Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Serra

For one person, living is cheaper in Serra: $825 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Serra
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Serra Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Serra

🇧🇷 Brazil

$825

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Serra

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $825 in Serra.

Barcelona $2,453
Serra $825

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,225 in Serra.

Barcelona $3,509
Serra $1,225

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,624 in Serra.

Barcelona $4,564
Serra $1,624

Living in Barcelona is roughly 197% more expensive than in Serra, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Serra is 39% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$4.60 R$25.04

282.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$21.69 R$118

211.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$7.59 R$41.30

78.26%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.84 R$10.04

73.37%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.24 R$6.77

134.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.54 R$2.93

250.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.80 R$9.78

122.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.83 R$15.39

60.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.10 R$5.98

19.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.74 R$9.45

16.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.08 R$5.88

71.30%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.05 R$11.14

135.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$9.67 R$52.6

73.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$4.27 R$23.22

113.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$8.14 R$44.29

141.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.65 R$14.43

12.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.43 R$7.76

41.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.67 R$9.11

61.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.52 R$8.26

84.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.10 R$5.96

90.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.00 R$5.43

107.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.18 R$6.41

23.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.22 R$6.66

-22.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$2.34 R$12.75

193.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$5.31 R$28.89

48.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.95 R$5.19

48.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.10 R$16.85

-18.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.84 R$4.58

273.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$44.26 R$241

-42.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.22 R$6.64

145.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.05 R$5.70

41.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$7.37 R$40.09

352.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.05 R$5.72

71.43%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$22.0K R$119.9K

50.59%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$31.5K R$171.6K

0.49%

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

$180 €162

$147 R$800

22.74%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$11.59 R$63.1

19.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$19.76 R$107

70.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$24.12 R$131

113.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$25.58 R$139

-37.61%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.61 R$35.95

66.26%

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

$917 €821

$172 R$937

432.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$7,088 R$38.6K

132.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$52.3 R$285

66.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$47.29 R$257

-18.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$84.5 R$460

25.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$67.6 R$368

77.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$236 R$1,286

618.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$141 R$765

863.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$402 R$2,189

546.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$204 R$1,112

909.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$914 R$4,970

656.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$530 R$2,884

867.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$514 R$2,798

329.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-70.18%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Serra: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Serra

$141 17% 89.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Serra

$198 24% 38.5% $124

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Serra

$104 12.5% 61.4% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Serra

$178 21.6% 21.8% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Serra

$113 13.7% 28.3% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Serra

$37 4.5% 49.2% $36

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Serra

$54 6.6% 11.6% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $236 in Serra. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $22 in Serra for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $198 per month, with Serra cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇧🇷 Serra

🕒 Local time

02:29 2:29 AM

22:29 10:29 PM

4 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

520,653

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Serra 8,120 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Serra

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 Serra: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $825 in Serra, so Serra is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 4.3 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 $236 in Serra. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $172 in Serra. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 63% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $825 in Serra versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Serra but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Serra the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

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