Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sala, Sweden

For one person, living is cheaper in Sala: $1,555 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 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
75

Cost of Living Index in Sala
Learn more

Sala Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Sala

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,555

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sala

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,555 in Sala.

Barcelona $2,453
Sala $1,555

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,301 in Sala.

Barcelona $3,509
Sala $2,301

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,046 in Sala.

Barcelona $4,564
Sala $3,046

Living in Barcelona is roughly 58% more expensive than in Sala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Sala 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$12.16 SEK 119

44.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$60.1 SEK 590

12.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$9.87 SEK 97.0

37.08%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.04 SEK 29.86

4.93%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.74 SEK 17.06

67.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$2.24 SEK 21.98

-15.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$7.19 SEK 70.6

-44.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$7.24 SEK 71.1

-37.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.72 SEK 16.90

-23.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.57 SEK 25.27

-21.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.42 SEK 33.63

-45.91%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$5.26 SEK 51.6

-8.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$11.30 SEK 111

48.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$12.99 SEK 128

-29.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$22.54 SEK 221

-12.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.90 SEK 28.45

2.76%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.67 SEK 26.23

-24.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.68 SEK 26.34

0.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$4.59 SEK 45.08

-39.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.45 SEK 14.22

44.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.13 SEK 11.11

83.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$2.53 SEK 24.83

-42.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.03 SEK 10.15

-8.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$6.96 SEK 68.3

-1.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$6.01 SEK 59.1

31.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.01 SEK 19.71

-29.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.76 SEK 17.32

44.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$2.98 SEK 29.27

5.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$20.73 SEK 204

22.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$5.86 SEK 57.5

-48.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.78 SEK 17.49

-16.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$81.0 SEK 796

-58.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.70 SEK 16.71

5.88%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$33.9K SEK 332.8K

-2.06%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$33.6K SEK 330.2K

-5.74%

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

$180 €162

$178 SEK 1,743

1.63%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$19.84 SEK 195

-30.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$39.07 SEK 384

-13.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$45.69 SEK 449

12.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$19.95 SEK 196

-20.00%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$16.33 SEK 160

-32.70%

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

$917 €821

$221 SEK 2,165

315.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$1,219 SEK 12.0K

1252.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$44.53 SEK 437

95.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$34.85 SEK 342

10.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$52.4 SEK 515

101.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$55.0 SEK 540

117.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$716 SEK 7,032

137.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$516 SEK 5,069

162.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$921 SEK 9,041

182.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$713 SEK 7,006

189.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$3,986 SEK 39.1K

73.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$2,798 SEK 27.5K

83.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$2,432 SEK 23.9K

-9.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.8

17.14%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sala: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Sala

$516 33.2% 61.9% $839

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Sala

$363 23.4% 12.8% $41

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Sala

$230 14.8% 14.3% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Sala

$236 15.2% 3.7% $8.5

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Sala

$84 5.4% 46.8% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Sala

$78 5% 6.6% $4.8

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Sala

$47 3.1% 2.2% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $716 in Sala. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sala pays 10% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $60 in Sala. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $363, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇪 Sala

🕒 Local time

02:58 2:58 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

22,994

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 SEK = 10.18 USD

100 SEK = 9.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Sala 2,290 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sala

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 Sala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,555 in Sala, so Sala is about 37% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 9% lower in Barcelona. 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $716 in Sala. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $221 in Sala. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 11% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Sala 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 Sala are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.