Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Tena

For one person, living is cheaper in Tena: $891 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,600 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Tena
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Tena Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Tena

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$891

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Tena

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $891 in Tena.

Barcelona $2,443
Tena $891

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,475 in Tena.

Barcelona $3,519
Tena $1,475

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,060 in Tena.

Barcelona $4,595
Tena $2,060

Living in Barcelona is roughly 174% more expensive than in Tena, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Tena is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.72

$5.63 $5.63

213.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.1

$54.8 $54.8

23.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$7.58 $7.58

79.55%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$3.34 $3.34

-7.19%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$1.43 $1.43

109.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$1.05 $1.05

83.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$3.43 $3.43

11.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$6.12 $6.12

-28.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.14 $1.14

9.65%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.60 $1.60

32.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.51 $1.51

30.46%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$2.08 $2.08

128.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.20

$6.51 $6.51

162.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$5.42 $5.42

65.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.39

$7.67 $7.67

169.23%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$2.33 $2.33

35.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.22 $1.22

61.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.27 $1.27

108.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.13 $1.13

154.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.19 $1.19

73.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.08 $1.08

101.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.87 $0.87

75.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$1.00 $1.00

-3.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$5.93 $5.93

17.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

$8.27 $8.27

-4.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.58 $1.58

-10.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$3.10 $3.10

-13.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$0.33 $0.33

903.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$1.53 $1.53

101.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.75 $0.75

97.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.27

$9.91 $9.91

231.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.86 $0.86

117.44%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$23.4K $23.4K

40.97%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$30.1K $30.1K

6.14%

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

$183 €163

$28.50 $28.50

541.58%

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

$14.24 €12.68

$17.84 $17.84

-20.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.78

$28.34 $28.34

21.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.79

$29.89 $29.89

72.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.59

$16.69 $16.69

-1.86%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$6.50 $6.50

70.15%

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

$944 €840

$729 $729

29.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$9,064 $9,064

145.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.1

$71.3 $71.3

23.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.52

$50.4 $50.4

-23.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.1

$116 $116

-9.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$109 $109

7.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,511

$422 $422

301.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

$270 $270

394.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,397

$802 $802

235.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,849

$507 $507

309.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,371

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,522

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,996

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

10.12

-68.48%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Tena: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Tena

$270 30.4% 79.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Tena

$193 21.7% 41.1% $135

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Tena

$147 16.5% 44.9% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Tena

$75 8.4% 67.8% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Tena

$156 17.5% 0.6% $0.9

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Tena

$43 4.8% 41.7% $31

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Tena

$6.6 * 0.7% 86.6% $43

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $422 in Tena. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $55 in Tena for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $193 per month, with Tena cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇪🇨 Tena

🕒 Local time

04:19 4:19 AM

22:19 10:19 PM

6 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

16,669

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 USD = 0.891 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Tena 9,250 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Tena

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 Tena: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $891 in Tena, so Tena is about 64% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $1,336 in Tena 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $422 in Tena. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $729 in Tena. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tena – a meal for two runs $55 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $891 in Tena versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tena but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Tena 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 Tena are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.