Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sighisoara

For one person, living is cheaper in Sighisoara: $937 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,100 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 Sighisoara
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Sighisoara Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Sighisoara

🇷🇴 Romania

$937

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sighisoara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $937 in Sighisoara.

Barcelona $2,443
Sighisoara $937

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,501 in Sighisoara.

Barcelona $3,519
Sighisoara $1,501

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,065 in Sighisoara.

Barcelona $4,595
Sighisoara $2,065

Living in Barcelona is roughly 161% more expensive than in Sighisoara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Sighisoara is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.71

$10.66 RON 50.7

65.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.0

$36.06 RON 171

87.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$8.42 RON 40.04

61.64%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$2.13 RON 10.14

45.54%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$2.16 RON 10.28

38.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.71

$2.22 RON 10.56

-13.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$2.06 RON 9.77

86.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$2.79 RON 13.28

56.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.44 RON 6.83

-13.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.20 RON 5.69

76.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.51 RON 7.16

30.46%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$3.33 RON 15.81

42.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.19

$7.31 RON 34.76

133.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$7.13 RON 33.87

25.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.38

$7.14 RON 33.94

189.22%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$1.07 RON 5.08

195.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.63 RON 7.76

20.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.81 RON 8.61

46.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$2.27 RON 10.79

26.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$0.70 RON 3.31

194.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.95 RON 4.53

129.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.91 RON 4.31

68.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$1.04 RON 4.92

-6.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$5.21 RON 24.75

33.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

$7.52 RON 35.75

4.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.26 RON 6.00

12.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.68 RON 7.96

60.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.94

$0.60 RON 2.87

451.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.79

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.74

$0.83 RON 3.93

271.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.82 RON 3.90

80.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.25

$8.29 RON 39.39

296.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.63 RON 7.76

14.72%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$28.8K RON 137.1K

14.30%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$25.0K RON 118.8K

27.83%

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

$183 €163

$59.7 RON 284

206.13%

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

$14.24 €12.67

$8.32 RON 39.55

71.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.76

$8.50 RON 40.42

306.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.76

$53.3 RON 253

-3.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.58

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$9.42 RON 44.76

17.41%

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

$944 €840

$577 RON 2,744

63.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$12.2K RON 58.1K

82.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.0

$89.7 RON 426

-2.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.51

$45.09 RON 214

-14.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.0

$99.1 RON 471

5.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$105 RON 501

11.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,510

$319 RON 1,516

432.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

$255 RON 1,213

423.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,396

$517 RON 2,457

420.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,848

$492 RON 2,337

322.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,367

$1,576 RON 7,492

353.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,520

$1,064 RON 5,056

377.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,995

$589 RON 2,799

280.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

6.65

-52.03%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sighisoara: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Sighisoara

$255 27.3% 80.9% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Sighisoara

$203 21.7% 38% $125

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Sighisoara

$170 18.1% 36.5% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Sighisoara

$77 8.2% 67% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Sighisoara

$153 16.3% 2.7% $4.2

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Sighisoara

$72 7.7% 1.9% $1.4

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Sighisoara

$7.3 * 0.8% 85.1% $42

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $319 in Sighisoara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $36 in Sighisoara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $203 per month, with Sighisoara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Sighisoara

🕒 Local time

04:05 4:05 AM

05:05 5:05 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

32,570

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Sighisoara 1,890 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sighisoara

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 Sighisoara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $937 in Sighisoara, so Sighisoara is about 62% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.8 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $319 in Sighisoara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $577 in Sighisoara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sighisoara – a meal for two runs $36 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $937 in Sighisoara versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sighisoara but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sighisoara 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 Sighisoara are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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