Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Vacoas

For one person, living is cheaper in Vacoas: $750 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,400 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Vacoas
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Vacoas Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Vacoas

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$750

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Vacoas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $750 in Vacoas.

Barcelona $2,453
Vacoas $750

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,104 in Vacoas.

Barcelona $3,509
Vacoas $1,104

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,458 in Vacoas.

Barcelona $4,564
Vacoas $1,458

Living in Barcelona is roughly 227% more expensive than in Vacoas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Vacoas is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$5.95 MUR 280

195.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$32.47 MUR 1,530

107.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$6.31 MUR 297

114.42%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.58 MUR 122

23.64%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.15 MUR 54.0

153.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.62 MUR 29.22

204.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.66 MUR 125

50.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.91 MUR 184

15.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.40 MUR 65.8

-6.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.73 MUR 34.38

176.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.16 MUR 54.6

59.48%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.24 MUR 106

115.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$2.71 MUR 128

517.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$2.62 MUR 124

248.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$11.51 MUR 542

70.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.59 MUR 122

15.06%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.22 MUR 104

-9.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.43 MUR 67.4

88.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.90 MUR 136

-3.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.02 MUR 47.88

104.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.01 MUR 47.59

104.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.75 MUR 35.16

94.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.72 MUR 33.96

30.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$6.30 MUR 297

9.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$6.42 MUR 303

22.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.45 MUR 68.3

-2.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.37 MUR 112

7.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.30 MUR 61.4

141.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$4.24 MUR 200

-29.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$3.25 MUR 153

-54.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$4.16 MUR 196

702.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.41 MUR 66.5

27.66%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$29.6K MUR 1.4M

12.15%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$31.5K MUR 1.5M

0.64%

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

$180 €162

$44.84 MUR 2,113

302.34%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$10.49 MUR 495

31.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$24.48 MUR 1,154

37.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$25.26 MUR 1,191

103.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$5.33 MUR 251

106.19%

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

$917 €821

$126 MUR 5,934

628.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$7,579 MUR 357.2K

117.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$31.56 MUR 1,487

175.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$38.24 MUR 1,802

0.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$64.3 MUR 3,030

64.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$47.72 MUR 2,249

150.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$262 MUR 12.4K

548.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$223 MUR 10.5K

507.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$472 MUR 22.3K

451.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$231 MUR 10.9K

794.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$688 MUR 32.4K

221.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.67

-50.82%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Vacoas: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Vacoas

$223 29.7% 83.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Vacoas

$179 23.8% 44.5% $143

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Vacoas

$126 16.7% 53.1% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Vacoas

$80 10.6% 65% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Vacoas

$82 10.9% 48.2% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Vacoas

$36 4.8% 51.1% $38

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Vacoas

$26 * 3.4% 47% $23

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 $262 in Vacoas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.2 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 $32 in Vacoas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $179 per month, with Vacoas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇺 Vacoas

🕒 Local time

01:50 1:50 AM

04:50 4:50 AM

3 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

115,289

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MUR, 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).

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 47.13 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.62 MUR (100 MUR = 1.9 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Vacoas 8,910 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Vacoas

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 Vacoas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $750 in Vacoas, so Vacoas is about 69% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.2 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 $262 in Vacoas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $126 in Vacoas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Vacoas – a meal for two runs $32 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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 Vacoas are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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