Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Quetzaltenango

For one person, living is cheaper in Quetzaltenango: $1,138 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,800 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Quetzaltenango
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Quetzaltenango Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Quetzaltenango

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,138

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Quetzaltenango

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,138 in Quetzaltenango.

Barcelona $2,453
Quetzaltenango $1,138

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,443 in Quetzaltenango.

Barcelona $3,509
Quetzaltenango $1,443

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,747 in Quetzaltenango.

Barcelona $4,564
Quetzaltenango $1,747

Living in Barcelona is roughly 116% more expensive than in Quetzaltenango, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Quetzaltenango is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$6.77 Q 51.7

159.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$50.9 Q 389

32.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$7.68 Q 58.7

76.17%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.36 Q 25.69

-5.06%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.10 Q 8.40

164.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.97 Q 7.44

94.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$3.33 Q 25.45

20.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$4.62 Q 35.27

-1.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.10 Q 16.01

-37.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.57 Q 19.64

-21.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.05 Q 15.69

-9.76%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.36 Q 18.05

104.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$6.37 Q 48.69

162.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$7.92 Q 60.5

15.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$13.09 Q 100

50.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.96 Q 22.58

0.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.72 Q 13.14

17.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.92 Q 22.34

-7.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.60 Q 12.20

75.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.54 Q 11.73

35.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$2.20 Q 16.79

-5.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.74 Q 5.65

97.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.16 Q 8.90

-18.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.35 Q 25.61

105.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$8.04 Q 61.5

-1.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.78 Q 13.57

-20.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.60 Q 19.84

-2.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$5.12 Q 39.12

-41.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.72 Q 13.16

-13.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$10.34 Q 79.0

222.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.33 Q 10.14

35.34%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$27.6K Q 210.6K

20.41%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$25.8K Q 197.5K

22.64%

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

$180 €162

$72.2 Q 551

150.01%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$12.97 Q 99.1

6.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$46.36 Q 354

-27.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$33.27 Q 254

54.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.34 Q 48.46

73.34%

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

$917 €821

$342 Q 2,613

168.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$6,808 Q 52.0K

142.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$48.78 Q 373

78.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$47.81 Q 365

-19.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$110 Q 839

-3.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$112 Q 853

7.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$399 Q 3,052

325.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$389 Q 2,971

248.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

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

11.62

-71.77%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Quetzaltenango: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Quetzaltenango

$389 34.2% 71.3% $966

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Quetzaltenango

$263 23.1% 18.2% $59

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Quetzaltenango

$152 13.3% 43.4% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Quetzaltenango

$131 11.6% 42.3% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Quetzaltenango

$143 12.6% 9.4% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Quetzaltenango

$46 4% 37.5% $28

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Quetzaltenango

$14 * 1.2% 71.7% $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 $399 in Quetzaltenango. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $51 in Quetzaltenango for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $263 per month, with Quetzaltenango cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇹 Quetzaltenango

🕒 Local time

05:10 5:10 AM

22:10 10:10 PM

7 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

500,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, 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).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.53 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Quetzaltenango 9,220 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Quetzaltenango

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 Quetzaltenango: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,138 in Quetzaltenango, so Quetzaltenango is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $1,707 in Quetzaltenango 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 $399 in Quetzaltenango. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $342 in Quetzaltenango. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Quetzaltenango – a meal for two runs $51 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Quetzaltenango 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.