Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cancun and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Cancun: $1,398 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Cancun
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Cancun Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

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Cancun

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,398

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,398 in Cancun versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Cancun $1,398
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,267 in Cancun versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Cancun $2,267
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,136 in Cancun versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Cancun $3,136
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Cancun costs roughly 42% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cancun 4% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.84 MX$200

$17.94 €15.96

-39.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.8 MX$994

$68.1 €60.5

-21.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.55 MX$213

$13.28 €11.81

-13.03%

Cappuccino

$3.86 MX$71.4

$3.25 €2.89

18.77%

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

$1.34 MX$24.78

$3.01 €2.67

-55.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.57

$1.87 €1.66

-55.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$3.85 €3.42

-20.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 MX$76.3

$4.48 €3.98

-7.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 MX$30.29

$1.29 €1.15

27.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 MX$47.72

$2.04 €1.81

26.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 MX$31.12

$1.72 €1.53

-2.33%

Eggs

$2.80 MX$51.7

$4.77 €4.24

-41.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.89 MX$183

$16.77 €14.92

-41.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.81 MX$163

$8.93 €7.94

-1.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.21 MX$263

$19.88 €17.68

-28.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 MX$54.1

$2.98 €2.65

-1.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 MX$30.88

$2.03 €1.80

-17.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.01 MX$55.5

$2.73 €2.43

10.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.55

$2.68 €2.38

-18.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.91

$2.10 €1.87

-7.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.26

$2.08 €1.85

-5.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.23

$1.45 €1.29

-20.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.51

$0.89 €0.79

37.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.34 MX$80.3

$6.94 €6.17

-37.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.03 MX$185

$7.78 €6.92

28.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.38

$1.45 €1.29

9.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 MX$51.8

$2.57 €2.29

8.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MX$12.66

$2.99 €2.66

-77.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.10 MX$538

$25.20 €22.41

15.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 MX$79.9

$3.12 €2.77

38.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.82 MX$52.1

$1.44 €1.28

95.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.71 MX$253

$33.50 €29.80

-59.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.28

$1.79 €1.59

-14.53%

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

$21.3K MX$394.3K

$34.6K €30.8K

-38.39%

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

$23.8K MX$439.8K

$30.1K €26.7K

-20.84%

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

$170 MX$3,149

$178 €158

-4.18%

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

$23.44 MX$433

$13.32 €11.85

75.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.92 MX$719

$34.88 €31.03

11.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.26 MX$596

$53.3 €47.37

-39.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.21 MX$244

$16.01 €14.24

-17.49%

Cinema Ticket

$7.29 MX$135

$11.06 €9.84

-34.09%

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

$204 MX$3,761

$957 €851

-78.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,396 MX$99.7K

$16.6K €14.7K

-67.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.1 MX$999

$88.2 €78.4

-38.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.3 MX$1,021

$39.49 €35.12

39.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.0 MX$1,368

$103 €91.5

-27.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.0 MX$1,737

$121 €108

-22.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$660 MX$12.2K

$1,653 €1,470

-60.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$457 MX$8,445

$1,302 €1,158

-64.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,404 MX$26.0K

$2,557 €2,275

-45.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,059 MX$19.6K

$1,915 €1,703

-44.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,266 MX$23.4K

$7,286 €6,481

-82.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,945 MX$35.9K

$5,080 €4,519

-61.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$801 MX$14.8K

$2,281 €2,029

-64.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.28

249.09%

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

Last update for Cancun: 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

Cancun

$457 32.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 185% $845

Groceries & Markets

Cancun

$287 20.5%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 11.6% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cancun

$233 16.6%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 2.9% $6.7

Eating Out

Cancun

$200 14.3%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 35% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Cancun

$125 8.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 26.9% $34

Getting Around

Cancun

$50 3.6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 5.5% $2.8

Sport & Entertainment

Cancun

$47 3.4%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 60.9% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $660 in Cancun and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 185% 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: $54.0 in Cancun vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $320 per month, with Cancun cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Cancun

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:59 2:59 PM

21:59 9:59 PM

7 h ahead of Cancun

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

888,797

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cancun Barcelona 8,390 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cancun
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

Cancun vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cancun and Barcelona differ by about 72% in total monthly costs ($1,398 vs $2,399 including rent). Cancun is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 185% 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: $660 in Cancun versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $204 in Cancun 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 12% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,398 in Cancun versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Cancun but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Cancun 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, Cancun 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 Cancun gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.