Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Quilmes

For one person, living is cheaper in Quilmes: $957 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Quilmes
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Quilmes Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Quilmes

🇦🇷 Argentina

$957

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Quilmes

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $957 in Quilmes.

Barcelona $2,453
Quilmes $957

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,615 in Quilmes.

Barcelona $3,509
Quilmes $1,615

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,273 in Quilmes.

Barcelona $4,564
Quilmes $2,273

Living in Barcelona is roughly 156% more expensive than in Quilmes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Quilmes is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$5.55 ARS 8,543

216.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$35.20 ARS 54.1K

91.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$8.82 ARS 13.6K

53.40%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$2.93 ARS 4,501

8.87%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$1.71 ARS 2,634

70.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.63 ARS 2,500

15.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$3.90 ARS 5,993

2.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$2.29 ARS 3,519

97.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.97 ARS 1,495

35.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.58 ARS 2,426

27.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.58 ARS 2,425

17.09%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$2.28 ARS 3,508

111.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$13.31 ARS 20.5K

25.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$6.11 ARS 9,398

49.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$9.80 ARS 15.1K

100.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.96 ARS 3,016

52.04%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.53 ARS 2,350

32.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.01 ARS 1,557

167.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$2.95 ARS 4,538

-5.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.92 ARS 1,412

127.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$0.64 ARS 990

223.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.72 ARS 1,111

102.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.69 ARS 1,060

36.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$4.99 ARS 7,671

37.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$4.29 ARS 6,603

83.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.23 ARS 1,896

14.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.89 ARS 2,904

34.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.02 ARS 1,574

207.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$1.49 ARS 2,285

100.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.02 ARS 1,576

46.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.14 ARS 1,756

57.89%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$50.3K ARS 77.4M

-34.07%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$38.0K ARS 58.4M

-16.48%

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

$180 €162

$60.2 ARS 92.6K

199.73%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$14.48 ARS 22.3K

-4.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$21.58 ARS 33.2K

56.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$26.79 ARS 41.2K

92.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$18.31 ARS 28.2K

-12.83%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$10.13 ARS 15.6K

8.49%

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

$917 €823

$240 ARS 369.2K

281.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$4,307 ARS 6.6M

282.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$95.2 ARS 146.4K

-8.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$34.45 ARS 53.0K

11.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$62.9 ARS 96.8K

68.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$70.1 ARS 107.8K

70.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$518 ARS 796.8K

228.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$330 ARS 507.0K

311.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,058 ARS 1.6M

146.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$817 ARS 1.3M

152.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$2,378 ARS 3.7M

190.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$1,264 ARS 1.9M

305.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$1,102 ARS 1.7M

100.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

100

-96.72%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Quilmes: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Quilmes

$330 34.4% 75.7% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Quilmes

$212 22.2% 34% $110

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Quilmes

$143 15% 46.5% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Quilmes

$96 10.1% 57.8% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Quilmes

$118 12.3% 25.2% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Quilmes

$47 4.9% 36% $26

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Quilmes

$11 * 1.1% 77.9% $38

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 $518 in Quilmes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $35 in Quilmes for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $212 per month, with Quilmes cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇦🇷 Quilmes

🕒 Local time

15:24 3:24 PM

11:24 11:24 AM

4 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

230,810

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,538 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD). 1 EUR = 1,712 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Quilmes 10,470 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Quilmes

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 Quilmes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Quilmes differ by about 156% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $957 including rent). Quilmes is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2 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 $518 in Quilmes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $240 in Quilmes. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Quilmes – a meal for two runs $35 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Quilmes 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 Quilmes are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

It comes down to priorities – Quilmes wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.