Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Perez Zeledon

For one person, living is cheaper in Perez Zeledon: $1,317 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
64

Cost of Living Index in Perez Zeledon
Learn more

Perez Zeledon Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Perez Zeledon

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,317

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Perez Zeledon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,317 in Perez Zeledon.

Barcelona $2,453
Perez Zeledon $1,317

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,364 in Perez Zeledon.

Barcelona $3,509
Perez Zeledon $2,364

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,410 in Perez Zeledon.

Barcelona $4,564
Perez Zeledon $3,410

Living in Barcelona is roughly 86% more expensive than in Perez Zeledon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Perez Zeledon is 3% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$9.09 ₡4,102

93.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$37.24 ₡16.8K

81.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$8.19 ₡3,699

65.20%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.70 ₡1,217

18.15%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.97 ₡887

47.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.78 ₡805

6.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.73 ₡780

131.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.21 ₡1,447

41.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.60 ₡724

-18.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.13 ₡1,413

-35.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.49 ₡1,122

-25.70%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.49 ₡1,126

93.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$10.73 ₡4,846

56.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$10.28 ₡4,639

-11.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$14.14 ₡6,384

38.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$5.24 ₡2,365

-43.13%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.08 ₡488

87.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$4.89 ₡2,206

-44.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.85 ₡1,737

-27.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$3.72 ₡1,680

-43.82%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$3.59 ₡1,622

-42.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.45 ₡205

224.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$3.09 ₡1,394

-69.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$5.57 ₡2,516

23.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$19.80 ₡8,937

-60.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.87 ₡1,297

-50.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.63 ₡1,638

-30.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.81 ₡364

287.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.49 ₡1,126

20.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.63 ₡737

-8.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$8.76 ₡3,955

280.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.52 ₡688

18.42%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$33.8K ₡15.2M

-1.67%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$42.1K ₡19.0M

-24.72%

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

$180 €162

$93.6 ₡42.2K

92.81%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$23.99 ₡10.8K

-42.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$59.2 ₡26.7K

-43.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$67.9 ₡30.7K

-24.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.67 ₡3,464

43.29%

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

$917 €821

$498 ₡224.8K

84.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$17.3K ₡7.8M

-4.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$71.8 ₡32.4K

21.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$55.0 ₡24.8K

-29.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$128 ₡57.7K

-17.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$133 ₡60.0K

-9.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$402 ₡181.3K

323.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$326 ₡147.1K

315.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$2,133 ₡963.0K

22.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$1,260 ₡568.7K

63.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

8.62

-61.95%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Perez Zeledon: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Perez Zeledon

$326 24.8% 76% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Perez Zeledon

$383 29.1% 19.1% $61

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Perez Zeledon

$160 12.1% 40.4% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Perez Zeledon

$177 13.4% 22.5% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Perez Zeledon

$174 13.2% 10.4% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Perez Zeledon

$83 6.3% 13.3% $9.8

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Perez Zeledon

$14 * 1.1% 71.3% $35

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $402 in Perez Zeledon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $37 in Perez Zeledon. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $383, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇷 Perez Zeledon

🕒 Local time

04:22 4:22 AM

21:22 9:22 PM

7 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

135,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Perez Zeledon 8,970 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Perez Zeledon

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 Perez Zeledon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,317 in Perez Zeledon, so Perez Zeledon is about 46% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $1,975 in Perez Zeledon 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 $402 in Perez Zeledon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $498 in Perez Zeledon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Perez Zeledon – a meal for two runs $37 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,317 in Perez Zeledon versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Perez Zeledon but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Perez Zeledon 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.