Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Ulyanovsk

For one person, living is cheaper in Ulyanovsk: $954 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Ulyanovsk
Learn more

Ulyanovsk Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Ulyanovsk

🇷🇺 Russia

$954

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Ulyanovsk

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $954 in Ulyanovsk.

Barcelona $2,453
Ulyanovsk $954

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,464 in Ulyanovsk.

Barcelona $3,509
Ulyanovsk $1,464

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,975 in Ulyanovsk.

Barcelona $4,564
Ulyanovsk $1,975

Living in Barcelona is roughly 157% more expensive than in Ulyanovsk, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Ulyanovsk is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$8.53 ₽687

106.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$31.09 ₽2,504

117.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$6.57 ₽529

105.94%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.30 ₽185

38.70%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.89 ₽71.9

226.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.36 ₽29.31

425.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.87 ₽151

114.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.92 ₽154

135.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.07 ₽86.2

22.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.61 ₽48.87

231.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.07 ₽85.9

72.90%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.47 ₽118

228.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$14.95 ₽1,204

11.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$7.51 ₽605

21.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$7.56 ₽609

159.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.57 ₽126

89.81%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.64 ₽132

23.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$4.11 ₽331

-34.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$5.02 ₽404

-44.22%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.49 ₽120

40.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.80 ₽64.2

158.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.58 ₽46.66

62.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.02 ₽243

127.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.13 ₽90.9

24.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.48 ₽38.50

554.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$29.80 ₽2,400

-14.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$3.73 ₽301

-19.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$3.77 ₽304

785.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.88 ₽70.5

104.55%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$54.8K ₽4.4M

-39.41%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$42.1K ₽3.4M

-24.64%

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

$180 €162

$146 ₽11.8K

23.39%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$4.97 ₽400

178.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$14.51 ₽1,168

132.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$37.11 ₽2,989

38.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$24.68 ₽1,987

-35.33%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$8.73 ₽703

25.89%

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

$917 €821

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$31.46 ₽2,534

176.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$36.52 ₽2,941

5.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$98.6 ₽7,941

7.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$61.8 ₽4,974

93.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$373 ₽30.1K

355.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$251 ₽20.3K

438.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$491 ₽39.6K

429.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$439 ₽35.4K

369.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$2,713 ₽218.5K

154.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,571 ₽126.5K

226.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$517 ₽41.6K

327.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-85.74%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ulyanovsk: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Ulyanovsk

$251 26.4% 81.4% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Ulyanovsk

$210 * 22% 34.8% $112

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Ulyanovsk

$134 14% 50.1% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Ulyanovsk

$166 17.4% 27.3% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Ulyanovsk

$103 10.8% 34.9% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Ulyanovsk

$55 5.7% 25.7% $19

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Ulyanovsk

$35 * 3.7% 26.9% $13

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $373 in Ulyanovsk. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $31 in Ulyanovsk for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $210 per month, with Ulyanovsk cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇺 Ulyanovsk

🕒 Local time

06:33 6:33 AM

09:33 9:33 AM

3 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

627,705

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 RUB = 1.24 USD

100 RUB = 1.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, 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).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 RUB (100 RUB = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 89.92 RUB (100 RUB = 1.11 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Ulyanovsk 3,660 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Ulyanovsk

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 Ulyanovsk: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $954 in Ulyanovsk, so Ulyanovsk is about 61% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 4.3 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 $373 in Ulyanovsk. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Ulyanovsk – a meal for two runs $31 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Barcelona runs roughly 15% less than in Ulyanovsk. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Ulyanovsk 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.

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