Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cascais and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Cascais: $2,351 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in Cascais
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Cascais Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Cascais

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,351

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,351 in Cascais versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Cascais $2,351
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,777 in Cascais versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Cascais $3,777
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,204 in Cascais versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Cascais $5,204
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Cascais costs roughly 4% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cascais 73% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.86 €14.21

$17.59 €15.76

-9.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.62 €39.99

$67.5 €60.5

-33.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.49 €8.50

$13.53 €12.12

-29.86%

Cappuccino

$2.69 €2.41

$3.19 €2.86

-15.67%

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

$2.16 €1.94

$2.91 €2.61

-25.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 €1.98

$1.89 €1.70

16.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.30 €2.96

$4.01 €3.59

-17.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.49 €4.92

$4.53 €4.06

21.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

White Bread (500g)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.02 €1.81

13.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 €1.47

$1.85 €1.66

-11.35%

Eggs

$3.32 €2.97

$4.83 €4.33

-31.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.79 €9.67

$16.74 €15.00

-35.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.02 €6.29

$9.12 €8.17

-23.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.08 €13.52

$19.64 €17.60

-23.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 €2.54

$2.98 €2.67

-4.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$2.02 €1.81

-25.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 €2.28

$2.70 €2.42

-5.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.25 €2.01

$2.80 €2.51

-19.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.56 €1.40

$2.09 €1.87

-25.36%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 €2.05

$2.07 €1.85

10.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 €1.53

$1.46 €1.31

17.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 €0.95

$0.94 €0.84

12.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.70 €5.11

$6.87 €6.16

-17.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.73 €6.93

$7.89 €7.07

-2.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 €1.14

$1.41 €1.26

-9.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 €3.96

$2.54 €2.27

74.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.19 €1.96

$3.14 €2.82

-30.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.02 €40.34

$25.45 €22.80

76.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.21 €1.98

$2.99 €2.68

-26.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 €1.85

$1.80 €1.61

14.44%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$33.2K €29.7K

3.01%

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

$38.0K €34.0K

$31.7K €28.4K

19.86%

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

$134 €120

$180 €162

-25.98%

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

$24.90 €22.31

$13.84 €12.40

79.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.0 €50.2

$33.70 €30.20

66.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.84 €38.39

$51.5 €46.16

-16.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.36 €10.18

$15.96 €14.30

-28.82%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 €6.38

$10.99 €9.85

-35.21%

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

$839 €752

$917 €821

-8.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.6K €16.7K

$16.5K €14.8K

12.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.5 €69.4

$87.0 €78.0

-10.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.50 €33.60

$38.51 €34.51

-2.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.9

$106 €94.8

-0.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 €122

$120 €107

13.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,859 €1,666

$1,699 €1,523

9.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,358 €1,217

$1,355 €1,214

0.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,213 €3,776

$2,603 €2,332

61.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,032 €2,717

$2,062 €1,848

47.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,644 €6,850

$6,915 €6,196

10.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,596

$5,128 €4,595

0.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,246 €2,013

$2,211 €1,981

1.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

3.28

11.89%

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

Last update for Cascais: 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

Cascais

$1.4K 57.8%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 0.2% $2.5

Groceries & Markets

Cascais

$273 11.6%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 18% $49

Eating Out

Cascais

$233 9.9%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 15.2% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cascais

$214 9.1%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 6.3% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Cascais

$160 6.8%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 1.3% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

Cascais

$57 2.4%

Barcelona

$74 3% 28.8% $16

Getting Around

Cascais

$56 * 2.4%

Barcelona

$48 2% 13.4% $7.5

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 $1,859 in Cascais and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $45 in Cascais vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $322 per month, with Cascais cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Cascais

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

05:26 5:26 AM

06:26 6:26 AM

1 h ahead of Cascais

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

214,158

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

Cascais Barcelona 1,030 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cascais
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

Cascais vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,351 in Cascais and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Cascais is about 4% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,526 in Cascais and $3,679 in Barcelona to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,859 in Cascais versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $839 in Cascais 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 18% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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