Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Rhodes

For one person, living is cheaper in Rhodes: $1,714 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Rhodes
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Rhodes Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Rhodes

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,714

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Rhodes

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $1,714 in Rhodes.

Barcelona $2,399
Rhodes $1,714

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $2,673 in Rhodes.

Barcelona $3,410
Rhodes $2,673

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $3,632 in Rhodes.

Barcelona $4,421
Rhodes $3,632

Living in Barcelona is roughly 40% more expensive than in Rhodes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 78% above, Rhodes 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$18.38 €16.35

-2.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$66.9 €59.5

1.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$9.50 €8.45

39.79%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$4.40 €3.92

-26.14%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$2.53 €2.25

18.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.93 €0.82

101.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$5.36 €4.77

-28.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$3.86 €3.44

16.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$2.16 €1.92

-40.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.80 €1.60

13.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$5.14 €4.57

-66.54%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$6.40 €5.69

-25.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$16.31 €14.51

2.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$11.35 €10.10

-21.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$18.09 €16.09

9.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.19 €1.94

36.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$2.15 €1.91

-5.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.54 €1.37

77.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$2.43 €2.17

10.29%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.71 €1.52

22.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.87 €1.66

11.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.34 €1.19

8.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.72 €0.64

23.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$5.08 €4.52

36.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$7.90 €7.03

-1.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.62 €2.33

-44.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.68 €1.49

52.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$2.48 €2.21

20.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$73.7 €65.6

-65.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$3.40 €3.03

-8.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$10.98 €9.77

205.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$2.13 €1.89

-15.96%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$28.4K €25.3K

21.87%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$26.1K €23.2K

15.35%

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

$178 €158

$221 €197

-19.68%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$26.02 €23.15

-48.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$29.16 €25.94

19.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$60.8 €54.1

-12.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$39.00 €34.69

-58.95%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$8.76 €7.79

26.26%

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

$957 €851

$476 €423

101.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$9,017 €8,021

83.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$152 €135

-41.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$33.70 €29.98

17.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$113 €100

-8.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$161 €143

-24.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$567 €504

191.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$438 €390

197.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$1,020 €907

150.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$777 €692

146.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$3,673 €3,267

98.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$1,722 €1,532

195.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$1,344 €1,196

69.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.53

-27.59%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Rhodes: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Rhodes

$438 25.6% 66.3% $863

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Rhodes

$343 20% 7.2% $23

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Rhodes

$277 16.2% 2.5% $6.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Rhodes

$277 16.1% 22.4% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Rhodes

$207 12.1% 30.5% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Rhodes

$78 4.6% 4% $3

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Rhodes

$94 5.5% 98.5% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $567 in Rhodes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 70% 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: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $67.0 in Rhodes. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $343, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇷 Rhodes

🕒 Local time

14:39 2:39 PM

15:39 3:39 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

56,128

💱 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 Rhodes 2,300 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Rhodes

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 Rhodes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Rhodes differ by about 40% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $1,714 including rent). Rhodes is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 70% 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $567 in Rhodes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $476 in Rhodes. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,714 in Rhodes versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Rhodes but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Rhodes 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 Rhodes 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 Rhodes gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.