Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Rouen

For one person, living is cheaper in Rouen: $1,734 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
83

Cost of Living Index in Rouen
Learn more

Rouen Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Rouen

🇫🇷 France

$1,734

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Rouen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,734 in Rouen.

Barcelona $2,381
Rouen $1,734

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $2,616 in Rouen.

Barcelona $3,406
Rouen $2,616

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $3,498 in Rouen.

Barcelona $4,431
Rouen $3,498

Living in Barcelona is roughly 37% more expensive than in Rouen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Rouen 28% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$16.75 €14.90

6.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$66.8 €59.4

-1.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$11.08 €9.86

23.56%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.30 €2.93

-7.27%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$3.66 €3.26

-16.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$3.22 €2.86

-39.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$7.31 €6.50

-47.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$6.86 €6.10

-32.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.48 €1.32

-12.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.07 €0.95

96.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.24 €1.99

-18.30%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$3.56 €3.17

29.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$18.50 €16.46

-6.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$8.88 €7.89

4.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$26.98 €24.00

-26.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.55 €2.27

18.04%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.91 €2.59

-30.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.45 €2.18

8.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.13 €2.78

-8.31%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.05 €1.82

5.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.49 €1.33

44.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.26 €1.12

16.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.43 €0.38

104.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$14.34 €12.76

-51.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$6.65 €5.92

17.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.68 €2.39

-48.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$3.30 €2.94

-20.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$1.97 €1.76

47.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$48.79 €43.40

-47.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$8.80 €7.83

-65.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.20 €1.07

20.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$33.89 €30.14

-2.04%

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

$34.8K €31.0K

-7.18%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$35.6K €31.7K

-11.07%

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

$183 €163

$211 €187

-13.27%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$23.28 €20.71

-41.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$39.42 €35.06

-16.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$42.34 €37.66

29.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$16.90 €15.03

-2.25%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$14.36 €12.78

-21.80%

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

$954 €849

$902 €802

5.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$10.2K €9,040

63.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$85.4 €75.9

0.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$96.0 €85.4

7.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$103 €91.5

15.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$692 €616

144.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$567 €505

124.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,228 €1,092

109.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$909 €809

111.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$3,930 €3,496

85.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$2,366 €2,105

111.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$2,579 €2,294

-13.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.81

-13.91%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Rouen: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Rouen

$567 32.7% 55.5% $709

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Rouen

$338 19.5% 3.9% $13

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Rouen

$285 16.4% 5.6% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Rouen

$273 15.8% 19.2% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Rouen

$128 * 7.4% 18.2% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Rouen

$71 4.1% 7.9% $6.1

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Rouen

$71 4.1% 51.1% $24

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 $1,695 in Barcelona and $692 in Rouen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rouen pays 16% 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 $67.0 in Rouen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $338 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇫🇷 Rouen

🕒 Local time

18:05 6:05 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

114,083

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Rouen 900 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Rouen

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 Rouen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Rouen differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,734 including rent). Rouen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 16% lower in Rouen. 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 $692 in Rouen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $902 in Rouen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,734 in Rouen versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Rouen but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Rouen 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 Rouen 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 Rouen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.