Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brasov and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Brasov: $1,310 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Brasov
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Brasov Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Brasov

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,310

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Brasov 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 Brasov and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,310 in Brasov versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Brasov $1,310
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,115 in Brasov versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Brasov $2,115
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,920 in Brasov versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Brasov $2,920
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Brasov costs roughly 45% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Brasov is 3% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.91 RON 51.6

$17.94 €15.96

-39.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.7 RON 249

$68.1 €60.5

-22.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.49 RON 35.42

$13.28 €11.81

-43.60%

Cappuccino

$3.58 RON 16.93

$3.25 €2.89

10.15%

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

$2.42 RON 11.43

$3.01 €2.67

-19.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 RON 10.44

$1.87 €1.66

18.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.16 RON 14.97

$3.85 €3.42

-17.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 RON 15.76

$4.48 €3.98

-25.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 RON 7.21

$1.29 €1.15

17.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.42 RON 6.71

$2.04 €1.81

-30.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.42

$1.72 €1.53

3.49%

Eggs

$3.60 RON 17.01

$4.77 €4.24

-24.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.75 RON 41.39

$16.77 €14.92

-47.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.95 RON 32.87

$8.93 €7.94

-22.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.48 RON 59.1

$19.88 €17.68

-37.22%

Apples (1kg)

$1.48 RON 7.00

$2.98 €2.65

-50.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.30

$2.03 €1.80

-24.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 RON 7.68

$2.73 €2.43

-40.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.73 RON 12.91

$2.68 €2.38

1.87%

Potato (1kg)

$0.76 RON 3.60

$2.10 €1.87

-63.81%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 RON 4.30

$2.08 €1.85

-56.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 RON 4.27

$1.45 €1.29

-37.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 RON 3.79

$0.89 €0.79

-10.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.97 RON 28.23

$6.94 €6.17

-13.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.53 RON 35.63

$7.78 €6.92

-3.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 RON 5.81

$1.45 €1.29

-15.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 RON 8.57

$2.57 €2.29

-29.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 RON 5.05

$2.99 €2.66

-64.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.18 RON 110

$25.20 €22.41

-8.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 RON 2.98

$3.12 €2.77

-79.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 RON 2.94

$1.44 €1.28

-56.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.56 RON 31.05

$33.50 €29.80

-80.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 RON 9.08

$1.79 €1.59

7.26%

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

$28.2K RON 133.3K

$34.6K €30.8K

-18.64%

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

$26.1K RON 123.6K

$30.1K €26.7K

-13.14%

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

$179 RON 849

$178 €158

0.91%

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

$7.73 RON 36.56

$13.32 €11.85

-41.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.82 RON 41.74

$34.88 €31.03

-74.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.8 RON 269

$53.3 €47.37

6.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.60 RON 64.4

$16.01 €14.24

-15.05%

Cinema Ticket

$9.13 RON 43.19

$11.06 €9.84

-17.45%

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

$450 RON 2,131

$957 €851

-52.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,955 RON 32.9K

$16.6K €14.7K

-58.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.1 RON 242

$88.2 €78.4

-42.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 RON 165

$39.49 €35.12

-11.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.3 RON 356

$103 €91.5

-26.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.7 RON 424

$121 €108

-26.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$676 RON 3,197

$1,653 €1,470

-59.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$472 RON 2,235

$1,302 €1,158

-63.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,316 RON 6,228

$2,557 €2,275

-48.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 RON 4,980

$1,915 €1,703

-45.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,079 RON 14.6K

$7,286 €6,481

-57.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,386 RON 11.3K

$5,080 €4,519

-53.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,102 RON 5,212

$2,281 €2,029

-51.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

3.28

119.51%

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

Last update for Brasov: October 10, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brasov

$472 36.1%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 176% $829

Groceries & Markets

Brasov

$228 17.4%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 40.2% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brasov

$196 15%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 15.3% $30

Eating Out

Brasov

$194 14.8%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 39.5% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Brasov

$113 8.6%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 40.3% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Brasov

$75 5.7%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 0.4% $0.3

Getting Around

Brasov

$31 2.4%

Barcelona

$47 2% 52.2% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $676 in Brasov and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 107% 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 Brasov vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $228 vs $320 per month, with Brasov cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Brasov

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

10:20 10:20 AM

09:20 9:20 AM

1 h behind Brasov

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

253,200

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Brasov Barcelona 1,940 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Brasov
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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

Brasov vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brasov and Barcelona differ by about 83% in total monthly costs ($1,310 vs $2,399 including rent). Brasov is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 107% 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: $676 in Brasov versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $450 in Brasov versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,310 in Brasov versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Brasov but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Brasov 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, Brasov 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 Brasov gentler on the wallet – expenses run 83% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.