Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and St. Moritz

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $3,626 in St. Moritz, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
174

Cost of Living Index in St. Moritz
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St. Moritz Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

St. Moritz

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,626

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in St. Moritz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,626 in St. Moritz.

Barcelona $2,453
St. Moritz $3,626

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $6,508 in St. Moritz.

Barcelona $3,509
St. Moritz $6,508

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $9,390 in St. Moritz.

Barcelona $4,564
St. Moritz $9,390

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 32% less than in St. Moritz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, St. Moritz 166% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$34.20 CHF 28.21

-48.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$143 CHF 118

-52.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$14.40 CHF 11.87

-6.04%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$5.90 CHF 4.87

-45.93%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$5.54 CHF 4.57

-47.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$4.60 CHF 3.80

-58.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$9.90 CHF 8.16

-59.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$6.03 CHF 4.97

-24.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.81 CHF 1.49

-27.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.96 CHF 3.27

-48.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.60 CHF 2.97

-48.61%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$7.67 CHF 6.32

-37.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$27.09 CHF 22.34

-38.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$28.89 CHF 23.83

-68.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$60.5 CHF 49.91

-67.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$4.09 CHF 3.37

-27.14%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.75 CHF 2.27

-26.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$3.60 CHF 2.97

-25.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$4.59 CHF 3.79

-39.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.55 CHF 2.10

-18.04%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$2.34 CHF 1.93

-11.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$2.49 CHF 2.05

-41.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.25 CHF 1.03

-24.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$10.77 CHF 8.88

-36.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$13.92 CHF 11.48

-43.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.88 CHF 2.37

-51.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.21 CHF 2.65

-20.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$3.92 CHF 3.24

-19.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$92.6 CHF 76.3

-72.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$8.08 CHF 6.67

-63.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$4.54 CHF 3.75

-67.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$87.8 CHF 72.4

-61.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.14 CHF 1.76

-15.89%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$38.6K CHF 31.8K

-14.02%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$39.6K CHF 32.7K

-19.96%

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

$180 €162

$96.8 CHF 79.9

86.35%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$39.12 CHF 32.26

-64.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$54.8 CHF 45.16

-38.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$73.0 CHF 60.2

-29.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$18.96 CHF 15.64

-42.04%

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

$917 €821

$3,402 CHF 2,806

-73.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$41.2K CHF 34.0K

-60.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$140 CHF 115

-37.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$55.1 CHF 45.43

-30.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$161 CHF 133

-34.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$249 CHF 205

-51.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$1,794 CHF 1,480

-5.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$1,753 CHF 1,446

-22.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$5,403 CHF 4,456

-51.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$4,730 CHF 3,901

-56.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$12.3K CHF 10.1K

-58.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$4,889 CHF 4,032

-54.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

1.8

82.22%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for St. Moritz: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

St. Moritz

$1.8K 48.3% 29.3% $398

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

St. Moritz

$670 18.5% 108% $348

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

St. Moritz

$490 13.5% 82.8% $222

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

St. Moritz

$191 5.3% 16.4% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

St. Moritz

$272 7.5% 72.2% $114

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

St. Moritz

$111 3.1% 50.9% $37

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

St. Moritz

$139 3.8% 187% $91

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,794 in St. Moritz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Moritz pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $143 in St. Moritz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $670 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇭 St. Moritz

🕒 Local time

04:03 4:03 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

5,000

💱 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

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Between locations

Barcelona St. Moritz 840 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
St. Moritz

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 St. Moritz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $3,626 in St. Moritz, so Barcelona is about 32% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 55% 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 $1,794 in St. Moritz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $3,402 in St. Moritz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 108% higher in St. Moritz. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,626 in St. Moritz, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in St. Moritz. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelona 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.

Expats usually find Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in St. Moritz. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.