Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Veles

For one person, living is cheaper in Veles: $766 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Veles
Learn more

Veles Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Veles

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$766

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Veles

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $766 in Veles.

Barcelona $2,453
Veles $766

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,137 in Veles.

Barcelona $3,509
Veles $1,137

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,507 in Veles.

Barcelona $4,564
Veles $1,507

Living in Barcelona is roughly 220% more expensive than in Veles, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Veles is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$8.78 MKD 483

100.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$18.09 MKD 995

273.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.43 MKD 299

149.17%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.56 MKD 85.7

104.49%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.33 MKD 73.3

118.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.82 MKD 45.00

130.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.47 MKD 81.1

172.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.11 MKD 171

45.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.03 MKD 56.6

27.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.53 MKD 29.29

281.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.51 MKD 83.3

22.52%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.48 MKD 136

94.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$2.97 MKD 163

463.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.93 MKD 216

132.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$15.02 MKD 826

30.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.44 MKD 79.1

106.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.46 MKD 80.4

38.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.34 MKD 73.7

101.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.89 MKD 104

48.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.90 MKD 49.68

132.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.83 MKD 45.91

149.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.59 MKD 32.73

147.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.60 MKD 32.90

56.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.23 MKD 178

112.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$6.22 MKD 342

26.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.02 MKD 56.2

38.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.44 MKD 79.3

76.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.80 MKD 43.93

292.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$23.73 MKD 1,306

7.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.10 MKD 60.7

171.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.58 MKD 31.70

156.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$7.67 MKD 422

335.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.40 MKD 76.8

28.57%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$26.5K MKD 1.5M

25.23%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$24.8K MKD 1.4M

27.87%

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

$180 €162

$108 MKD 5,963

66.45%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$16.80 MKD 924

-17.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$12.21 MKD 672

176.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$25.03 MKD 1,377

105.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$17.81 MKD 980

-10.39%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$3.37 MKD 185

226.11%

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

$917 €821

$214 MKD 11.8K

327.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$5,661 MKD 311.5K

191.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$21.40 MKD 1,177

306.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$18.01 MKD 991

113.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$73.6 MKD 4,047

43.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$109 MKD 5,977

10.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$223 MKD 12.2K

663.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$169 MKD 9,289

702.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$290 MKD 15.9K

798.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$232 MKD 12.8K

789.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$1,181 MKD 65.0K

485.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$940 MKD 51.7K

445.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$586 MKD 32.2K

277.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.23

-22.46%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Veles: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Veles

$169 22% 87.5% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Veles

$170 22.2% 47.1% $151

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Veles

$127 16.6% 52.4% $140

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Veles

$137 17.9% 39.7% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Veles

$100 13% 36.9% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Veles

$32 4.1% 56.8% $42

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Veles

$31 4% 36.2% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $223 in Veles. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $18 in Veles for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $170 per month, with Veles cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇰 Veles

🕒 Local time

07:28 7:28 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

43,716

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 55.02 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.25 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Veles 1,630 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Veles

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 Veles: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $766 in Veles, so Veles is about 69% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.8 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 $223 in Veles. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $214 in Veles. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 89% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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

Expats usually find Veles gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.