$6.09

60.71%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$21.5K R$117.0K

54.26%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$31.4K R$170.8K

0.89%

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

$180 €161

$107 R$580

69.24%

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

$13.84 €12.36

$10.85 R$59.0

27.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.10

$18.28 R$99.4

84.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.01

$22.27 R$121

131.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.26

$26.28 R$143

-39.27%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.82

$5.91 R$32.11

85.96%

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

$917 €819

$142 R$773

544.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$6,719 R$36.5K

145.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$33.66 R$183

158.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.39

$51.1 R$278

-24.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.5

$107 R$583

-1.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$67.1 R$365

78.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,518

$319 R$1,737

432.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,211

$236 R$1,284

473.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,325

$623 R$3,389

317.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,842

$464 R$2,525

344.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,176

$1,714 R$9,321

303.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,580

$1,070 R$5,817

379.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,975

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-70.18%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Palmas: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Palmas

$236 28.1% 82.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Palmas

$167 19.9% 48.2% $155

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Palmas

$99 11.8% 62.9% $168

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Palmas

$136 16.2% 40.5% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Palmas

$117 13.9% 26.2% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Palmas

$34 4.1% 53.6% $39

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Palmas

$51 6.1% 5% $2.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $319 in Palmas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $23 in Palmas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $167 per month, with Palmas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇧🇷 Palmas

🕒 Local time

08:40 8:40 AM

04:40 4:40 AM

4 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

302,692

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Palmas 7,710 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Palmas

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 Palmas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $840 in Palmas, so Palmas is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $1,260 in Palmas 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $319 in Palmas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $142 in Palmas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 93% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $840 in Palmas versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Palmas but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Palmas 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.