Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caracas and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Caracas: $1,338 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Caracas
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Caracas Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Caracas

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$1,338

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,338 in Caracas versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Caracas $1,338
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,235 in Caracas versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Caracas $2,235
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,133 in Caracas versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Caracas $3,133
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Caracas costs roughly 44% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Caracas is 1% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.98 VES 9,642

$17.89 €15.92

-38.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.1 VES 58.9K

$66.2 €58.9

1.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.16 VES 9,796

$13.69 €12.18

-18.48%

Cappuccino

$3.55 VES 3,114

$3.06 €2.72

16.01%

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

$1.52 VES 1,332

$3.07 €2.73

-50.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 VES 1,144

$1.94 €1.73

-32.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.06 VES 1,805

$3.87 €3.44

-46.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 VES 2,680

$4.61 €4.10

-33.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.64 VES 2,313

$1.30 €1.16

103.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.31 VES 2,032

$2.10 €1.87

10.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 VES 1,624

$1.83 €1.62

1.09%

Eggs

$4.64 VES 4,076

$4.62 €4.11

0.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.35 VES 9,083

$17.36 €15.44

-40.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.20 VES 8,074

$9.28 €8.25

-0.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.64 VES 10.2K

$19.83 €17.64

-41.30%

Apples (1kg)

$7.43 VES 6,525

$3.01 €2.68

146.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 VES 1,794

$2.03 €1.81

0.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.20 VES 1,931

$2.65 €2.36

-16.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.38 VES 2,087

$2.87 €2.55

-17.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 VES 1,965

$2.16 €1.92

3.70%

Onion (1kg)

$2.23 VES 1,958

$2.15 €1.91

3.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 VES 1,424

$1.47 €1.31

10.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.41 VES 2,119

$0.88 €0.79

173.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.71 VES 4,132

$6.93 €6.16

-32.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.84 VES 10.4K

$7.83 €6.96

51.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 VES 1,246

$1.39 €1.24

2.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 VES 1,839

$2.63 €2.34

-20.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 VES 448

$2.91 €2.59

-82.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.43 VES 26.7K

$25.46 €22.64

19.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.08 VES 4,459

$3.00 €2.66

69.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.83 VES 2,483

$1.44 €1.28

96.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.80 VES 13.0K

$33.20 €29.53

-55.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 VES 772

$1.86 €1.65

-52.69%

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

$24.7K VES 21.7M

$32.3K €28.8K

-23.54%

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

$39.7K VES 34.8M

$31.7K €28.2K

25.09%

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

$21.94 VES 19.3K

$183 €163

-88.00%

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

$11.99 VES 10.5K

$13.61 €12.11

-11.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.39 VES 32.8K

$32.93 €29.29

13.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.9 VES 57.8K

$54.7 €48.65

20.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.83 VES 15.7K

$16.52 €14.70

7.93%

Cinema Ticket

$6.53 VES 5,735

$11.23 €9.99

-41.85%

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

$158 VES 138.4K

$954 €849

-83.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,066 VES 5.3M

$16.6K €14.8K

-63.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.6 VES 71.6K

$86.0 €76.5

-5.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.2 VES 45.0K

$39.11 €34.78

31.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 VES 119.2K

$104 €92.2

30.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 VES 115.2K

$119 €106

10.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$604 VES 529.9K

$1,695 €1,508

-64.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$425 VES 373.1K

$1,276 €1,135

-66.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,103 VES 968.0K

$2,576 €2,291

-57.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$861 VES 755.7K

$1,922 €1,710

-55.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,464 VES 1.3M

$7,281 €6,477

-79.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$683 VES 599.8K

$5,010 €4,456

-86.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$303 VES 266.1K

$2,227 €1,981

-86.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

570.73%

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

Last update for Caracas: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Caracas

$425 31.8%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 200% $851

Groceries & Markets

Caracas

$339 25.4%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 4.1% $14

Eating Out

Caracas

$192 14.3%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 40.7% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Caracas

$180 13.5%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 13.1% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Caracas

$79 5.9%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 2.3% $1.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caracas

$71 5.3%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 222% $158

Getting Around

Caracas

$52 3.9%

Barcelona

$47 2% 8.5% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $604 in Caracas and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 635% 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: $67.0 in Caracas vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $339 vs $325 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇪 Caracas

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

06:20 6:20 AM

12:20 12:20 PM

6 h ahead of Caracas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,274,000 Capital

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 VES = 1.14 USD

1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to VES – Venezuelan Bolívar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇪 Venezuelan Bolívar (Bs.S)

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 878 VES (1,000 VES = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 987 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

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

USD to VES in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Caracas Barcelona 7,500 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Caracas
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

Caracas vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Caracas and Barcelona differ by about 78% in total monthly costs ($1,338 vs $2,381 including rent). Caracas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 635% 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: $604 in Caracas versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $158 in Caracas versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,338 in Caracas versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Caracas but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Caracas 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, Caracas 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 Caracas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 78% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.