Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Benidorm and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Benidorm: $1,689 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

82

Cost of Living Index in Benidorm
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Benidorm Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Benidorm

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,689

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Benidorm and in Barcelona

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Benidorm and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,689 in Benidorm versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Benidorm $1,689
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,487 in Benidorm versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Benidorm $2,487
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,284 in Benidorm versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Benidorm $3,284
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Benidorm costs roughly 30% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Benidorm 25% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.29 €15.38

$17.94 €15.96

-3.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.8 €46.96

$68.1 €60.5

-22.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 €11.08

$13.28 €11.81

-6.17%

Cappuccino

$2.38 €2.12

$3.25 €2.89

-26.77%

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

$2.34 €2.08

$3.01 €2.67

-22.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.87 €1.66

-37.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.38 €3.00

$3.85 €3.42

-12.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 €3.25

$4.48 €3.98

-18.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 €1.01

$1.29 €1.15

-11.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.34 €1.19

$2.04 €1.81

-34.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.41 €1.25

$1.72 €1.53

-18.02%

Eggs

$3.38 €3.00

$4.77 €4.24

-29.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.95 €9.74

$16.77 €14.92

-34.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.78 €6.92

$8.93 €7.94

-12.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.79 €14.05

$19.88 €17.68

-20.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$2.98 €2.65

-29.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.03 €1.80

-8.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.73 €2.43

-30.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.64 €2.35

$2.68 €2.38

-1.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$2.10 €1.87

-18.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$2.08 €1.85

-15.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.45 €1.29

-23.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.40 €0.36

$0.89 €0.79

-55.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.07 €5.40

$6.94 €6.17

-12.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €4.99

$7.78 €6.92

-27.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 €0.80

$1.45 €1.29

-37.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$2.57 €2.29

-65.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 €3.92

$3.12 €2.77

41.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.44 €1.28

-5.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.59 €20.98

$33.50 €29.80

-29.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 €1.54

$1.79 €1.59

-2.79%

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

$35.5K €31.6K

$34.6K €30.8K

2.51%

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

$28.6K €25.4K

$30.1K €26.7K

-4.99%

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

$158 €140

$178 €158

-11.23%

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

$16.12 €14.34

$13.32 €11.85

21.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.34 €19.88

$34.88 €31.03

-35.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$10.84 €9.64

$11.06 €9.84

-1.99%

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

$579 €515

$957 €851

-39.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,540 €8,486

$16.6K €14.7K

-42.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €80.7

$88.2 €78.4

2.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.19 €37.53

$39.49 €35.12

6.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.9 €86.2

$103 €91.5

-5.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 €104

$121 €108

-3.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 €900

$1,653 €1,470

-38.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$821 €730

$1,302 €1,158

-36.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,743 €1,550

$2,557 €2,275

-31.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,323 €1,177

$1,915 €1,703

-30.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,089 €4,527

$7,286 €6,481

-30.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,476 €2,202

$5,080 €4,519

-51.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,763 €1,568

$2,281 €2,029

-22.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.3

3.28

0.61%

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

Last update for Benidorm: October 13, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Benidorm

$821 48.6%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 58.6% $481

Eating Out

Benidorm

$242 14.4%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 11.4% $28

Groceries & Markets

Benidorm

$241 14.3%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 32.9% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Benidorm

$196 11.6%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 15.1% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Benidorm

$156 9.2%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 1.6% $2.4

Sport & Entertainment

Benidorm

$22 * 1.3%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 248% $54

Getting Around

Benidorm

$11 * 0.7%

Barcelona

$47 2% 324% $36

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 $1,012 in Benidorm and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 29% 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: $53.0 in Benidorm vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $241 vs $320 per month, with Benidorm cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Benidorm

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

00:25 12:25 AM

Same time as Benidorm

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

72,342

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Benidorm Barcelona 370 km

From you

Benidorm
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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

Benidorm vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Benidorm and Barcelona differ by about 42% in total monthly costs ($1,689 vs $2,399 including rent). Benidorm is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 29% lower in Barcelona. 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: $1,012 in Benidorm versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $579 in Benidorm versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Benidorm – a meal for two runs $53.0 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,689 in Benidorm versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Benidorm but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Benidorm 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, Benidorm and Barcelona 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 Benidorm gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.