Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Santarem

For one person, living is cheaper in Santarem: $1,303 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Santarem
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Santarem Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Santarem

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,303

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Santarem

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,303 in Santarem.

Barcelona $2,453
Santarem $1,303

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,010 in Santarem.

Barcelona $3,509
Santarem $2,010

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,717 in Santarem.

Barcelona $4,564
Santarem $2,717

Living in Barcelona is roughly 88% more expensive than in Santarem, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Santarem is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$12.18 €10.91

44.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$38.63 €34.60

74.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$8.97 €8.03

50.84%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.77 €1.58

80.23%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.71 €1.53

70.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.11 €0.99

70.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.17 €1.95

84.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.28 €2.94

38.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.12 €1.01

16.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.47 €0.42

329.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.10 €0.98

68.18%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.29 €2.94

46.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$10.84 €9.71

54.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$7.01 €6.28

30.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$13.56 €12.15

44.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.74 €2.46

8.76%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.33 €1.19

51.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.54 €2.27

6.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.14 €1.92

30.84%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.43 €1.28

46.15%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.58 €1.41

31.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.15 €1.03

26.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.29 €0.26

224.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$5.68 €5.09

20.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$5.71 €5.11

38.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.22 €1.09

15.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.57 €3.20

-28.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$2.22 €1.99

41.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$56.2 €50.3

-54.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$3.70 €3.31

-19.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.10 €1.88

-14.29%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$33.3K €29.8K

-0.39%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$38.3K €34.3K

-17.27%

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

$180 €162

$127 €114

41.97%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$20.29 €18.17

-31.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$56.5 €50.6

-40.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$37.18 €33.30

38.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.79 €6.08

61.86%

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

$917 €821

$425 €380

115.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$19.0K €17.0K

-13.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$78.8 €70.6

10.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$37.35 €33.45

3.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$107 €96.1

-1.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$135 €121

-11.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$653 €585

160.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$419 €376

223.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,027 €919

153.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$808 €723

155.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$2,173 €1,946

218.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$1,099 €984

366.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$1,080 €967

104.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.76

-31.09%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Santarem: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Santarem

$419 32.2% 69.1% $936

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Santarem

$224 17.2% 30.3% $97

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Santarem

$174 13.4% 35% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Santarem

$204 15.7% 10.6% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Santarem

$161 12.4% 2.2% $3.4

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Santarem

$51 3.9% 30.9% $23

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Santarem

$69 * 5.3% 41.8% $20

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 $653 in Santarem. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $39 in Santarem for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $224 per month, with Santarem cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇵🇹 Santarem

🕒 Local time

21:06 9:06 PM

20:06 8:06 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

58,671

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Santarem 950 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Santarem

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 Santarem: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,303 in Santarem, so Santarem is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $653 in Santarem. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $425 in Santarem. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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

It comes down to priorities – Santarem wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.