Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caen and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Caen: $1,671 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

81

Cost of Living Index in Caen
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Caen Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Caen

🇫🇷 France

$1,671

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,671 in Caen versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Caen $1,671
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,568 in Caen versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Caen $2,568
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,466 in Caen versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Caen $3,466
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Caen 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: Caen 23% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.56 €14.73

$17.89 €15.92

-7.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.2 €49.11

$66.2 €58.9

-16.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.50 €12.01

$13.69 €12.18

-1.39%

Cappuccino

$2.84 €2.53

$3.06 €2.72

-7.19%

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

$3.05 €2.71

$3.07 €2.73

-0.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 €1.82

$1.94 €1.73

5.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.38 €7.46

$3.87 €3.44

116.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.49 €4.88

$4.61 €4.10

19.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 €1.20

$1.30 €1.16

3.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.78 €1.59

$2.10 €1.87

-15.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$1.83 €1.62

8.20%

Eggs

$3.81 €3.39

$4.62 €4.11

-17.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.96 €8.86

$17.36 €15.44

-42.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.74 €10.44

$9.28 €8.25

26.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.28 €14.48

$19.83 €17.64

-17.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 €2.76

$3.01 €2.68

2.99%

Banana (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.03 €1.81

48.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.51 €1.34

$2.65 €2.36

-43.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.17 €3.71

$2.87 €2.55

45.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.80 €1.60

$2.16 €1.92

-16.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$2.15 €1.91

-8.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 €1.47

$1.47 €1.31

12.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.15 €0.13

$0.88 €0.79

-82.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.15 €11.70

$6.93 €6.16

89.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.59 €4.98

$7.83 €6.96

-28.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.39 €1.24

6.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 €1.47

$2.63 €2.34

-37.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.78 €1.58

$2.91 €2.59

-38.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.59 €44.11

$25.46 €22.64

94.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.25 €2.00

$3.00 €2.66

-25.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.12 €0.99

$1.44 €1.28

-22.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.41 €28.83

$33.20 €29.53

-2.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.10 €1.86

$1.86 €1.65

12.90%

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

$34.3K €30.5K

$32.3K €28.8K

6.01%

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

$36.4K €32.4K

$31.7K €28.2K

14.73%

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

$138 €123

$183 €163

-24.45%

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

$32.70 €29.08

$13.61 €12.11

140.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.85 €28.33

$32.93 €29.29

-3.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.94 €28.41

$54.7 €48.65

-41.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.48 €20.00

$16.52 €14.70

36.08%

Cinema Ticket

$10.13 €9.01

$11.23 €9.99

-9.80%

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

$879 €782

$954 €849

-7.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$108 €96.3

$86.0 €76.5

25.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.80 €34.52

$39.11 €34.78

-0.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 €89.8

$104 €92.2

-2.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 €135

$119 €106

27.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$760 €676

$1,695 €1,508

-55.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$600 €534

$1,276 €1,135

-53.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,566 €1,393

$2,576 €2,291

-39.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,042 €927

$1,922 €1,710

-45.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,496 €3,999

$7,281 €6,477

-38.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,553 €2,270

$5,010 €4,456

-49.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,379 €2,116

$2,227 €1,981

6.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.79

3.28

15.55%

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

Last update for Caen: 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

Caen

$600 35.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 113% $676

Groceries & Markets

Caen

$292 17.5%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 11.3% $33

Eating Out

Caen

$280 16.8%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 3.9% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caen

$203 12.1%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 13.2% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Caen

$180 10.8%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 13% $23

Getting Around

Caen

$65 3.9%

Barcelona

$47 2% 26.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Caen

$52 3.1%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 47.8% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $760 in Caen and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Caen pays 7% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55.0 in Caen vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $325 per month, with Caen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Caen

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

09:39 9:39 AM

Same time as Caen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

108,200

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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Between locations

Caen Barcelona 890 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Caen
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

Caen vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Caen and Barcelona differ by about 42% in total monthly costs ($1,671 vs $2,381 including rent). Caen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 7% higher in Caen, 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: $760 in Caen versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $879 in Caen versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,671 in Caen versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Caen but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Caen 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, Caen 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 Caen 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.