Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Shumen

For one person, living is cheaper in Shumen: $913 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,500 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Shumen
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Shumen Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Shumen

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$913

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Shumen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $913 in Shumen.

Barcelona $2,453
Shumen $913

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,422 in Shumen.

Barcelona $3,509
Shumen $1,422

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,931 in Shumen.

Barcelona $4,564
Shumen $1,931

Living in Barcelona is roughly 169% more expensive than in Shumen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Shumen is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$9.14 BGN 15.99

92.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$34.66 BGN 60.7

94.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$9.14 BGN 15.99

48.03%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.69 BGN 2.96

88.76%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.43 BGN 2.50

103.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.07 BGN 1.87

76.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.95 BGN 5.15

35.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.89 BGN 5.06

56.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.84 BGN 3.23

-28.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.08 BGN 1.89

87.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.57 BGN 4.49

-28.02%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.85 BGN 4.98

69.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$9.11 BGN 15.94

83.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$5.11 BGN 8.95

78.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$8.86 BGN 15.51

121.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.52 BGN 2.66

96.05%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.04 BGN 3.57

-0.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.17 BGN 3.80

24.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.30 BGN 4.02

21.74%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.05 BGN 3.59

1.95%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.25 BGN 2.20

65.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.88 BGN 1.53

65.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.77 BGN 1.34

22.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$3.67 BGN 6.41

87.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$7.00 BGN 12.25

12.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.97 BGN 1.69

45.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.47 BGN 2.57

72.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.88 BGN 1.54

256.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$26.12 BGN 45.72

-2.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.76 BGN 3.07

69.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.53 BGN 0.93

181.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.59 BGN 2.78

13.21%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$30.9K BGN 54.1K

7.36%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$22.3K BGN 39.1K

41.93%

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

$180 €162

$133 BGN 232

35.97%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$17.68 BGN 30.94

-21.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$16.94 BGN 29.64

98.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$38.15 BGN 66.8

35.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$11.41 BGN 19.97

39.88%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.04 BGN 12.32

56.11%

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

$917 €821

$561 BGN 982

63.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$10.5K BGN 18.4K

57.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$47.91 BGN 83.8

81.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$51.6 BGN 90.4

-25.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$94.2 BGN 165

12.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$60.6 BGN 106

97.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$263 BGN 460

546.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$180 BGN 315

653.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$427 BGN 748

509.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$334 BGN 584

518.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$1,231 BGN 2,154

461.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$997 BGN 1,744

414.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$1,024 BGN 1,792

115.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.25

0.92%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Shumen: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Shumen

$180 19.7% 86.7% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Shumen

$214 23.4% 33.7% $108

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Shumen

$151 16.6% 43.5% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Shumen

$167 18.3% 26.6% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Shumen

$114 12.5% 27.6% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Shumen

$52 5.7% 28.9% $21

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Shumen

$34 3.7% 29.8% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $263 in Shumen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.2 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $35 in Shumen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $214 per month, with Shumen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇧🇬 Shumen

🕒 Local time

04:19 4:19 AM

05:19 5:19 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

85,504

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Shumen 2,040 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Shumen

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 Shumen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $913 in Shumen, so Shumen is about 63% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.2 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 $263 in Shumen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $561 in Shumen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 51% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $913 in Shumen versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Shumen but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Shumen 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.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Shumen are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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