Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Philipsburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,405 a month against $3,149 in Philipsburg, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 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
148

Cost of Living Index in Philipsburg
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Philipsburg Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Philipsburg

🇸🇽 Sint Maarten

$3,149

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Philipsburg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,405 in Barcelona versus $3,149 in Philipsburg.

Barcelona $2,405
Philipsburg $3,149

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,477 in Barcelona versus $6,004 in Philipsburg.

Barcelona $3,477
Philipsburg $6,004

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,550 in Barcelona versus $8,859 in Philipsburg.

Barcelona $4,550
Philipsburg $8,859

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 24% less than in Philipsburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 79% above, Philipsburg 135% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.98 €16.05

$15.49 ANG 27.73

16.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.2

$70.8 ANG 127

-4.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.37 €11.93

$8.04 ANG 14.39

66.29%

Cappuccino

$3.34 €2.98

$4.38 ANG 7.83

-23.74%

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

$2.95 €2.64

$2.90 ANG 5.19

1.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$4.11 ANG 7.35

-53.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.88 €3.46

$2.97 ANG 5.31

30.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.08

$6.55 ANG 11.72

-30.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$3.06 ANG 5.48

-58.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 €1.75

$2.64 ANG 4.72

-25.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$2.53 ANG 4.53

-30.83%

Eggs

$4.89 €4.36

$6.54 ANG 11.70

-25.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.47 €15.59

$18.69 ANG 33.46

-6.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.06 €8.09

$13.75 ANG 24.61

-34.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.18 €18.01

$14.89 ANG 26.66

35.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 €2.75

$5.07 ANG 9.07

-39.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$5.07 ANG 9.08

-59.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 €2.32

$9.20 ANG 16.46

-71.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$7.58 ANG 13.57

-64.25%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$4.06 ANG 7.27

-47.04%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$4.04 ANG 7.22

-45.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.38

$4.88 ANG 8.74

-68.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$1.34 ANG 2.40

-30.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.09 €6.32

$8.16 ANG 14.61

-13.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 €6.81

$10.82 ANG 19.37

-29.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

$5.13 ANG 9.19

-70.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 €2.63

$2.26 ANG 4.05

30.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.91 €23.13

$1.47 ANG 2.63

1662.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 €2.80

$15.04 ANG 26.92

-79.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.45 €1.29

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.17 €30.49

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

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

$34.7K €31.0K

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

$30.3K €27.0K

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

$181 €161

$152 ANG 271

19.25%

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

$13.56 €12.10

$32.40 ANG 58.0

-58.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.12 €31.34

$65.8 ANG 118

-46.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.2 €47.44

$62.7 ANG 112

-15.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 €14.33

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 €10.14

$10.92 ANG 19.54

4.12%

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

$939 €838

$248 ANG 443

279.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$12.0K ANG 21.4K

37.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.7

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.77 €35.49

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €107

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$2,145 ANG 3,840

-20.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 €1,161

$1,994 ANG 3,570

-34.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$6,614 ANG 11.8K

-61.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,941 €1,732

$6,466 ANG 11.6K

-69.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,470 €6,666

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,195 €4,636

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,299 €2,052

$1,132 ANG 2,026

103.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-34.40%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Last update for Philipsburg: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54%

Philipsburg

$2K 64.2% 53.3% $694

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.5%

Philipsburg

$496 * 16% 52.8% $171

Eating Out

Barcelona

$272 11.3%

Philipsburg

$256 8.3% 5.7% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.5%

Philipsburg

$250 8% 8.9% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Philipsburg

- * 0% 100%

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$76 3.2%

Philipsburg

$85 2.7% 11.4% $8.7

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Philipsburg

$26 * 0.8% 46.9% $23

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 $1,695 in Barcelona and $2,145 in Philipsburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 103% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67.0 in Barcelona vs $71.0 in Philipsburg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $496 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇽 Philipsburg

🕒 Local time

15:05 3:05 PM

09:05 9:05 AM

6 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,900 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Netherlands Antillean Guilder ANG ƒ

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 ANG = 0.559 USD

1 ANG = 0.499 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ANG, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Netherlands Antillean Guilder exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 ANG (1 ANG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2.01 ANG (1 ANG = 0.499 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Philipsburg 6,650 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Philipsburg

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 Philipsburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Philipsburg differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($2,405 vs $3,149 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 103% 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 $2,145 in Philipsburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $939 in Barcelona versus $248 in Philipsburg. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 53% higher in Philipsburg. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona 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.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Philipsburg 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Philipsburg. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.