Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Prilep

For one person, living is cheaper in Prilep: $730 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,700 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Prilep
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Prilep Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Prilep

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$730

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Prilep

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $730 in Prilep.

Barcelona $2,453
Prilep $730

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,110 in Prilep.

Barcelona $3,509
Prilep $1,110

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,489 in Prilep.

Barcelona $4,564
Prilep $1,489

Living in Barcelona is roughly 236% more expensive than in Prilep, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Prilep is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$3.90 MKD 215

351.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$27.36 MKD 1,505

146.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.77 MKD 317

134.49%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.43 MKD 78.6

123.08%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.61 MKD 88.4

80.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.18 MKD 64.8

60.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.58 MKD 87.1

153.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.96 MKD 108

131.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.13 MKD 62.3

15.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.67 MKD 37.09

201.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.55 MKD 85.4

19.35%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.04 MKD 112

136.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$6.95 MKD 383

140.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$5.88 MKD 323

55.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$11.23 MKD 618

74.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$0.85 MKD 46.53

250.59%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.34 MKD 73.8

50.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.00 MKD 55.2

170.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.24 MKD 68.3

125.81%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.75 MKD 41.43

178.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.85 MKD 46.76

143.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.58 MKD 32.03

151.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.44 MKD 24.38

113.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$2.89 MKD 159

137.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$5.09 MKD 280

55.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.01 MKD 55.4

39.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.18 MKD 64.9

115.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.35 MKD 19.07

797.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$18.30 MKD 1,006

39.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.11 MKD 60.8

169.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.60 MKD 33.14

148.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$6.47 MKD 356

415.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.47 MKD 81.1

22.45%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$33.1K MKD 1.8M

0.28%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$26.5K MKD 1.5M

19.44%

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

$180 €162

$123 MKD 6,778

46.39%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$17.30 MKD 952

-20.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$13.82 MKD 760

143.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$20.03 MKD 1,102

157.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$8.23 MKD 452

93.92%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$5.12 MKD 282

114.65%

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

$917 €821

$277 MKD 15.2K

231.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$1,158 MKD 63.7K

1323.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$37.29 MKD 2,051

133.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$36.81 MKD 2,024

4.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$67.2 MKD 3,695

57.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$80.1 MKD 4,405

49.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$229 MKD 12.6K

643.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$166 MKD 9,113

718.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$497 MKD 27.3K

423.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$276 MKD 15.2K

647.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$1,029 MKD 56.6K

572.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$807 MKD 44.4K

535.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$603 MKD 33.2K

266.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.23

-22.46%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Prilep: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Prilep

$166 22.7% 87.8% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Prilep

$168 23% 47.8% $154

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Prilep

$89 12.1% 66.9% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Prilep

$154 21.1% 32.3% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Prilep

$100 13.6% 36.9% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Prilep

$30 4.2% 58.8% $43

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Prilep

$24 3.3% 50.9% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $229 in Prilep. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $27 in Prilep for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $168 per month, with Prilep cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇰 Prilep

🕒 Local time

05:46 5:46 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

63,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, 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).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.41 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Prilep 1,610 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Prilep: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $730 in Prilep, so Prilep is about 70% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.7 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $229 in Prilep. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $277 in Prilep. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 92% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Prilep are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Prilep gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.