Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Saint-Etienne

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint-Etienne: $1,436 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 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
69

Cost of Living Index in Saint-Etienne
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Saint-Etienne Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Saint-Etienne

🇫🇷 France

$1,436

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Saint-Etienne

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 Saint-Etienne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,436 in Saint-Etienne.

Barcelona $2,453
Saint-Etienne $1,436

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,264 in Saint-Etienne.

Barcelona $3,509
Saint-Etienne $2,264

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,092 in Saint-Etienne.

Barcelona $4,564
Saint-Etienne $3,092

Living in Barcelona is roughly 71% more expensive than in Saint-Etienne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Saint-Etienne 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$16.56 €14.88

6.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$56.7 €50.9

19.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$13.54 €12.16

-0.07%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$2.07 €1.86

54.11%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$3.42 €3.07

-14.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.70 €1.53

11.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$5.07 €4.55

-20.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$5.75 €5.16

-21.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.29 €1.15

1.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.10 €0.99

83.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.09 €1.88

-11.48%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$3.05 €2.74

58.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$17.01 €15.28

-1.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$11.17 €10.03

-18.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$16.35 €14.68

20.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$3.27 €2.94

-8.87%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.54 €2.28

-20.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.45 €2.20

10.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$2.71 €2.43

3.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.57 €1.41

33.12%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.73 €1.55

19.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.10 €0.99

32.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$2.30 €2.07

-59.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$12.15 €10.91

-43.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$10.14 €9.11

-22.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.32 €2.99

-57.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$3.26 €2.93

-22.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.81 €1.62

73.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$39.87 €35.82

-36.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$2.83 €2.54

5.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.11 €1.89

-14.69%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$20.1K €18.0K

65.28%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$32.0K €28.7K

-0.87%

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

$180 €162

$164 €148

9.79%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$29.01 €26.06

-52.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$19.04 €17.11

77.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$29.86 €26.82

72.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$6.61 €5.94

141.45%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$9.89 €8.88

11.12%

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

$917 €823

$996 €894

-7.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$15.8K €14.2K

4.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$72.1 €64.8

20.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$30.47 €27.37

26.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$103 €92.3

3.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$151 €135

-20.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$515 €463

229.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$370 €332

266.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$873 €785

198.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$716 €643

187.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$1,677 €1,506

312.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$1,619 €1,454

216.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$2,255 €2,026

-1.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.67

-10.63%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Saint-Etienne: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Saint-Etienne

$370 25.8% 72.7% $985

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Saint-Etienne

$339 23.6% 5.3% $17

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Saint-Etienne

$255 17.8% 4.7% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Saint-Etienne

$212 14.8% 6.8% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Saint-Etienne

$160 11.2% 1.4% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Saint-Etienne

$50 3.5% 32.5% $24

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Saint-Etienne

$50 * 3.5% 3% $1.5

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 $515 in Saint-Etienne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $57 in Saint-Etienne. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $339, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇫🇷 Saint-Etienne

🕒 Local time

15:58 3:58 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

172,718

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Saint-Etienne 490 km

From you

Barcelona
Saint-Etienne

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 Saint-Etienne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Saint-Etienne differ by about 71% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $1,436 including rent). Saint-Etienne is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $2,154 in Saint-Etienne 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 $515 in Saint-Etienne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $996 in Saint-Etienne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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 Saint-Etienne are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.