Last update: Nov 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in San Rafael: $1,718 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 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 Rafael
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San Rafael Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

San Rafael

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,718

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,718 in San Rafael.

Barcelona $2,443
San Rafael $1,718

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $2,741 in San Rafael.

Barcelona $3,519
San Rafael $2,741

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $3,765 in San Rafael.

Barcelona $4,595
San Rafael $3,765

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.79

$12.45 ₡5,597

41.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.3

$62.3 ₡28.0K

8.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.17

$11.82 ₡5,315

15.14%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$4.34 ₡1,951

-28.57%

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

$3.00 €2.68

$2.61 ₡1,174

14.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$1.93 ₡866

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.44

$3.30 ₡1,484

16.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.90

$4.46 ₡2,007

-2.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$2.31 ₡1,039

-45.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$3.06 ₡1,375

-30.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$2.39 ₡1,074

-17.57%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.26

$3.53 ₡1,589

34.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.26

$10.70 ₡4,813

59.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €8.01

$10.61 ₡4,772

-15.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.46

$13.86 ₡6,232

48.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.83

$5.12 ₡2,301

-38.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.60 ₡717

23.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$4.89 ₡2,197

-45.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.58

$3.82 ₡1,718

-24.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$3.72 ₡1,671

-44.62%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$3.71 ₡1,666

-41.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.13 ₡509

35.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$3.20 ₡1,439

-69.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.23

$6.00 ₡2,696

16.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.05

$19.67 ₡8,846

-59.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.27

$2.87 ₡1,291

-50.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$3.55 ₡1,595

-24.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.96

$1.35 ₡607

145.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.90

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.76

$2.46 ₡1,107

25.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.33

$1.62 ₡728

-8.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.40

$8.85 ₡3,978

271.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.67

$1.56 ₡702

19.87%

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

$33.0K €29.5K

$33.9K ₡15.3M

-2.86%

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

$31.9K €28.6K

$42.2K ₡19.0M

-24.33%

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

$183 €164

$96.5 ₡43.4K

89.50%

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

$14.24 €12.73

$35.72 ₡16.1K

-60.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.91

$59.7 ₡26.9K

-42.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.98

$68.3 ₡30.7K

-24.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.65

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.89

$7.73 ₡3,478

43.08%

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

$944 €844

$985 ₡442.8K

-4.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$16.9K ₡7.6M

31.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.4

$72.3 ₡32.5K

21.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.67

$56.9 ₡25.6K

-31.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.5

$127 ₡56.9K

-17.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$133 ₡59.6K

-11.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,517

$795 ₡357.3K

113.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,195

$621 ₡279.3K

115.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,407

$1,888 ₡849.2K

42.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,857

$1,271 ₡571.8K

63.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,398

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,542

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €2,004

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 Rafael: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

San Rafael

$621 36.1% 53.5% $716

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

San Rafael

$400 23.3% 22.1% $72

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

San Rafael

$231 13.4% 13.6% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

San Rafael

$192 11.2% 17.2% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

San Rafael

$175 10.2% 11.4% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

San Rafael

$84 4.9% 13.9% $10

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

San Rafael

$16 * 0.9% 67.7% $33

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 $795 in San Rafael. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $62 in San Rafael. Groceries flip the comparison at $328 vs $400, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇷 San Rafael

🕒 Local time

22:09 10:09 PM

15:09 3:09 PM

7 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

30,000

💱 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 = 0.894 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 Rafael 8,970 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
San Rafael

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 Rafael: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,718 in San Rafael, so San Rafael is about 30% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $2,577 in San Rafael 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 $795 in San Rafael. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $985 in San Rafael. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Rafael – a meal for two runs $62 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 Rafael 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.