Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sibiu

For one person, living is cheaper in Sibiu: $1,112 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Sibiu
Learn more

Sibiu Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Sibiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,112

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sibiu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,112 in Sibiu.

Barcelona $2,381
Sibiu $1,112

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,654 in Sibiu.

Barcelona $3,406
Sibiu $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $2,197 in Sibiu.

Barcelona $4,431
Sibiu $2,197

Living in Barcelona is roughly 114% more expensive than in Sibiu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Sibiu is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$8.50 RON 40.21

110.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$42.33 RON 200

56.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$7.48 RON 35.37

83.02%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.27 RON 15.48

-6.42%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.01 RON 9.50

52.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.76 RON 8.33

10.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$3.09 RON 14.60

25.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$3.87 RON 18.31

19.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.43 RON 6.78

-9.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.14 RON 5.40

84.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.36 RON 6.43

34.56%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$3.47 RON 16.41

33.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$7.95 RON 37.60

118.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$5.86 RON 27.73

58.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$8.04 RON 38.05

146.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$1.15 RON 5.44

161.74%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.57 RON 7.43

29.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.44 RON 6.80

84.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$2.54 RON 12.02

12.99%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.66 RON 3.13

227.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$0.60 RON 2.84

258.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.99 RON 4.68

48.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.85 RON 4.03

3.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$5.90 RON 27.92

17.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$7.46 RON 35.28

4.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$0.92 RON 4.36

51.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$1.40 RON 6.61

87.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.71 RON 3.34

309.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$17.14 RON 81.1

48.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$0.91 RON 4.28

229.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.80 RON 3.79

80.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$8.24 RON 39.00

302.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.94 RON 9.19

-4.12%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$28.8K RON 136.4K

12.19%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$25.6K RON 121.1K

23.82%

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

$183 €163

$117 RON 551

56.81%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$9.07 RON 42.90

50.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$12.40 RON 58.7

165.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$35.35 RON 167

54.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$14.48 RON 68.5

14.09%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$6.77 RON 32.04

65.88%

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

$954 €849

$449 RON 2,123

112.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$6,702 RON 31.7K

147.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$74.7 RON 353

15.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$31.65 RON 150

23.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$87.3 RON 413

18.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$88.0 RON 416

34.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$450 RON 2,131

276.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$410 RON 1,938

211.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$837 RON 3,960

207.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$606 RON 2,867

217.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$2,501 RON 11.8K

191.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$2,022 RON 9,566

147.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$1,111 RON 5,257

100.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

7.02

-53.28%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Sibiu: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Sibiu

$410 36.8% 67.9% $867

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Sibiu

$196 17.6% 39.8% $129

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Sibiu

$168 15.1% 37.7% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Sibiu

$138 12.4% 39.8% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Sibiu

$127 11.4% 18.9% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Sibiu

$49 4.4% 36.6% $28

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Sibiu

$25 2.2% 47.4% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $450 in Sibiu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 100% 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: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $42.00 in Sibiu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $196 per month, with Sibiu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Sibiu

🕒 Local time

18:56 6:56 PM

19:56 7:56 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

147,245

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Sibiu 1,830 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sibiu

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 Sibiu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Sibiu differ by about 114% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,112 including rent). Sibiu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 100% higher in Barcelona, 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $450 in Sibiu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $449 in Sibiu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 66% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,112 in Sibiu versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sibiu but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sibiu 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 Sibiu are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Sibiu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 114% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.