Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sighetu Marmatiei

For one person, living is cheaper in Sighetu Marmatiei: $958 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Sighetu Marmatiei
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Sighetu Marmatiei Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Sighetu Marmatiei

🇷🇴 Romania

$958

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sighetu Marmatiei

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $958 in Sighetu Marmatiei.

Barcelona $2,453
Sighetu Marmatiei $958

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,401 in Sighetu Marmatiei.

Barcelona $3,509
Sighetu Marmatiei $1,401

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,843 in Sighetu Marmatiei.

Barcelona $4,564
Sighetu Marmatiei $1,843

Living in Barcelona is roughly 156% more expensive than in Sighetu Marmatiei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Sighetu Marmatiei is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$8.62 RON 41.42

104.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$20.80 RON 100.0

224.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$7.31 RON 35.14

85.09%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$2.68 RON 12.89

19.03%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$1.84 RON 8.86

58.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.77 RON 8.51

6.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$2.06 RON 9.89

94.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$3.15 RON 15.12

43.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.44 RON 6.92

-9.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.01 RON 4.87

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.20 RON 5.77

54.17%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$2.83 RON 13.61

70.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$8.02 RON 38.54

108.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$6.34 RON 30.45

43.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$9.18 RON 44.10

113.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.12 RON 5.38

166.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.49 RON 7.16

35.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.49 RON 7.17

81.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$1.36 RON 6.56

105.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.86 RON 4.16

143.02%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$0.95 RON 4.57

117.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.69 RON 3.32

111.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.84 RON 4.01

11.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$5.46 RON 26.23

25.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$5.77 RON 27.73

36.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.03 RON 4.95

36.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.76 RON 8.44

44.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.76 RON 3.64

313.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$21.76 RON 105

16.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$0.72 RON 3.45

315.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.77 RON 3.69

93.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$7.41 RON 35.63

350.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.73 RON 8.31

4.05%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$29.0K RON 139.3K

14.53%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$25.5K RON 122.5K

24.38%

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

$180 €162

$138 RON 663

30.86%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$6.50 RON 31.22

112.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$7.73 RON 37.13

335.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$38.48 RON 185

33.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$20.29 RON 97.5

-21.34%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$4.31 RON 20.73

154.99%

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

$917 €823

$396 RON 1,904

131.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$8,844 RON 42.5K

86.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$59.9 RON 288

45.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$37.56 RON 180

2.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$54.8 RON 263

93.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$63.4 RON 305

88.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$378 RON 1,818

349.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$290 RON 1,392

367.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$602 RON 2,893

332.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$441 RON 2,120

367.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$1,865 RON 8,961

270.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$1,333 RON 6,404

284.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$522 RON 2,510

323.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

7.1

-53.80%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sighetu Marmatiei: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$290 30.2% 78.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$189 19.7% 41.4% $133

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$154 16.1% 42.5% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$152 15.9% 33.3% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$97 10.1% 38.6% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$47 4.9% 35.9% $26

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$29 3.1% 39.4% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $378 in Sighetu Marmatiei. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $21 in Sighetu Marmatiei for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $189 per month, with Sighetu Marmatiei cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Sighetu Marmatiei

🕒 Local time

15:59 3:59 PM

16:59 4:59 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

37,640

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Sighetu Marmatiei 1,860 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Sighetu Marmatiei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Sighetu Marmatiei differ by about 156% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $958 including rent). Sighetu Marmatiei is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 4.2 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 $378 in Sighetu Marmatiei. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $396 in Sighetu Marmatiei. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 71% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $958 in Sighetu Marmatiei versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sighetu Marmatiei but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sighetu Marmatiei 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 Sighetu Marmatiei 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 Sighetu Marmatiei gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.