Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Strumica

For one person, living is cheaper in Strumica: $866 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,000 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Strumica
Learn more

Strumica Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Strumica

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$866

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Strumica

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $866 in Strumica.

Barcelona $2,453
Strumica $866

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,222 in Strumica.

Barcelona $3,509
Strumica $1,222

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,579 in Strumica.

Barcelona $4,564
Strumica $1,579

Living in Barcelona is roughly 183% more expensive than in Strumica, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Strumica is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$3.57 MKD 197

392.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$22.29 MKD 1,226

202.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$3.73 MKD 205

262.73%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.53 MKD 84.0

108.50%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.40 MKD 77.0

107.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.15 MKD 63.0

64.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.85 MKD 102

116.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.98 MKD 109

128.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.29 MKD 70.9

1.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.74 MKD 40.45

172.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.70 MKD 93.8

8.82%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.12 MKD 117

127.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$7.99 MKD 440

109.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.19 MKD 341

47.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$9.90 MKD 544

98.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$0.61 MKD 33.70

388.52%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.38 MKD 76.0

46.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.20 MKD 66.3

125.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.97 MKD 108

42.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.83 MKD 45.55

151.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.77 MKD 42.48

168.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.64 MKD 35.22

128.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.59 MKD 32.28

59.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$2.72 MKD 149

152.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$5.37 MKD 296

46.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.95 MKD 52.4

48.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.20 MKD 65.9

111.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.70 MKD 38.57

348.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.07 MKD 59.1

179.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.62 MKD 33.86

140.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$7.73 MKD 425

331.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.57 MKD 86.6

14.65%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$33.6K MKD 1.9M

-1.34%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$26.4K MKD 1.5M

20.21%

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

$180 €162

$150 MKD 8,243

20.41%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$12.85 MKD 707

7.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$18.35 MKD 1,010

83.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$20.22 MKD 1,113

154.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.10 MKD 391

54.79%

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

$917 €821

$365 MKD 20.1K

151.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$5,764 MKD 317.1K

185.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$85.7 MKD 4,717

1.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$36.58 MKD 2,012

5.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$104 MKD 5,709

1.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$91.8 MKD 5,049

30.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$308 MKD 17.0K

451.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$241 MKD 13.3K

462.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$493 MKD 27.1K

428.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$298 MKD 16.4K

592.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$1,484 MKD 81.7K

365.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$979 MKD 53.9K

423.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$640 MKD 35.2K

245.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-18.00%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Strumica: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Strumica

$241 27.8% 82.2% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Strumica

$178 20.5% 44.8% $144

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Strumica

$81 9.4% 69.6% $186

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Strumica

$181 20.9% 20.6% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Strumica

$143 16.5% 9.5% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Strumica

$34 4% 53.2% $39

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Strumica

$7 * 0.8% 85.6% $42

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 $308 in Strumica. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $22 in Strumica for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $178 per month, with Strumica cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇰 Strumica

🕒 Local time

08:11 8:11 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

36,000

💱 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 55.02 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.25 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Strumica 1,700 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Strumica

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 Strumica: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $866 in Strumica, so Strumica is about 65% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.5 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 $308 in Strumica. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $365 in Strumica. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Strumica – a meal for two runs $22 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Strumica is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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

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