Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sfax

For one person, living is cheaper in Sfax: $623 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $22,000 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Sfax
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Sfax Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Sfax

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$623

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sfax

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $623 in Sfax.

Barcelona $2,453
Sfax $623

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $978 in Sfax.

Barcelona $3,509
Sfax $978

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,333 in Sfax.

Barcelona $4,564
Sfax $1,333

Living in Barcelona is roughly 294% more expensive than in Sfax, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Sfax is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$3.31 TND 9.98

431.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$19.75 TND 59.5

241.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$4.90 TND 14.78

176.12%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$0.68 TND 2.05

369.12%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.62 TND 1.87

369.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.27 TND 0.82

600.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$1.60 TND 4.83

150.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$1.94 TND 5.86

133.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.45 TND 1.37

191.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.22 TND 0.66

818.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.30 TND 3.91

42.31%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$1.57 TND 4.72

207.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$12.26 TND 36.93

36.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$5.69 TND 17.14

60.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$13.72 TND 41.34

43.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.76 TND 5.31

69.32%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.13 TND 9.44

-35.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.08 TND 3.26

150.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$0.69 TND 2.09

305.80%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.82 TND 2.46

154.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$0.82 TND 2.48

152.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.57 TND 1.71

156.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.31 TND 0.94

203.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$3.64 TND 10.97

88.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$6.82 TND 20.53

15.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.18 TND 3.54

19.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.04 TND 3.12

144.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.19 TND 0.57

1552.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$9.76 TND 29.40

160.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$0.31 TND 0.93

864.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.32 TND 0.96

365.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$7.22 TND 21.75

362.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.86 TND 2.58

109.30%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$36.9K TND 111.1K

-9.98%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$35.1K TND 105.8K

-9.70%

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

$180 €162

$44.15 TND 133

308.63%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$9.56 TND 28.80

44.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$14.48 TND 43.63

132.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$27.22 TND 82.0

89.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$7.30 TND 22.00

118.63%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$4.50 TND 13.56

144.22%

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

$917 €823

$95.6 TND 288

859.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$2,459 TND 7,406

570.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$42.96 TND 129

102.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$35.66 TND 107

7.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$111 TND 335

-4.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$65.3 TND 197

83.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$190 TND 573

792.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$135 TND 406

905.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$330 TND 993

689.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$216 TND 650

856.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$986 TND 2,970

601.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$741 TND 2,233

591.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$330 TND 994

570.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

13.6

-75.88%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sfax: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Sfax

$135 21.6% 90.1% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Sfax

$192 30.8% 40.4% $130

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Sfax

$65 10.4% 75.8% $203

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Sfax

$68 11% 70.1% $160

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Sfax

$115 18.4% 27.3% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Sfax

$36 5.8% 50.7% $37

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Sfax

$12 2% 74.4% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $190 in Sfax. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 6.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $20 in Sfax for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $192 per month, with Sfax cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇳 Sfax

🕒 Local time

19:47 7:47 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

955,421

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 TND = 0.332 USD

1 TND = 0.298 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Sfax 1,050 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sfax

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 Sfax: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Sfax differ by about 294% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $623 including rent). Sfax is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 6.7 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 $190 in Sfax. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $96 in Sfax. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 68% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $623 in Sfax versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sfax but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sfax 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.

Expats usually find Sfax gentler on the wallet – expenses run 75% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.