Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buchs and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $3,009 in Buchs, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

146

Cost of Living Index in Buchs
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Buchs Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Buchs

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,009

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,009 in Buchs versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Buchs $3,009
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,535 in Buchs versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Buchs $4,535
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,062 in Buchs versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Buchs $6,062
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Buchs is roughly 26% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Buchs 122% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.43 CHF 19.30

$17.89 €15.92

30.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.3 CHF 69.4

$66.2 €58.9

27.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.36 CHF 12.65

$13.69 €12.18

12.20%

Cappuccino

$4.71 CHF 3.88

$3.06 €2.72

53.92%

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

$3.77 CHF 3.10

$3.07 €2.73

22.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 CHF 2.63

$1.94 €1.73

64.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.13 CHF 5.04

$3.87 €3.44

58.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.39 CHF 4.44

$4.61 €4.10

16.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 CHF 1.66

$1.30 €1.16

54.62%

White Bread (500g)

$3.94 CHF 3.24

$2.10 €1.87

87.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.64 CHF 3.82

$1.83 €1.62

153.55%

Eggs

$7.32 CHF 6.03

$4.62 €4.11

58.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$32.21 CHF 26.53

$17.36 €15.44

85.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$18.51 CHF 15.24

$9.28 €8.25

99.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$32.47 CHF 26.74

$19.83 €17.64

63.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.53 CHF 2.91

$3.01 €2.68

17.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 CHF 1.76

$2.03 €1.81

5.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.14 CHF 2.59

$2.65 €2.36

18.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.70 CHF 5.52

$2.87 €2.55

133.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 CHF 1.46

$2.16 €1.92

-17.59%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 CHF 2.10

$2.15 €1.91

18.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.44 CHF 2.01

$1.47 €1.31

65.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 CHF 1.00

$0.88 €0.79

37.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.84 CHF 8.92

$6.93 €6.16

56.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 CHF 10.46

$7.83 €6.96

62.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.28 CHF 2.70

$1.39 €1.24

135.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 CHF 3.22

$2.63 €2.34

48.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.17 CHF 4.25

$2.91 €2.59

77.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 CHF 4.42

$3.00 €2.66

78.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.46 CHF 2.85

$1.44 €1.28

140.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$61.2 CHF 50.4

$33.20 €29.53

84.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.23 CHF 1.83

$1.86 €1.65

19.89%

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

$42.5K CHF 35.0K

$32.3K €28.8K

31.55%

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

$39.6K CHF 32.6K

$31.7K €28.2K

24.81%

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

$184 CHF 152

$183 €163

0.90%

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

$31.24 CHF 25.73

$13.61 €12.11

129.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.2 CHF 55.4

$32.93 €29.29

104.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$15.20 CHF 12.52

$11.23 €9.99

35.35%

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

$611 CHF 503

$954 €849

-35.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.7K CHF 17.0K

$16.6K €14.8K

24.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 CHF 88.0

$86.0 €76.5

24.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.70 CHF 19.52

$39.11 €34.78

-39.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.2 CHF 78.4

$104 €92.2

-8.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$170 CHF 140

$119 €106

43.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,828 CHF 1,505

$1,695 €1,508

7.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,561 CHF 1,285

$1,276 €1,135

22.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,690 CHF 2,216

$2,576 €2,291

4.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,746 CHF 2,261

$1,922 €1,710

42.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$8,480 CHF 6,984

$2,227 €1,981

280.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.93

3.28

-41.16%

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

Last update for Buchs: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buchs

$1.6K 51.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 18.2% $284

Groceries & Markets

Buchs

$555 18.4%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 41.4% $230

Eating Out

Buchs

$359 11.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 25% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buchs

$283 9.4%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 18.9% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Buchs

$178 5.9%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 12.1% $22

Getting Around

Buchs

$43 * 1.4%

Barcelona

$47 2% 9.3% $4

Sport & Entertainment

Buchs

$30 * 1%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 154% $47

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 $1,828 in Buchs and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buchs pays 281% 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: $84.0 in Buchs vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $555 vs $325 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Buchs

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

10:09 10:09 AM

Same time as Buchs

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,187

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buchs Barcelona 870 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Buchs
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

Buchs vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buchs and Barcelona differ by about 26% in total monthly costs ($3,009 vs $2,381 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 281% higher in Buchs, 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: $1,828 in Buchs versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $611 in Buchs versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $84.0 in Buchs. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona 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, Buchs 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Buchs. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.