Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Veracruz

For one person, living is cheaper in Veracruz: $1,035 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Veracruz
Learn more

Veracruz Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Veracruz

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,035

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Veracruz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $1,035 in Veracruz.

Barcelona $2,399
Veracruz $1,035

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,641 in Veracruz.

Barcelona $3,410
Veracruz $1,641

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $2,246 in Veracruz.

Barcelona $4,421
Veracruz $2,246

Living in Barcelona is roughly 132% more expensive than in Veracruz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Veracruz is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$9.46 MX$175

89.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$43.45 MX$803

56.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$8.16 MX$151

62.75%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$2.80 MX$51.8

16.07%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$1.45 MX$26.71

107.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.79 MX$14.54

136.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$2.13 MX$39.42

80.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$3.82 MX$70.6

17.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.54 MX$28.42

-16.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$2.45 MX$45.25

-16.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.78 MX$32.90

-3.37%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$2.19 MX$40.53

117.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$4.98 MX$92.0

236.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$5.75 MX$106

55.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$9.40 MX$174

111.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.62 MX$48.47

13.74%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.32 MX$24.35

53.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.96 MX$36.29

39.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.59 MX$29.43

68.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.34 MX$24.79

56.72%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$2.03 MX$37.60

2.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.17 MX$21.67

23.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$1.01 MX$18.62

-11.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$4.35 MX$80.4

59.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$7.98 MX$148

-2.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.42 MX$26.19

2.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$2.68 MX$49.45

-4.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.51 MX$9.42

486.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$29.70 MX$549

-15.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$2.44 MX$45.10

27.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.62 MX$29.96

-11.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$6.72 MX$124

398.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.41 MX$26.08

26.95%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$21.4K MX$394.8K

62.10%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$23.9K MX$441.6K

25.81%

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

$178 €158

$60.8 MX$1,123

192.66%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$18.51 MX$342

-28.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$23.58 MX$436

47.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$29.98 MX$554

77.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$10.47 MX$194

52.91%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$4.98 MX$92.0

122.09%

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

$957 €851

$162 MX$2,985

492.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$3,300 MX$61.0K

402.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$57.9 MX$1,071

52.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$31.20 MX$577

26.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$101 MX$1,863

1.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$77.4 MX$1,430

56.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$404 MX$7,470

308.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$351 MX$6,489

270.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$610 MX$11.3K

319.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$638 MX$11.8K

199.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$680 MX$12.6K

972.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$560 MX$10.3K

807.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$832 MX$15.4K

174.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

10.96

-70.07%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Veracruz: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Veracruz

$351 33.9% 73% $951

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Veracruz

$218 21% 32% $102

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Veracruz

$161 15.6% 40.4% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Veracruz

$103 9.9% 54.5% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Veracruz

$120 11.6% 24% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Veracruz

$40 3.9% 47% $35

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Veracruz

$42 4.1% 10.9% $5.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $404 in Veracruz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 174% 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: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $43.00 in Veracruz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $218 per month, with Veracruz cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇽 Veracruz

🕒 Local time

15:31 3:31 PM

07:31 7:31 AM

8 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

405,952

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Veracruz 9,270 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Veracruz

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 Veracruz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Veracruz differ by about 132% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $1,035 including rent). Veracruz is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 174% higher in Barcelona, 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $404 in Veracruz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $162 in Veracruz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,035 in Veracruz versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Veracruz but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Veracruz 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 Veracruz 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 Veracruz gentler on the wallet – expenses run 132% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.