Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Struga

For one person, living is cheaper in Struga: $861 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Struga
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Struga Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Struga

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$861

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Struga

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $861 in Struga.

Barcelona $2,453
Struga $861

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,317 in Struga.

Barcelona $3,509
Struga $1,317

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,772 in Struga.

Barcelona $4,564
Struga $1,772

Living in Barcelona is roughly 185% more expensive than in Struga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Struga is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$7.12 MKD 391

147.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$29.20 MKD 1,606

131.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.43 MKD 299

149.17%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.56 MKD 85.9

104.49%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.82 MKD 100

59.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.20 MKD 65.8

57.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.68 MKD 148

49.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.03 MKD 166

49.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.23 MKD 67.5

6.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.73 MKD 40.01

176.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.62 MKD 88.8

14.20%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.96 MKD 108

146.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$7.41 MKD 408

125.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.24 MKD 343

46.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$12.68 MKD 697

54.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.47 MKD 81.1

102.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.35 MKD 74.4

49.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.25 MKD 68.7

116.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.54 MKD 84.7

81.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.89 MKD 49.03

134.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.85 MKD 46.50

143.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.59 MKD 32.64

147.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.55 MKD 30.24

70.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.50 MKD 193

96.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$4.65 MKD 256

69.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.06 MKD 58.5

33.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.42 MKD 78.0

78.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.88 MKD 48.66

256.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$55.3 MKD 3,044

-54.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.07 MKD 58.7

179.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.61 MKD 33.28

144.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$5.01 MKD 276

566.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.43 MKD 78.6

25.87%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$33.1K MKD 1.8M

0.27%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$25.9K MKD 1.4M

22.32%

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

$180 €162

$100 MKD 5,507

80.19%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$10.81 MKD 595

28.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$18.92 MKD 1,040

78.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$20.03 MKD 1,102

157.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$11.44 MKD 629

39.51%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.46 MKD 410

47.32%

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

$917 €821

$118 MKD 6,501

675.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$1,583 MKD 87.1K

940.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$85.7 MKD 4,713

1.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$31.08 MKD 1,709

23.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$71.0 MKD 3,905

49.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$52.5 MKD 2,888

127.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$278 MKD 15.3K

510.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$217 MKD 12.0K

523.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$441 MKD 24.3K

490.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$356 MKD 19.6K

479.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$1,544 MKD 84.9K

347.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,364 MKD 75.0K

276.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$852 MKD 46.9K

159.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.75

-12.53%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Struga: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Struga

$217 25.2% 84% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Struga

$184 21.4% 42.7% $138

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Struga

$124 14.4% 53.9% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Struga

$130 15.1% 43% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Struga

$108 12.6% 31.6% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Struga

$35 4.1% 52.5% $39

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Struga

$63 7.3% 29.9% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $278 in Struga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.6 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $29 in Struga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $184 per month, with Struga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇰 Struga

🕒 Local time

02:58 2:58 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

33,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.41 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Struga 1,540 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Struga

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 Struga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $861 in Struga, so Struga is about 65% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.6 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 $278 in Struga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $118 in Struga. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 75% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $861 in Struga versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Struga but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Struga 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 Struga are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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