Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and San Juan, Costa Rica

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $1,723 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
83

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

San Juan

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,723

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in San Juan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,723 in San Juan.

Barcelona $2,443
San Juan $1,723

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $2,746 in San Juan.

Barcelona $3,519
San Juan $2,746

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $3,770 in San Juan.

Barcelona $4,595
San Juan $3,770

Living in Barcelona is roughly 42% more expensive than in San Juan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 81% above, San Juan 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.77

$12.46 ₡5,602

41.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.3

$60.8 ₡27.4K

10.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.16

$11.85 ₡5,331

14.85%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$4.35 ₡1,956

-28.74%

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

$3.00 €2.68

$2.75 ₡1,238

9.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$1.90 ₡855

1.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.43

$3.34 ₡1,502

14.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.89

$4.52 ₡2,035

-3.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$2.33 ₡1,047

-46.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$3.11 ₡1,400

-31.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$2.44 ₡1,096

-19.26%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.25

$3.48 ₡1,565

36.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.24

$10.66 ₡4,794

60.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €8.00

$10.52 ₡4,731

-14.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.44

$13.99 ₡6,291

47.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.82

$5.03 ₡2,264

-37.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.59 ₡715

23.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$4.78 ₡2,149

-44.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.58

$3.81 ₡1,713

-24.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$3.89 ₡1,748

-47.04%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$3.76 ₡1,690

-42.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.12 ₡504

36.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$3.10 ₡1,393

-68.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.22

$5.86 ₡2,635

18.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.05

$19.61 ₡8,820

-59.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$2.86 ₡1,287

-50.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$3.59 ₡1,613

-25.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.96

$1.35 ₡605

145.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.87

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$2.42 ₡1,087

27.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.56 ₡699

-5.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.36

$8.62 ₡3,877

281.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.67

$1.58 ₡711

18.35%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$34.4K ₡15.5M

-4.18%

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

$31.9K €28.5K

$41.3K ₡18.6M

-22.66%

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

$183 €163

$95.5 ₡43.0K

91.39%

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

$14.24 €12.72

$35.02 ₡15.7K

-59.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.87

$60.1 ₡27.0K

-42.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.93

$67.0 ₡30.1K

-23.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.64

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.88

$7.71 ₡3,469

43.45%

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

$944 €843

$980 ₡440.7K

-3.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$17.2K ₡7.7M

29.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.3

$72.1 ₡32.4K

21.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.63

$56.2 ₡25.3K

-31.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.4

$129 ₡58.2K

-19.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$134 ₡60.1K

-11.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,516

$798 ₡358.8K

112.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,194

$627 ₡282.1K

113.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,405

$1,922 ₡864.2K

40.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,855

$1,287 ₡578.7K

61.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,391

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,537

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €2,002

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

8.62

-62.99%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for San Juan: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

San Juan

$627 36.4% 53.1% $710

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

San Juan

$399 23.2% 21.8% $71

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

San Juan

$232 13.5% 13.2% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

San Juan

$191 11.1% 17.7% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

San Juan

$176 10.2% 12.2% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

San Juan

$82 4.8% 12.1% $8.9

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

San Juan

$16 * 0.9% 68.4% $34

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 $1,697 in Barcelona and $798 in San Juan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $61 in San Juan. Groceries flip the comparison at $328 vs $399, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇷 San Juan

🕒 Local time

21:56 9:56 PM

14:56 2:56 PM

7 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

27,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona San Juan 8,970 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
San Juan

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 San Juan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,723 in San Juan, so San Juan is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $2,584 in San Juan 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $798 in San Juan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $980 in San Juan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Juan – a meal for two runs $61 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though San Juan gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 San Juan are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.