Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Ulm

For one person, living is cheaper in Ulm: $2,140 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
104

Cost of Living Index in Ulm
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Ulm Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Ulm

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,140

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Ulm

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $2,140 in Ulm.

Barcelona $2,399
Ulm $2,140

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $3,245 in Ulm.

Barcelona $3,410
Ulm $3,245

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $4,350 in Ulm.

Barcelona $4,421
Ulm $4,350

Living in Barcelona is roughly 12% more expensive than in Ulm, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 78% above, Ulm 59% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$16.80 €14.94

6.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$66.6 €59.2

2.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$13.31 €11.84

-0.23%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$3.84 €3.42

-15.36%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$4.64 €4.13

-35.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.92 €1.71

-2.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$4.62 €4.11

-16.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$4.41 €3.92

1.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.47 €1.30

-12.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$2.05 €1.83

-0.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$4.14 €3.68

-58.45%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$3.64 €3.24

31.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$14.34 €12.76

16.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$9.83 €8.74

-9.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$25.54 €22.72

-22.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$3.44 €3.06

-13.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$2.21 €1.96

-8.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.92 €1.71

42.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$3.91 €3.48

-31.46%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.08 €0.96

94.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.12 €1.00

85.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.66 €1.48

-12.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$1.20 €1.06

-25.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$9.59 €8.53

-27.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$5.67 €5.04

37.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.15 €1.02

26.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.52 €1.35

69.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$3.10 €2.76

-3.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$64.4 €57.3

-60.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$2.13 €1.89

-15.96%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$32.2K €28.6K

7.55%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$37.9K €33.7K

-20.59%

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

$178 €158

$377 €336

-52.85%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$34.04 €30.28

-60.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$52.9 €47.05

-34.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$33.61 €29.89

58.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$22.70 €20.19

-29.47%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$13.44 €11.95

-17.71%

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

$957 €851

$441 €393

116.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$13.0K €11.6K

27.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$90.3 €80.3

-2.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$55.2 €49.08

-28.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$89.4 €79.6

14.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$148 €131

-17.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$931 €828

77.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$749 €666

73.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$1,830 €1,628

39.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$1,471 €1,308

30.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$5,901 €5,249

23.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$3,961 €3,524

28.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$3,737 €3,324

-38.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.97

-17.38%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ulm: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Ulm

$749 35% 42.5% $553

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Ulm

$339 15.9% 6% $19

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Ulm

$279 13% 3.2% $8.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Ulm

$464 21.7% 105% $238

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Ulm

$172 8% 8.7% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Ulm

$60 2.8% 19.8% $15

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Ulm

$77 * 3.6% 61.8% $29

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 $1,653 in Barcelona and $931 in Ulm. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ulm pays 64% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $67.0 in Ulm. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $339, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇩🇪 Ulm

🕒 Local time

00:03 12:03 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

121,648

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Ulm 990 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Ulm

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 Ulm: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Ulm differ by about 12% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $2,140 including rent). Ulm is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 64% lower in Ulm. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $931 in Ulm. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $441 in Ulm. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 6% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,140 in Ulm versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Ulm but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ulm 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 Ulm 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 Ulm gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.