Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Szekszard

For one person, living is cheaper in Szekszard: $1,199 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Szekszard
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Szekszard Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Szekszard

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,199

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Szekszard

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,199 in Szekszard.

Barcelona $2,443
Szekszard $1,199

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,835 in Szekszard.

Barcelona $3,519
Szekszard $1,835

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,471 in Szekszard.

Barcelona $4,595
Szekszard $2,471

Living in Barcelona is roughly 104% more expensive than in Szekszard, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Szekszard is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.75

$12.17 Ft 3,956

45.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$46.57 Ft 15.1K

44.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.14

$9.14 Ft 2,968

48.91%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$1.58 Ft 514

96.20%

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

$3.00 €2.68

$1.96 Ft 638

53.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$1.18 Ft 384

63.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.43

$3.15 Ft 1,023

21.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.89

$2.79 Ft 908

56.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.14 Ft 372

9.65%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$1.45 Ft 472

46.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$2.44 Ft 792

-19.26%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.25

$3.08 Ft 1,002

54.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.22

$11.02 Ft 3,583

54.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.99

$6.20 Ft 2,013

44.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.42

$13.44 Ft 4,368

53.65%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.82

$1.67 Ft 543

89.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.95 Ft 635

1.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$1.98 Ft 644

33.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$2.71 Ft 881

6.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$1.04 Ft 337

98.08%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.24 Ft 404

75.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.69 Ft 550

-9.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$0.45 Ft 146

115.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.21

$7.96 Ft 2,586

-12.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$6.12 Ft 1,989

28.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.12 Ft 364

26.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$1.59 Ft 515

69.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$1.25 Ft 408

164.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.84

$30.07 Ft 9,772

-14.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$3.12 Ft 1,014

-1.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.57 Ft 509

-5.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.32

$18.41 Ft 5,981

78.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.92 Ft 625

-2.60%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$32.4K Ft 10.5M

1.74%

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

$31.9K €28.5K

$34.3K Ft 11.2M

-6.97%

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

$183 €163

$122 Ft 39.7K

49.72%

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

$14.24 €12.70

$18.34 Ft 5,960

-22.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.83

$23.26 Ft 7,557

48.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.87

$51.9 Ft 16.8K

-0.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.62

$18.84 Ft 6,123

-13.06%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.87

$7.21 Ft 2,343

53.40%

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

$944 €842

$249 Ft 80.8K

279.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$7,765 Ft 2.5M

186.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.2

$60.9 Ft 19.8K

43.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.59

$25.00 Ft 8,125

55.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$91.2 Ft 29.6K

14.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$75.8 Ft 24.6K

55.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,514

$537 Ft 174.4K

216.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,192

$399 Ft 129.6K

235.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,401

$759 Ft 246.8K

254.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,853

$651 Ft 211.5K

219.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,382

$1,644 Ft 534.3K

335.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,530

$1,217 Ft 395.4K

317.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,999

$918 Ft 298.2K

144.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

8.25

-61.33%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Szekszard: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Szekszard

$399 33.3% 70.2% $938

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Szekszard

$233 19.4% 29% $95

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Szekszard

$178 14.8% 33.4% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Szekszard

$164 13.7% 29.3% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Szekszard

$114 9.5% 27.5% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Szekszard

$66 5.5% 9.9% $7.3

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Szekszard

$46 3.8% 6.7% $3.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $537 in Szekszard. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $47 in Szekszard for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $233 per month, with Szekszard cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇭🇺 Szekszard

🕒 Local time

07:29 7:29 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

29,707

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.08 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Szekszard 1,430 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Szekszard

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 Szekszard: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,199 in Szekszard, so Szekszard is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.4 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $537 in Szekszard. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $249 in Szekszard. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Szekszard 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 Szekszard are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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