Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sundsvall

For one person, living is cheaper in Sundsvall: $1,696 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in Sundsvall
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Sundsvall Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Sundsvall

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,696

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sundsvall

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $1,696 in Sundsvall.

Barcelona $2,399
Sundsvall $1,696

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $2,576 in Sundsvall.

Barcelona $3,410
Sundsvall $2,576

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $3,455 in Sundsvall.

Barcelona $4,421
Sundsvall $3,455

Living in Barcelona is roughly 41% more expensive than in Sundsvall, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 78% above, Sundsvall 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$14.86 SEK 147

20.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$79.8 SEK 790

-14.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$10.94 SEK 108

21.39%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$4.72 SEK 46.78

-31.14%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$2.44 SEK 24.18

23.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.84 SEK 18.22

1.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$8.43 SEK 83.5

-54.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$7.67 SEK 76.0

-41.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.45 SEK 14.37

-11.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$2.94 SEK 29.12

-30.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$3.56 SEK 35.28

-51.69%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$3.25 SEK 32.23

46.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$9.42 SEK 93.4

78.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$9.62 SEK 95.4

-7.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$17.05 SEK 169

16.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.73 SEK 27.05

9.16%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$2.25 SEK 22.25

-9.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.39 SEK 23.69

14.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$3.86 SEK 38.29

-30.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.43 SEK 14.17

46.85%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.34 SEK 13.28

55.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.80 SEK 17.85

-19.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.92 SEK 9.09

-3.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$7.25 SEK 71.8

-4.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$8.76 SEK 86.8

-11.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.66 SEK 16.43

-12.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.30 SEK 12.91

97.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$3.30 SEK 32.74

-9.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$85.1 SEK 843

-70.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$5.82 SEK 57.7

-46.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$6.09 SEK 60.4

-76.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.75 SEK 17.32

2.29%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$30.7K SEK 304.4K

12.73%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$30.1K SEK 298.6K

-0.23%

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

$178 €158

$101 SEK 1,002

75.88%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$28.07 SEK 278

-52.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$36.21 SEK 359

-3.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$40.52 SEK 401

31.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$15.65 SEK 155

2.30%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$13.93 SEK 138

-20.60%

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

$957 €851

$134 SEK 1,332

611.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$92.4 SEK 916

-4.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$19.51 SEK 193

102.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$66.2 SEK 656

55.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$121 SEK 1,203

0.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$662 SEK 6,564

149.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$602 SEK 5,962

116.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$1,171 SEK 11.6K

118.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$858 SEK 8,498

123.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$2,349 SEK 23.3K

210.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$1,660 SEK 16.4K

206.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$3,017 SEK 29.9K

-24.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.88

-15.46%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Sundsvall: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Sundsvall

$602 35.5% 53.8% $700

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Sundsvall

$308 18.2% 3.7% $12

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Sundsvall

$283 16.7% 4.8% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Sundsvall

$165 9.8% 26.8% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Sundsvall

$135 8% 14.9% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Sundsvall

$68 4% 9.3% $7

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Sundsvall

$135 7.9% 184% $87

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $662 in Sundsvall. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sundsvall pays 32% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $80.0 in Sundsvall. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $308, with Sundsvall cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇪 Sundsvall

🕒 Local time

11:17 11:17 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

57,606

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Sundsvall 2,540 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sundsvall

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 Sundsvall: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Sundsvall differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $1,696 including rent). Sundsvall is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 32% lower in Sundsvall. 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $662 in Sundsvall. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $134 in Sundsvall. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 4% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,696 in Sundsvall versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Sundsvall but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sundsvall 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 Sundsvall are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Sundsvall gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.