Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Szolnok

For one person, living is cheaper in Szolnok: $1,098 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Szolnok
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Szolnok Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Szolnok

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,098

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Szolnok

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,098 in Szolnok.

Barcelona $2,453
Szolnok $1,098

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,684 in Szolnok.

Barcelona $3,509
Szolnok $1,684

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,270 in Szolnok.

Barcelona $4,564
Szolnok $2,270

Living in Barcelona is roughly 123% more expensive than in Szolnok, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Szolnok is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$9.47 Ft 3,101

85.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$46.52 Ft 15.2K

45.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$8.12 Ft 2,659

66.63%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.36 Ft 773

35.17%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.92 Ft 630

51.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.21 Ft 395

56.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.55 Ft 836

57.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.71 Ft 886

67.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.95 Ft 310

37.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.23 Ft 403

64.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.58 Ft 518

17.09%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.05 Ft 997

58.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$7.33 Ft 2,399

128.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.53 Ft 2,137

39.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$13.49 Ft 4,415

45.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.50 Ft 490

98.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.70 Ft 556

18.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.52 Ft 497

77.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.39 Ft 782

17.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.64 Ft 208

226.56%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.72 Ft 235

187.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.03 Ft 336

41.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.37 Ft 122

154.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$6.69 Ft 2,189

2.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$3.60 Ft 1,177

119.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.89 Ft 291

58.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.27 Ft 417

100.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.05 Ft 343

199.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$25.83 Ft 8,456

-1.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.96 Ft 970

1.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.25 Ft 737

-33.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$14.69 Ft 4,810

127.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.79 Ft 585

0.56%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$27.5K Ft 9.0M

20.61%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$35.8K Ft 11.7M

-11.53%

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

$180 €162

$128 Ft 41.9K

41.03%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$29.03 Ft 9,504

-52.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$22.08 Ft 7,229

52.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$41.65 Ft 13.6K

23.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$18.19 Ft 5,954

-12.26%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$3.22 Ft 1,053

241.30%

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

$917 €821

$152 Ft 49.9K

501.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$4,885 Ft 1.6M

237.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$81.7 Ft 26.8K

6.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$50.3 Ft 16.5K

-23.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$88.4 Ft 28.9K

19.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$116 Ft 38.1K

2.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$403 Ft 131.8K

321.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$319 Ft 104.3K

325.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$638 Ft 209.0K

307.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$497 Ft 162.8K

314.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$1,994 Ft 652.8K

246.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,629 Ft 533.4K

214.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$1,046 Ft 342.3K

111.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

7.69

-57.35%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Szolnok: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Szolnok

$319 29% 76.5% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Szolnok

$197 18% 38.7% $125

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Szolnok

$159 14.5% 40.6% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Szolnok

$179 16.3% 21.5% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Szolnok

$152 13.8% 4.1% $6.4

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Szolnok

$48 4.4% 34.6% $25

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Szolnok

$44 4% 8.7% $4.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $403 in Szolnok. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.1 times 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 $47 in Szolnok for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $197 per month, with Szolnok cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇭🇺 Szolnok

🕒 Local time

02:40 2:40 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

66,426

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.05 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 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 = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 327 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.05 USD). 1 EUR = 366 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Szolnok 1,570 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Szolnok

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 Szolnok: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,098 in Szolnok, so Szolnok is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.1 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 $403 in Szolnok. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $152 in Szolnok. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Szolnok – a meal for two runs $47 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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

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