Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Targu Frumos

For one person, living is cheaper in Targu Frumos: $1,030 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Targu Frumos
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Targu Frumos Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Targu Frumos

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,030

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Targu Frumos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $998 in Targu Frumos.

Barcelona $2,399
Targu Frumos $998

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,521 in Targu Frumos.

Barcelona $3,410
Targu Frumos $1,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $2,043 in Targu Frumos.

Barcelona $4,421
Targu Frumos $2,043

Living in Barcelona is roughly 140% more expensive than in Targu Frumos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Targu Frumos is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$10.66 RON 50.4

67.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$41.59 RON 197

59.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$7.23 RON 34.21

89.35%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.43 RON 11.51

25.93%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.03 RON 9.61

51.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.91 RON 9.03

1.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$2.17 RON 10.26

78.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$3.13 RON 14.79

47.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.19 RON 5.61

9.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.71 RON 3.35

195.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.80 RON 8.52

1.67%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$3.39 RON 16.02

36.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$7.58 RON 35.86

129.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$5.80 RON 27.42

60.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$8.59 RON 40.62

130.85%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$1.30 RON 6.17

131.54%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.61 RON 7.64

26.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.55 RON 7.34

70.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$1.81 RON 8.58

58.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.96 RON 4.55

125.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.02 RON 4.82

110.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.81 RON 3.84

81.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.69 RON 3.28

27.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$5.60 RON 26.49

23.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$5.38 RON 25.44

45.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$0.94 RON 4.43

47.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$1.23 RON 5.82

113.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.67 RON 3.16

334.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$19.60 RON 92.7

29.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$0.60 RON 2.85

400.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.69 RON 3.29

108.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$7.07 RON 33.46

369.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.75 RON 8.27

6.29%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$28.1K RON 133.1K

14.96%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$25.1K RON 118.6K

26.47%

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

$183 €163

$147 RON 695

24.50%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$7.49 RON 35.44

81.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$7.75 RON 36.69

324.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$42.38 RON 201

29.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$21.30 RON 101

-22.44%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$6.25 RON 29.57

79.68%

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

$954 €849

$586 RON 2,773

62.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$5,001 RON 23.7K

232.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$96.1 RON 455

-10.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$32.20 RON 152

21.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$60.0 RON 284

72.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$85.3 RON 404

39.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$416 RON 1,970

307.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$311 RON 1,472

310.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$672 RON 3,181

283.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$437 RON 2,069

339.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$2,074 RON 9,813

251.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,422 RON 6,729

252.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

7.2

-54.44%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Targu Frumos: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Targu Frumos

$311 30.2% 75.6% $965

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Targu Frumos

$183 17.8% 43.7% $142

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Targu Frumos

$169 16.4% 37.3% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Targu Frumos

$162 15.7% 29.3% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Targu Frumos

$123 12% 21.2% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Targu Frumos

$55 5.3% 28.9% $22

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Targu Frumos

$26 2.6% 44.3% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $379 in Targu Frumos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $42.00 in Targu Frumos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $183 per month, with Targu Frumos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Targu Frumos

🕒 Local time

12:00 12:00 PM

13:00 1:00 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

13,875

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Targu Frumos 2,070 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Targu Frumos

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 Targu Frumos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Targu Frumos differ by about 140% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $998 including rent). Targu Frumos is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,599 in Barcelona and $1,497 in Targu Frumos to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $379 in Targu Frumos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $603 in Targu Frumos. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 75% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $998 in Targu Frumos versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Targu Frumos but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Targu Frumos 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 Targu Frumos 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 Targu Frumos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 140% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.