Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brest, France and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Brest: $1,385 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Brest
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Brest Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Brest

🇫🇷 France

$1,385

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,385 in Brest versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Brest $1,385
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,163 in Brest versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Brest $2,163
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,941 in Brest versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Brest $2,941
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Brest costs roughly 44% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Brest 2% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.75 €14.11

$17.59 €15.75

-10.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.99 €39.40

$67.5 €60.5

-34.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.15 €9.99

$13.53 €12.12

-17.59%

Cappuccino

$2.91 €2.61

$3.19 €2.86

-8.78%

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

$2.92 €2.62

$2.91 €2.61

0.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.89

$1.89 €1.70

11.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.76 €6.05

$4.01 €3.59

68.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.24 €4.70

$4.53 €4.06

15.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 €1.02

$1.31 €1.17

-12.98%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 €1.44

$2.02 €1.81

-20.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.52 €2.26

$1.85 €1.66

36.22%

Eggs

$3.63 €3.25

$4.83 €4.33

-24.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.30 €16.39

$16.74 €14.99

9.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.22 €9.15

$9.12 €8.17

12.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.01 €12.55

$19.64 €17.59

-28.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.70

$2.98 €2.67

1.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 €1.71

$2.02 €1.81

-5.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 €2.30

$2.70 €2.42

-4.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.79 €2.50

$2.80 €2.51

-0.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.09 €1.87

-17.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.12 €1.90

$2.07 €1.85

2.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 €1.18

$1.46 €1.31

-9.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.34 €0.31

$0.94 €0.84

-63.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.59 €12.17

$6.87 €6.15

97.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.53 €5.85

$7.89 €7.06

-17.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 €2.39

$1.41 €1.26

89.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 €2.48

$2.54 €2.27

9.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.85 €1.65

$3.14 €2.82

-41.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.15 €35.96

$25.45 €22.79

57.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.12 €7.27

$2.99 €2.68

171.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.03 €2.71

$1.49 €1.34

103.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.43 €28.15

$33.37 €29.89

-5.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 €1.88

$1.80 €1.61

16.11%

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

$35.7K €32.0K

$33.2K €29.7K

7.69%

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

$33.9K €30.4K

$31.7K €28.4K

7.02%

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

$138 €123

$180 €162

-23.59%

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

$28.25 €25.30

$13.84 €12.39

104.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.40 €27.23

$33.70 €30.18

-9.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.19 €31.51

$51.5 €46.13

-31.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.11 €13.54

$15.96 €14.29

-5.33%

Cinema Ticket

$13.91 €12.46

$10.99 €9.85

26.57%

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

$224 €201

$917 €821

-75.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K €10.4K

$16.5K €14.8K

-29.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.2 €62.9

$87.0 €77.9

-19.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.19 €27.04

$38.51 €34.49

-21.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.5 €71.2

$106 €94.8

-24.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.1 €64.5

$120 €107

-39.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$508 €455

$1,699 €1,522

-70.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 €341

$1,355 €1,214

-71.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$864 €774

$2,603 €2,331

-66.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$737 €660

$2,062 €1,847

-64.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,809 €2,516

$6,915 €6,193

-59.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,453 €2,197

$5,128 €4,592

-52.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,594 €2,323

$2,211 €1,980

17.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

3.28

16.46%

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

Last update for Brest: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brest

$381 27.5%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 256% $974

Groceries & Markets

Brest

$302 21.8%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 6.7% $20

Eating Out

Brest

$259 18.7%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 3.5% $9.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brest

$197 14.2%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 16% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Brest

$113 8.2%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 39.4% $45

Getting Around

Brest

$71 5.1%

Barcelona

$48 2% 31.5% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Brest

$63 4.6%

Barcelona

$74 3% 16.6% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $508 in Brest and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brest pays 17% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44 in Brest vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $302 vs $322 per month, with Brest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Brest

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

23:35 11:35 PM

Same time as Brest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

139,619

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Brest Barcelona 940 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Brest
Barcelona

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

Brest vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,385 in Brest and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Brest is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 17% higher in Brest, 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: $508 in Brest versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $224 in Brest versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 7% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Brest is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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