Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sparta

For one person, living is cheaper in Sparta: $1,351 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 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
65

Cost of Living Index in Sparta
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Sparta Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Sparta

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sparta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,351 in Sparta.

Barcelona $2,453
Sparta $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,993 in Sparta.

Barcelona $3,509
Sparta $1,993

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,636 in Sparta.

Barcelona $4,564
Sparta $2,636

Living in Barcelona is roughly 82% more expensive than in Sparta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$9.87 €8.86

78.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$47.23 €42.42

42.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$7.93 €7.12

70.62%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$3.34 €3.00

-4.49%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$2.21 €1.99

31.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.58 €0.52

225.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$4.45 €3.99

-9.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$4.42 €3.97

2.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.65 €1.49

-20.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.37 €1.23

47.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.54 €2.28

-27.17%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$5.14 €4.62

-6.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$12.34 €11.08

35.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$10.26 €9.22

-11.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$15.84 €14.23

23.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.23 €2.00

33.63%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.13 €1.92

-5.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.66 €1.49

62.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$2.01 €1.81

39.30%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.10 €0.99

90.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.17 €1.05

76.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.85 €0.77

71.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.15 €1.03

-18.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$5.02 €4.51

36.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$7.16 €6.43

10.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.81 €1.63

-22.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$3.38 €3.04

-24.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.35 €1.21

132.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$53.1 €47.67

-52.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$4.38 €3.94

-31.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.09 €0.98

36.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$12.50 €11.23

166.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.17 €1.95

-17.05%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$24.5K €22.0K

35.27%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$24.2K €21.7K

31.05%

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

$180 €162

$169 €152

6.81%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$22.61 €20.31

-38.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$27.11 €24.35

24.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$50.4 €45.28

2.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$36.41 €32.70

-56.17%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$9.38 €8.42

17.16%

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

$917 €823

$233 €209

293.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$2,794 €2,510

489.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$82.4 €74.0

5.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$36.30 €32.60

6.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$80.5 €72.3

31.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$90.4 €81.2

32.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$494 €443

244.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$389 €349

248.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$728 €654

257.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$504 €453

309.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$2,483 €2,231

178.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$1,930 €1,734

165.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$937 €841

136.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.38

-25.11%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sparta: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Sparta

$389 28.8% 71.3% $966

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Sparta

$290 21.5% 9.8% $32

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Sparta

$185 13.7% 31% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Sparta

$219 16.2% 4.1% $9.3

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Sparta

$130 9.7% 17.5% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Sparta

$69 5.1% 5.9% $4.3

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Sparta

$68 5.1% 40.9% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $494 in Sparta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $47 in Sparta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $290 per month, with Sparta cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇷 Sparta

🕒 Local time

16:47 4:47 PM

17:47 5:47 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

16,239

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Sparta 1,800 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sparta

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 Sparta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Sparta differ by about 82% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $1,351 including rent). Sparta is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.4 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 $494 in Sparta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $233 in Sparta. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,351 in Sparta versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sparta but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sparta 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 Sparta are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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