Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Pascani

For one person, living is cheaper in Pascani: $967 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,700 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Pascani
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Pascani Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Pascani

🇷🇴 Romania

$967

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Pascani

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $967 in Pascani.

Barcelona $2,443
Pascani $967

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,444 in Pascani.

Barcelona $3,519
Pascani $1,444

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $1,921 in Pascani.

Barcelona $4,595
Pascani $1,921

Living in Barcelona is roughly 153% more expensive than in Pascani, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Pascani is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.71

$8.50 RON 40.42

107.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.0

$41.83 RON 199

61.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$8.35 RON 39.69

62.99%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$2.08 RON 9.86

49.04%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$1.53 RON 7.26

96.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.71

$1.03 RON 4.88

87.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$1.69 RON 8.05

127.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$2.27 RON 10.78

92.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.28 RON 6.07

-2.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.08 RON 5.13

96.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.39 RON 6.63

41.73%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$2.79 RON 13.27

70.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.19

$8.07 RON 38.36

111.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$5.93 RON 28.17

51.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.38

$10.02 RON 47.61

106.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$0.94 RON 4.46

236.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.31 RON 6.24

50.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.45 RON 6.89

82.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.74 RON 8.29

65.52%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$0.69 RON 3.30

198.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.51 RON 2.41

327.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.85 RON 4.05

80.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.71 RON 3.38

36.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$5.93 RON 28.17

17.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

$7.45 RON 35.40

5.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.08 RON 5.13

31.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.52 RON 7.24

76.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.94

$0.72 RON 3.40

359.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.79

$24.40 RON 116

4.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.74

$0.72 RON 3.41

327.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.70 RON 3.32

111.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.25

$12.34 RON 58.7

166.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.44 RON 6.84

29.86%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$28.4K RON 135.1K

16.01%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$25.0K RON 118.9K

27.71%

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

$183 €163

$99.3 RON 472

84.23%

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

$14.24 €12.67

$6.22 RON 29.56

128.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.76

$8.28 RON 39.38

317.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.76

$38.05 RON 181

35.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.58

$21.85 RON 104

-25.03%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$6.43 RON 30.57

72.01%

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

$944 €840

$417 RON 1,981

126.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$7,438 RON 35.4K

199.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.0

$52.6 RON 250

66.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.51

$29.74 RON 141

30.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.0

$76.1 RON 362

37.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$78.1 RON 371

50.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,510

$384 RON 1,827

341.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

$333 RON 1,583

301.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,396

$705 RON 3,349

282.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,848

$444 RON 2,112

367.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,367

$1,801 RON 8,559

297.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,520

$1,438 RON 6,835

253.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,995

$729 RON 3,463

207.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

7.47

-57.30%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Pascani: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Pascani

$333 34.5% 75.1% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Pascani

$190 19.6% 42.1% $138

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Pascani

$141 14.6% 47.1% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Pascani

$114 11.8% 50.9% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Pascani

$106 11% 32.2% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Pascani

$51 5.3% 30.8% $23

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Pascani

$31 3.3% 36.2% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $384 in Pascani. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $42 in Pascani for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $190 per month, with Pascani cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Pascani

🕒 Local time

03:30 3:30 AM

04:30 4:30 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

35,897

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Pascani 2,050 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Pascani

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 Pascani: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $967 in Pascani, so Pascani is about 60% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.1 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $384 in Pascani. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $417 in Pascani. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 73% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Pascani is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Expats usually find Pascani gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.