Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Rennes

For one person, living is cheaper in Rennes: $1,722 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Rennes
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Rennes Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Rennes

🇫🇷 France

$1,722

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Rennes

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,722 in Rennes.

Barcelona $2,381
Rennes $1,722

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $2,694 in Rennes.

Barcelona $3,406
Rennes $2,694

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $3,666 in Rennes.

Barcelona $4,431
Rennes $3,666

Living in Barcelona is roughly 38% more expensive than in Rennes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Rennes 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$14.73 €13.10

21.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$68.2 €60.7

-3.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$13.30 €11.83

2.93%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.53 €3.14

-13.31%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.60 €2.31

18.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$2.08 €1.85

-6.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$7.93 €7.06

-51.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$5.71 €5.08

-19.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.20 €1.07

8.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.98 €1.76

6.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$3.33 €2.96

-45.05%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$3.68 €3.28

25.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$17.15 €15.25

1.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$13.44 €11.95

-30.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$23.62 €21.01

-16.05%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$3.27 €2.91

-7.95%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.00 €1.78

1.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.50 €2.22

6.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.30 €2.94

-13.03%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.38 €2.12

-9.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.44 €1.28

49.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.55 €1.38

-5.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.90 €0.80

-2.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$13.25 €11.78

-47.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$6.89 €6.13

13.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$3.41 €3.03

-59.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$3.48 €3.10

-24.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$1.87 €1.66

55.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$57.2 €50.8

-55.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$8.78 €7.81

-65.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.21 €1.08

19.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$32.98 €29.34

0.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.15 €1.91

-13.49%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$34.7K €30.9K

-6.81%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$37.6K €33.4K

-15.64%

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

$183 €163

$156 €139

16.99%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$13.30 €11.83

2.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$30.84 €27.43

6.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$40.83 €36.31

33.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$12.48 €11.11

32.37%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$13.65 €12.14

-17.73%

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

$954 €849

$904 €805

5.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$9,919 €8,823

67.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$85.3 €75.9

0.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$56.5 €50.3

-30.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$112 €100.0

-7.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$104 €92.3

14.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$789 €702

114.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$574 €511

122.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,361 €1,210

89.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,048 €932

83.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$6,353 €5,651

14.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$3,149 €2,801

59.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$2,873 €2,555

-22.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.91

-16.11%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Rennes: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Rennes

$574 33.4% 55% $702

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Rennes

$369 21.4% 13.5% $44

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Rennes

$270 15.7% 0.1% $0.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Rennes

$200 11.6% 12.6% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Rennes

$161 9.4% 3.1% $4.8

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Rennes

$68 4% 11.7% $9

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Rennes

$79 4.6% 68% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $789 in Rennes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rennes pays 29% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $68.0 in Rennes for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $369 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇫🇷 Rennes

🕒 Local time

13:36 1:36 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

225,081

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Rennes 810 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Rennes

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 Rennes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Rennes differ by about 38% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,722 including rent). Rennes is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 29% lower in Rennes. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $789 in Rennes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $904 in Rennes. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 14% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,722 in Rennes versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Rennes but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Rennes 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.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Rennes 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 Rennes gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.