Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Szeged

For one person, living is cheaper in Szeged: $1,223 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Szeged
Learn more

Szeged Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Szeged

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Szeged

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,223 in Szeged.

Barcelona $2,453
Szeged $1,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,918 in Szeged.

Barcelona $3,509
Szeged $1,918

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,613 in Szeged.

Barcelona $4,564
Szeged $2,613

Living in Barcelona is roughly 101% more expensive than in Szeged, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Szeged is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.69

$9.23 Ft 3,004

90.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$58.0 Ft 18.9K

16.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.07

$9.04 Ft 2,942

49.67%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$2.37 Ft 772

34.60%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$1.57 Ft 512

85.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$1.31 Ft 426

44.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$2.23 Ft 727

79.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.04

$2.31 Ft 750

96.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.16

$1.18 Ft 385

11.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.35 Ft 440

49.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$2.43 Ft 792

-23.87%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.31

$3.56 Ft 1,160

35.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.93

$10.68 Ft 3,474

56.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$6.58 Ft 2,140

38.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.52

$15.85 Ft 5,156

23.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$2.19 Ft 711

36.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.25 Ft 732

-10.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$2.00 Ft 649

35.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$3.34 Ft 1,086

-16.17%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$1.03 Ft 334

102.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.04 Ft 339

99.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.59 Ft 518

-8.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.50 Ft 163

88.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.13

$7.94 Ft 2,582

-13.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$5.18 Ft 1,684

52.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.25

$1.23 Ft 400

14.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$1.98 Ft 643

28.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.80

$1.71 Ft 557

83.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.70

$28.69 Ft 9,334

-11.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$3.03 Ft 986

-1.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.64 Ft 535

-9.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.78

$18.32 Ft 5,960

82.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.60

$1.82 Ft 591

-1.10%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$26.9K Ft 8.8M

23.22%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$35.5K Ft 11.6M

-10.70%

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

$180 €161

$128 Ft 41.6K

41.24%

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

$13.84 €12.35

$21.90 Ft 7,127

-36.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.06

$19.74 Ft 6,424

70.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €45.96

$51.5 Ft 16.7K

0.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.24

$29.38 Ft 9,560

-45.68%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.81

$8.64 Ft 2,812

27.20%

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

$917 €818

$250 Ft 81.4K

266.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$6,580 Ft 2.1M

150.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$112 Ft 36.5K

-22.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.35

$32.50 Ft 10.6K

18.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.4

$93.6 Ft 30.4K

13.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$110 Ft 35.9K

8.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,516

$518 Ft 168.5K

228.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,209

$375 Ft 122.1K

261.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,322

$739 Ft 240.4K

252.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,840

$615 Ft 200.2K

235.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,169

$3,210 Ft 1.0M

115.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,575

$2,316 Ft 753.7K

121.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,972

$1,224 Ft 398.3K

80.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.67

-50.82%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Szeged: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Szeged

$375 30.7% 72.3% $980

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Szeged

$249 20.4% 22.7% $73

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Szeged

$157 12.8% 41.5% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Szeged

$169 13.9% 25.7% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Szeged

$157 12.8% 0.7% $1.1

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Szeged

$69 5.6% 6.5% $4.8

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Szeged

$47 3.8% 3.5% $1.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $518 in Szeged. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 81% 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 $58 in Szeged for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $249 per month, with Szeged cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇭🇺 Szeged

🕒 Local time

20:06 8:06 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

157,930

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Barcelona
Szeged

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 Szeged: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,223 in Szeged, so Szeged is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 81% higher in Barcelona, 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 $518 in Szeged. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $250 in Szeged. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,223 in Szeged versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Szeged but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Szeged 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 Szeged are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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