Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sumy

For one person, living is cheaper in Sumy: $941 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Barcelona, Spain
Sumy, Ukraine
Barcelona
🇪🇸 Spain
$2,453
/mo nomad
Sumy
🇺🇦 Ukraine
$941
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sumy

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $941 in Sumy.

  • Barcelona $2,453
  • Sumy $941

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,610 in Sumy.

  • Barcelona $3,509
  • Sumy $1,610

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,279 in Sumy.

  • Barcelona $4,564
  • Sumy $2,279

Living in Barcelona is roughly 161% more expensive than in Sumy, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Sumy is 31% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Barcelona
Sumy
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.59 €15.76
$10.89 ₴496
61.52%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$67.5 €60.5
$32.99 ₴1,502
104.58%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.53 €12.12
$7.49 ₴341
80.64%
Cappuccino
$3.19 €2.86
$1.80 ₴81.7
77.22%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.91 €2.61
$0.78 ₴35.63
273.08%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.89 €1.70
$0.53 ₴24.28
256.60%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.01 €3.59
$1.33 ₴60.7
201.50%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.53 €4.06
$1.94 ₴88.4
133.51%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
Sumy
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.31 €1.17
$1.27 ₴58.1
3.15%
White Bread (500g)
$2.02 €1.81
$0.84 ₴38.32
140.48%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.85 €1.66
$1.42 ₴64.8
30.28%
Eggs
$4.83 €4.33
$1.95 ₴88.6
147.69%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$16.74 €15.00
$10.13 ₴461
65.25%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.12 €8.17
$5.29 ₴241
72.40%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$19.64 €17.60
$8.46 ₴385
132.15%
Apples (1kg)
$2.98 €2.67
$1.18 ₴53.7
152.54%
Banana (1kg)
$2.02 €1.81
$1.51 ₴68.6
33.77%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.70 €2.42
$1.81 ₴82.3
49.17%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.80 €2.51
$2.69 ₴122
4.09%
Potato (1kg)
$2.09 €1.87
$0.58 ₴26.53
260.34%
Onion (1kg)
$2.07 €1.85
$0.44 ₴20.12
370.45%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.46 €1.31
$1.48 ₴67.4
-1.35%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.94 €0.84
$0.59 ₴26.89
59.32%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.87 €6.16
$2.85 ₴130
141.05%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.89 €7.07
$5.47 ₴249
44.24%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.41 €1.26
$0.85 ₴38.84
65.88%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.54 €2.27
$0.96 ₴43.65
164.58%
🚌 Getting Around
Barcelona
Sumy
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.14 €2.82
$0.32 ₴14.42
881.25%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$25.45 €22.80
$9.23 ₴420
175.73%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.99 €2.68
$2.20 ₴100
35.91%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.49 €1.34
$0.46 ₴20.95
223.91%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$33.37 €29.91
$4.20 ₴191
694.52%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.80 €1.61
$1.57 ₴71.5
14.65%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$33.2K €29.7K
$30.6K ₴1.4M
8.64%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.7K €28.4K
$24.1K ₴1.1M
31.77%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
Sumy
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$180 €162
$99.1 ₴4,510
82.12%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.84 €12.40
$6.80 ₴310
103.53%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$33.70 €30.20
$6.53 ₴297
416.08%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
Sumy
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.5 €46.16
$30.27 ₴1,378
70.17%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.96 €14.30
$20.95 ₴954
-23.82%
Cinema Ticket
$10.99 €9.85
$3.60 ₴164
205.28%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Barcelona
Sumy
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$917 €821
$229 ₴10.4K
300.08%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$16.5K €14.8K
$15.0K ₴682.6K
9.91%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
Sumy
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$87.0 €78.0
$71.7 ₴3,262
21.47%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.51 €34.51
$30.39 ₴1,384
26.72%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$106 €94.8
$94.6 ₴4,306
11.89%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$120 €107
$116 ₴5,264
3.54%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
Sumy
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,699 €1,523
$544 ₴24.8K
212.51%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,355 €1,214
$303 ₴13.8K
347.20%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,603 €2,332
$992 ₴45.2K
162.26%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,062 €1,848
$822 ₴37.4K
150.93%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$6,915 €6,196
$1,081 ₴49.2K
539.48%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$5,128 €4,595
$845 ₴38.5K
506.71%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Barcelona
Sumy
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,211 €1,981
$378 ₴17.2K
484.58%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.28
15.9
-79.37%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sumy: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
$1.4K
Sumy
$303 77.6% $1.1K
Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
$322
Sumy
$185 42.4% $137
Eating Out
Barcelona
$268
Sumy
$147 45.1% $121
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
$228
Sumy
$112 50.7% $116
Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
$158
Sumy
$141 11.1% $17
Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
$74
Sumy
$37 49% $36
Getting Around
Barcelona
$48
Sumy
$15 69.1% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $544 in Sumy. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 5.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $33 in Sumy for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $185 per month, with Sumy cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇪🇸 Barcelona
🇺🇦 Sumy
🕒 Local time
12:39 12:39 PM
13:39 1:39 PM
1 h ahead of Barcelona
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,660,122
267,633
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

UAH, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

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

Ukrainian Hryvnia exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 45.53 UAH (100 UAH = 2.2 USD). 1 EUR = 50.81 UAH (100 UAH = 1.97 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Barcelona Sumy 2,700 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Barcelona
  • Sumy

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 Sumy: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Barcelona and in Sumy?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $941 in Sumy, so Sumy is about 62% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Barcelona or Sumy?
Average pay in Barcelona is about 5.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Barcelona and in Sumy?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $544 in Sumy. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Barcelona and Sumy?
Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $229 in Sumy. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 74% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is feasible on a $800 budget?
Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Sumy is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.
How does quality of life compare between Barcelona and Sumy?
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.
Where should expats move: Barcelona or Sumy?
Expats usually find Sumy gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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