Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Skovde

For one person, living is cheaper in Skovde: $1,761 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Skovde
Learn more

Skovde Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Skovde

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,761

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Skovde

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,761 in Skovde.

Barcelona $2,453
Skovde $1,761

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,768 in Skovde.

Barcelona $3,509
Skovde $2,768

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,776 in Skovde.

Barcelona $4,564
Skovde $3,776

Living in Barcelona is roughly 39% more expensive than in Skovde.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Skovde 29% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$13.25 SEK 130

32.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$81.4 SEK 799

-17.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$10.21 SEK 100

32.52%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$4.19 SEK 41.10

-23.87%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$3.02 SEK 29.63

-3.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$2.39 SEK 23.49

-20.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$8.08 SEK 79.4

-50.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$9.93 SEK 97.5

-54.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.43 SEK 14.02

-8.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.85 SEK 27.99

-29.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$4.56 SEK 44.73

-59.43%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.68 SEK 36.10

31.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$9.99 SEK 98.1

67.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$13.20 SEK 130

-30.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$18.04 SEK 177

8.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$4.15 SEK 40.73

-28.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.76 SEK 27.12

-26.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$3.50 SEK 34.41

-22.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$5.17 SEK 50.8

-45.84%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.54 SEK 15.11

35.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.69 SEK 16.56

22.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$2.57 SEK 25.25

-43.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.32 SEK 12.99

-28.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$8.10 SEK 79.6

-15.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$7.81 SEK 76.7

1.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.51 SEK 24.67

-43.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.56 SEK 25.17

-0.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$3.71 SEK 36.39

-15.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$83.8 SEK 823

-69.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$5.27 SEK 51.7

-43.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.29 SEK 12.71

15.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$60.6 SEK 595

-44.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.79 SEK 17.55

0.56%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$33.7K SEK 330.8K

-1.48%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$33.7K SEK 331.2K

-6.01%

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

$180 €162

$111 SEK 1,092

62.25%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$10.90 SEK 107

26.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$48.39 SEK 475

-30.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$36.63 SEK 360

40.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$29.70 SEK 292

-46.26%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$17.99 SEK 177

-38.91%

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

$917 €821

$126 SEK 1,234

629.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$4,824 SEK 47.4K

241.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$104 SEK 1,019

-16.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$29.95 SEK 294

28.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$59.9 SEK 588

76.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$200 SEK 1,960

-40.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$803 SEK 7,880

111.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$592 SEK 5,813

128.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$1,359 SEK 13.3K

91.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$1,003 SEK 9,853

105.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$4,027 SEK 39.5K

71.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$2,847 SEK 28.0K

80.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$3,253 SEK 31.9K

-32.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

9.33%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Skovde: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Skovde

$592 33.6% 56.3% $763

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Skovde

$370 21% 15.1% $49

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Skovde

$269 15.3% 0.3% $0.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Skovde

$170 9.7% 25.2% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Skovde

$177 10% 12% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Skovde

$73 4.1% 1.2% $0.9

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Skovde

$110 6.3% 128% $62

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $803 in Skovde. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Skovde pays 47% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $81 in Skovde for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $370 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇪 Skovde

🕒 Local time

16:13 4:13 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

34,466

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 SEK = 10.18 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Skovde 2,060 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Skovde

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 Skovde: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,761 in Skovde, so Skovde is about 28% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 32% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $803 in Skovde. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $126 in Skovde. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 13% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,761 in Skovde versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Skovde but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Skovde 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 Skovde are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.