Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Solothurn

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $2,753 in Solothurn, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. The total is higher in Solothurn despite lower rent and utilities.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
132

Cost of Living Index in Solothurn
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Solothurn Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Solothurn

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$2,753

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Solothurn

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,753 in Solothurn.

Barcelona $2,453
Solothurn $2,753

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $4,410 in Solothurn.

Barcelona $3,509
Solothurn $4,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $6,067 in Solothurn.

Barcelona $4,564
Solothurn $6,067

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 11% less than in Solothurn, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Solothurn 102% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$30.77 CHF 25.48

-42.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$147 CHF 122

-54.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$18.33 CHF 15.17

-26.19%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$6.67 CHF 5.52

-52.17%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$5.31 CHF 4.40

-45.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$5.33 CHF 4.41

-64.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$6.59 CHF 5.46

-39.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$5.89 CHF 4.88

-23.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.19 CHF 1.81

-40.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.76 CHF 3.12

-46.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.40 CHF 2.82

-45.59%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$8.42 CHF 6.97

-42.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$22.43 CHF 18.57

-25.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$26.36 CHF 21.83

-65.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$60.1 CHF 49.74

-67.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.92 CHF 2.41

2.05%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.49 CHF 1.23

35.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$3.52 CHF 2.92

-23.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$4.26 CHF 3.52

-34.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.65 CHF 1.36

26.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.84 CHF 1.52

12.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.55 CHF 1.29

-5.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.01 CHF 0.84

-6.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$10.81 CHF 8.95

-36.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$14.12 CHF 11.69

-44.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.91 CHF 2.41

-51.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.11 CHF 2.58

-18.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$4.68 CHF 3.87

-32.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$7.96 CHF 6.59

-62.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$4.47 CHF 3.70

-66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$88.1 CHF 72.9

-62.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.23 CHF 1.84

-19.28%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$30.4K CHF 25.2K

9.04%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$35.0K CHF 29.0K

-9.36%

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

$180 €162

$97.8 CHF 81.0

84.51%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$30.67 CHF 25.39

-54.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$54.3 CHF 44.99

-37.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$89.4 CHF 74.0

-42.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$17.05 CHF 14.11

-6.39%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$17.87 CHF 14.79

-38.50%

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

$917 €821

$3,421 CHF 2,832

-73.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$19.5K CHF 16.1K

-15.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$138 CHF 114

-36.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$41.96 CHF 34.74

-8.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$159 CHF 132

-33.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$246 CHF 203

-51.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$1,154 CHF 955

47.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$1,043 CHF 864

29.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$1,803 CHF 1,493

44.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$1,718 CHF 1,422

20.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$9,576 CHF 7,929

-27.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$4,801 CHF 3,975

6.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$6,805 CHF 5,634

-67.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.03

61.58%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Solothurn: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Solothurn

$1K 37.9% 23% $312

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Solothurn

$621 22.6% 93% $299

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Solothurn

$468 17% 74.9% $201

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Solothurn

$183 6.6% 19.8% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Solothurn

$263 9.6% 66.6% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Solothurn

$125 4.6% 70.3% $52

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Solothurn

$49 * 1.8% 1.1% $0.6

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,154 in Solothurn. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Solothurn pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $147 in Solothurn for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $621 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇭 Solothurn

🕒 Local time

06:04 6:04 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

16,599

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Solothurn 780 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Solothurn

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 Solothurn: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,753 in Solothurn, so Barcelona is about 11% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 68% 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 $1,154 in Solothurn. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $3,421 in Solothurn. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $67 versus $147 in Solothurn. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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 Solothurn are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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